Dec 17, 2018
Maple Leafs GM Dubas has 'no worry at all' about offer sheets
If any of the 30 other NHL teams is preparing to sign one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' impending restricted free agent stars in Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner to an offer sheet this summer, general manager Kyle Dubas doesn't seem concerned. Dubas said on Monday that he spends "zero per cent" of his time worrying about such a possibility and hopes to have their futures resolved before it ever comes to that point.
TSN.ca Staff
If any of the 30 other NHL teams is preparing to sign one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' impending restricted free agent stars in Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner to an offer sheet this offseason, general manager Kyle Dubas doesn't seem concerned.
Dubas said on Monday that he spends "zero per cent" of his time worrying about such a possibility and hopes to have their futures resolved before it ever comes to that point.
"Our salary cap situation is set up so we can defend any of those threats with no worry at all," Dubas said. "I know they have become a huge topic, but I spend zero per cent of my time having any worry about that.'
Signing Matthews and Marner, who are both in the final year of their respective entry-level contracts, to equitable deals will not come cheap but Dubas said there is "no excuse" for the Leafs for the team to have a repeat of the scenario that occurred with William Nylander.
A restricted free agent this past summer, Nylander missed the first 28 games of the season after failing to come to terms on a new contract, finally agree to a six-year, $41.7 million deal on Dec. 1.
"I can’t say, ‘well I wasn’t doing this job a year ago,' so we have to continue to work away with them and it will be our intention well before July 1 [to agree]," Dubas said of Matthews and Marner.
Marner, 21, leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 35 assists through 33 games, while Matthews, 21, has 16 goals and 11 assists in only 19 games played this season.
“My agent and the team is still talking," Marner told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel earlier this fall. "It’s up to them obviously to do all that talking for me. I just don’t want to hear about it until I get told that it’s almost ready to go. For me, I just want to go out and play hockey, focus on hockey. If it doesn’t happen (during the season) then next summer something will happen I’m sure. It’s not a rush for me. I’m just making sure I’m going out there helping this team win.”
Dubas also said on Monday that the team would like to keep impending unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner past this season and are talking about a new deal, but there are complications.
"We would like him to be here," Dubas said of Gardiner, "[but] it's not as simple as it sounds. You only have a certain amount you can divvy up and it's trying to make it all work and keep our team on the right path moving forward."
Gardiner, 28, is in the final year of a five-year, $20.25 million deal.
The NHL projects an $83 million salary cap for 2019-2020 and the Leafs currently have $56 million committed in salary, per CapFriendly.