The Toronto Maple Leafs took care of a crucial piece of outstanding business on Saturday. The club locked up RFA blueliner Emil Andrae to a two-year contract, PuckPedia showed.
The deal comes with a $1.55 million cap hit, officially putting Toronto over the cap ceiling by $2.7 million.
That’s fine for now, as teams may exceed the cap by 10% during the offseason.
That aside, this deal is all about the Maple Leafs hedging their bets. It wouldn’t have made sense otherwise to have traded for Andrae and not sign him. But that’s not the main reason for this move here.
As GM John Chayka noted when he first discussed this trade, the whole point of trading for Andrae was the Maple Leafs’ need for a puck-moving defenseman.
Andrae fills that need. He provides that skill set, while also playing with an edge. Despite not being a towering presence, he can hold his own. That’s something important as the team looks to compete in the Atlantic Division next season.
But when looking at the Maple Leafs defense corps, Andrae is the only guy under 30. Major offseason signing Darren Raddysh is 30, Morgan Rielly, Troy Stecher, and Jake McCabe are 32, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is 34, and Chris Tanev is 36.
Tanev, in particular, seems like a major injury risk next season. He’s coming off a disastrous injury-plagued season and will hopefully be back to full health. However, it’s unclear how long that could last.
That’s why Chayka is banking on Andrae injecting youth and skill to the Maple Leafs’ blueline. Considering how Toronto is gradually getting younger, this move could pay off well.
Andrae Part of a Gradual Maple Leafs Youth Movement
Since the Maple Leafs are not looking to rebuild, the youth movement has to be gradual. Slowly, the Leafs could be building a budding core. Matthew Knies is just 23. Easton Cowan is 21, and, of course, Gavin McKenna is just 18. Toss in a 24-year-old Andrae, and Toronto has several pieces to infuse some youth into the group.
Still, the club remains very much a veteran one. Auston Matthews is 28 and has plenty of flight hours under his belt. William Nylander is 30, while John Tavares is now 35. That’s why bringing fresher bodies into the team is something Chayka will try to do, albeit gradually.
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What Can Fans Expect from Andrae?
Expectations for the former second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft should be tempered. It would be unreasonable for him to score 20 goals and 70+ points.
That’s what the Maple Leafs got Darren Raddysh for.
Andrae will likely play in a third-pairing role, most likely with Ekman-Larsson. The Swedish duo could work out well for first-year coach Jim Hiller.
That said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Andrae top last year’s total. In 61 games with the Philadelphia Flyers, he scored two goals and 13 points. Would it be unreasonable to expect, say, 20+ points out of Andrae?
Not at all. But getting there will depend on his situation. Unless Andrae’s play completely falls off a cliff next season, the 24-year-old should get a chance to prove he could be a major part of the Maple Leafs’ future.
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