Yesterday started off with a not terribly surprising move:
Actually it started of with a lot of talk about Zach Werenski. And I was some double digit % of the way to believing. Then it all cooled off.
On the Zach Werenski rumors, Maple Leafs GM John Chayka didn’t want to make a comment on specific players but emphasized that they maintained their future flexibility to be in a good spot when players of note do become available if they wanted to pursue those avenues
— Anna Dua (@AnnaNoelleDua) July 1, 2026
And then...
Columbus Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell and All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski have issued the following statements today. pic.twitter.com/xsQc2HyjSV
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 1, 2026
I feel used. My modest investment in an unlikely event was for what? So you two could reconcile. I mean, why, though? Look at what CBJ did in free agency.
Who wouldn't be thrilled?
Now, if you'll just look right here... pic.twitter.com/gZLEKTkSLy
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 2, 2026
Wait what was I doing? Oh, yeah, the bulk buy then occurred:
The flood of identical depth centres/wingers, er, flooded in. It's a good thing these guys wear nametags because they're all the same guy. Most of these players are described below as centres, but moving a centre to wing is always easy, so the versatility of these signings is also duplicated with each one.
Maple Leafs GM John Chayka on the Dennis Hildeby - Nick Paul trade:
— Anna Dua (@AnnaNoelleDua) July 1, 2026
“At the end of the day it’s a good hockey trade… academically it makes sense to carry three goalies, realistically it’s hard.”
One of these things he picked up is not like the others, though:
Big money got spent on Sergei Bobrovsky. This is, as Species said yesterday, a "risk on" type of move. Just like with Darren Raddysh. I'll tell you a secret, though. Shhh, tell no one. No one actually knows how any team will perform in the coming year. All you can do is try and see if it works. Sometimes you have to take big gambles in life.
PuckPedia shows the Leafs with 13 forwards now. And there's going to be another guy signed soon.
Chayka on how his lieutenants performed in a busy free agent day for the new mgt. team: "Mats Sundin was amazing, super thoughtful, incredibly important sounding board. (AGM) Ryan Hardy, a guy I don't know, helped a ton on some of these key players. I think he's a future GM."
— Lance Hornby 🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@sunhornby) July 1, 2026
rt https://t.co/1akKcBObMQ pic.twitter.com/12vsBeMi0t
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 1, 2026
So we're Florida now? Only with taxation that supports the people who need support as opposed the hockey players? I'm good with that. It's bloody hot enough out.
In other news, the headline of this article should be: Damn you, Sunny Mehta! But I'd already picked the Costco line.
Utah has one week to match
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2026
There is a bit of a poison pill here, too. If Mammoth do match...they cannot trade him for one calendar year. But, Hayton can become a UFA next July. https://t.co/R6Yq1aFvFI
When I saw that Utah had elected arbitration on Barrett Hayton, I was curious. It's rare that teams do this, but if you do it in the first window, you can get an award 85% of the previous year's salary, so usually it is done when a team thinks the player is worth less than their QO.
They are wrong! And Sunny Mehta knows it. The near $5 million is what he's worth, because he's easily a 3C, even a 2C if you have scoring wingers. He is genuinely that good, and Utah don't know it. This is classic moneyball stuff where you go for a guy who is misunderstood. In his case, his counting stats are low. But forget that. He plays hockey, and he plays it at a high level. Use him has a 3C and you've got a leg up on a lot of teams.
Damn you, Sunny Mehta. Utah can match that and then let him walk as a UFA or they can take the picks. If they do, I know a guy who has a club pack of depth centres... Meanwhile Hayton gets to bask in the warm sunny glow of being understood. And don't we all want that.
I hope Utah takes the pick.
