So now, they build.
If there’s anything to be taken from the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ decision to hand goalie Frederik Andersen a $25-million, five-year contract in harmony with acquiring him from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, it’s that Lou Lamoriello is finally ready to lay down some foundational pieces.
We knew those pieces were coming eventually with Auston Matthews set to be drafted into the organization this week, and prospects William Nylander and Mitch Marner among those expected to compete for jobs next season. But in Andersen, the Leafs are adding something altogether different.
This is a player brought in from another organization at the cost of futures – the No. 30 pick in Friday’s draft and a second-rounder next year – who is expected to be part of the Leafs group that eventually rises out of the abyss.
“I love his competitiveness,” Lamoriello said on a conference call. “If you look at his playoff history, he’s always played well in the playoffs. He gives us size, which today is a necessity the way the game is played. But also, his athleticism is exceptional.”
You could argue that this is the most significant player acquisition made by the organization since the June 23, 2013 trade that landed Jonathan Bernier. All of the other deals since – whether made by former GM Dave Nonis or once-interim GM Kyle Dubas or Lamoriello – have been either tinkering around the margins or part of the teardown.
Andersen instantly becomes the Leafs’ No. 1 goaltender, and unlike the Bernier situation three years ago, the team has a pretty good reason to believe he can handle the job. He’s appeared in 97 regular season games over the last two seasons, posting a .916 save percentage.
The Leafs have been watching him closely for months.
When the Ducks visited Toronto in March, Lamoriello even found a discreet spot in the Air Canada Centre to monitor his morning skate routine.
From what they’d learned through scouting and other background research, the management team didn’t think twice about dealing away two picks to get him. It helped that they had put themselves in excellent position to spend that kind of capital given all of the draft choices they’ve been amassing.
“When you get a goaltender of this calibre with the experience he’s had and the success, I feel like I’ve had the good fortune to have similar goaltenders in the past,” said Lamoriello. “I think acquiring them is the most important thing. The price was secondary.”
A number of factors conspired to end the 26-year-old Dane’s tenure in Anaheim. Not only are the Ducks an organization with an internal budget, but they already had 22-year-old John Gibson on a team-friendly contract that carries a $2.3-million AAV for the next three seasons.
With Andersen in line for a raise and the Ducks only able to protect one of those goalies in an expansion draft next June, they had to make a choice.
“This was a situation that just had to happen at this point in time,” explained Ducks GM Bob Murray. “There was no way to avoid it.”
For Andersen, it will be a significant change of scenery. Not only will the atmosphere and attention be totally different, but he’s also joining the NHL’s 30th-place team after appearing in Stanley Cup playoff games each of the last three seasons in Anaheim.
It says something about his buy-in with the Leafs that he agreed to a five-year contract. He could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but was willing to give up four UFA years as part of this deal.
The Ducks are the only NHL team he’s ever played for – Carolina originally drafted Andersen in 2010, but he re-entered in 2012 and Anaheim snagged him in the third round – and his agent, Claude Lemieux, had some contract discussions about an extension with Murray this offseason.
“At the end of the day it didn’t work out,” said Andersen. “Now I’m just happy about being in a spot, a big hockey market. It’s going to be a lot of fun developing with this young team that’s very hungry for success and it’s going to be a very good experience.”
After an 18-month period where virtually every new member of the Leafs seemed to have the permanence of a grain of sand in a hurricane, this is something different. A six-foot-four goaltender that will shoulder some hopes and expectations for the organization.
Who knows? It might even be safe to buy a sweater adorned with his name.
The Leafs signalled a change in the landscape with this trade and the healthy contract that came with it.
“I think it’s extremely important,” said Lamoriello. “I think that he has to know that he’s our No. 1 goaltender and that the support is there, the confidence is there and the commitment’s there.”
They aren’t just acquiring placeholders and making rebuilding moves now.
