With the opening night roster deadline looming, the Maple Leafs are set to turn Nick Blankenburg’s tryout into a one-year, $1.4 million contract, a move that brings needed blue-line depth while also triggering critical LTIR gymnastics to stay cap compliant.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Sunday that they signed defenseman Nick Blankenburg to a one-year contract. According to PuckPedia, the deal is worth $1.4 million, converting the 28-year-old’s professional tryout into a roster contract two days before opening night.
Blankenburg arrived at camp unsigned after a quiet free-agency period and has spent the last two weeks trying to prove he belongs. He has been a consistent pairing with newly acquired defenceman Emil Andrae, a look the Leafs kept together through the Arizona trip and Saturday’s practice at Mullett Arena.
Last season was the best offensive year of Blankenburg’s career. He recorded eight goals and 24 points in 61 games between the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche, averaging 16:48 per night. He had 21 points in 49 games with Nashville before a March deadline trade to Colorado, then added three points in 12 regular-season games and a goal in five playoff appearances. For his NHL career, the undrafted University of Michigan product has 18 goals and 58 points in 176 games with Columbus, Nashville and Colorado. He is 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds, a right shot who has never been defined by size.
Head coach Jim Hiller, seemingly impressed with the player's camp, stated that Blankenburg is an NHL defenseman. The Leafs were fortunate he was available on a tryout. The $1.4 million number, negotiated with agent Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey, is more than the league minimum some fans wanted, but it is still a depth price for a player coming off career-high production.
The signing does not come without cap work. PuckPedia projects Toronto $3.808 million over the $104 million upper limit once Blankenburg’s hit is on the books. The club has to be compliant when it files an opening roster by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s season opener.
The most direct path is long-term injured reserve. Max Domi, who has not been on the ice in camp while recovering from complications stemming from offseason surgery, carries a $3.75 million cap hit. PuckPedia’s model has the Leafs submitting an opening roster with Domi and William Villeneuve ($68,000 season-opening IR charge) on LTIR and coming within about $10,000 of an optimal LTIR capture.
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