Analyst Pushes for Former $64 Million Player Signing by the Maple Leafs.

The Hockey Patrol’s Tyler Ball thinks the Toronto Maple Leafs ought to sign Ryan Johansen. Johansen’s contract with the Philadelphia Flyers was terminated owing to a significant breach, just as he was about to enter the final year of an eight-year, $64 million agreement. Johansen’s contract has been terminated, making him a free agent. Ball feels that the Maple Leafs ought to be interested in signing him.

“If the Toronto Maple Leafs can bring in Ryan Johansen on a player tryout or cheap contract he could be a great addition. At his peak with the Nashville Predators, Ryan Johansen was a 50 to 60-point player playing second-line minutes. However, injuries over the last two seasons have derailed his production,” Ball wrote.

“He could be one of the best remaining free agents on the market. If the Toronto Maple Leafs still feel the need to upgrade their third-line center spot a call could be made to his agent in short order,” Ball added.

Johansen to File Grievance Over Contract Termination

Following the Flyers putting Johansen on waivers, his agent Kurt Overhardt released a statement saying he will be challenging the decision.

“Ryan Johansen has a severe hockey injury that requires extensive surgery which has been scheduled. Since being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, Ryan has worked in good faith with the Club, its medical staff, and authorized third party physicians,” Overhardt said in a statement. “The Flyers’ attempt to terminate Ryan’s contract is disappointing. We have been in contact with the NHLPA and will defend Ryan and protect his rights.”

“He would be in [training] camp and have the opportunity to show us what he can do if he’s healthy,” Briere stated. “He will have to go through surgery if he isn’t and needs it.” Johansen has participated in 905 NHL games, scoring 578 points with 202 goals and 376 assists.

Maple Leafs Not Done With Moves NHL training camps are set to open in September, and although most of the offseason has been completed, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving isn’t ruling out the team making more moves before the start of the season. “To me, we’ve still got five weeks or so till camp. And, you know, we’re not set yet. We continue to look at ways to make our team better,” Treliving said on OverDrive on TSN 1050. “I said at the end of the year we’re going to look at everything. Sometimes people fall in love with ‘ ‘let’s make a big change just to make a big change’. At the end of the day, you can go out and make big changes. If they’re not making your team better, to me it doesn’t make any sense to just make a change just to stand up and say ‘look at it, we made this big change.’”

The Maple Leafs have the financial means to make a deal, as Toronto has just over $1.2 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia. On October 9, Toronto will play the Montreal Canadiens in the opening game of the 2024–25 NHL season.