In today’s NHL rumors rundown, two Toronto Maple Leafs make the top of one columnist’s list for available UFAs in 2025, suggesting that it’s unlikely either signs with the team this season. Meanwhile, why did Oliver Ekman-Larsson choose the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers? The Boston Bruins have been trying to sign Jeremy Swayman since March and will the Los Angeles Kings tear their roster down if they take a turn in the wrong direction this season?
Marner and Tavares Top 2025 UFA List
Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet took a look at the most intriguing UFAs in 2025 and did something interesting during his exercise. He left out some very big names under the guise that five key players are locks to sign with their respective teams. That then led to Mitch Marner and John Tavares being the two biggest available names on his list.
He wrote:
So for our exercise today — which is identifying 25 of the most intriguing potential UFAs in 2025 — we won’t list Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand or Igor Shesterkin. All five are megastars on expiring contracts, but are also strong candidates to re-up with their current club in the coming weeks and months…or so we assume, anyway.
Boylen then suggested Marner will play out the season in Toronto and that the Leafs can’t or won’t throw enough money at him to convince him not to test the market. Tavares might test the market but is likely also to re-sign with the Leafs at half of his $11 million salary.
Ekman-Larsson Says Gut Feeling Told Him to Leave Panthers for Leafs
Oliver Ekman-Larsson spoke to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan and said it was his gut feeling and a strong desire from his family to make the move that led him joining the Maple Leafs this offseason. “I am a guy that always tries to go with my gut feeling and when Toronto showed interest I got that feeling that this is what I wanted to do and this is what we wanted to do as a family,” he noted.
He also noted that reuniting with Brad Treliving and Shane Doan — who he spent a lot of time with in Arizona — was a key reason he liked the idea of being in Toronto.
Swayman Negotiations Started A Long Time Ago
While there is growing concern that goaltender Jeremy Swayman doesn’t have a deal yet in Boston, it’s not for a lack of trying. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Swayman and GM Don Sweeney began negotiating his new contract in early March, following his impressive performance during his one-year prove-it deal. Swayman declined to comment on the negotiations but didn’t deny their existence.
Related: Bruins Must Set Realistic Expectations for Marchand
“Sway is a big part of our plan. It’s a priority to find a negotiated agreement,” Sweeney said on July 1. Swayman chose not to exercise his arbitration rights this time and the Bruins were happy to not to go through that process again. It was an interesting choice to trade Ullmark without that Swayman deal signed. It gave the latter extra leverage.
Are Kings Likely to Start Selling Pieces?
Eric Stephens of The Athletic responded to a reader’s question about whether the Los Angeles Kings might dismantle their roster if they’re struggling by the 2025 trade deadline. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, in the final season of his two-year deal with a full no-movement clause, is the most likely trade candidate. Newly acquired forward Tanner Jeannot could also be considered for a trade.
Stephens then noted that the Kings could rebuild around some of their young pieces while keeping a couple of veterans who are likely to finish their careers as Kings or would be tougher to move. He explained:
That digs into how much the Kings would want to embrace another rebuild or go with a “retool” around Byfield and (hopefully) Clarke with in-their-prime players like Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala and Mikey Anderson. Kopitar figures to finish his career as a King but do you have conversations with players like Doughty and Phillip Danault to gauge if they’d prefer to finish out their contracts on a team that’s closer to Stanley Cup contention? The rising cap might make Danault a bit easier to move. Doughty’s $11 million cap hit that also goes to 2026-27 won’t be easy to trade in any scenario.
source – ‘L.A. Kings mailbag: Trading veterans? Playoff expectations? Jersey preference?’ – Eric Stephens – The Athletic – 07/18/2024
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