TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to have found answers to a few off-season needs on the first day of NHL free agency.
The Leafs signed Ron Hainsey to upgrade their defence, Dominic Moore to prop up the fourth line centre spot and Curtis McElhinney to remain in the backup role behind No. 1 Frederik Andersen.
All were glaring needs heading into the summer months.
If not the high-impact defender they were probably hoping for this summer, Hainsey is nonetheless an upgrade to a defence that needed help — especially in the top-four. The 36-year-old, who signed for two years with an annual cap hit of US$3 million, spent the back half of last season on the top pair of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Though somewhat overmatched in that role, Hainsey is still capable of helping the Leafs in a more secondary role, a veteran who can also kill penalties and matching scoring lines for head coach Mike Babcock.
Toronto struggled last season to find a solid fourth defensive option beyond the young core of Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev. The club still nearly knocked off the President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in the first round.
Moore, meanwhile, should solidify what was another lineup trouble for Babcock last year: fourth-line centre. The Leafs bounced through various options before finally landing Brian Boyle at the trade deadline. Boyle signed with the New Jersey Devils for two years and $5.1 million on Saturday — a price Toronto likely had no interest in matching.
He was replaced by Moore, who returns to his hometown for one year and $1 million.
The 36-year-old spent two seasons of his career previously in Toronto (2008-09) before bouncing around to seven other organizations. Moore may be trending downward, but should be able to do the two primary things Babcock desires: kill penalties and win faceoffs.
Moore was an effective part of the Boston Bruins No. 1 ranked penalty kill last season and won 54.6 per cent of his draws.
He stands to slot in behind Calder trophy winner Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak.
A waiver acquisition last season, McElhinney returns to Toronto for two years and $1.7 million — the most questionable of the July 1 bets, though one of limited cost.
The 34-year-old played OK with the Leafs, posting a .914 save percentage in 14 games. He's been an inconsistent backup option over the years though and ill-suited to step in for Andersen in the case of injury or struggles in the crease.
Toronto also re-signed Garret Sparks, their third option in goal, for two years with a cap hit of $675,000. The 24-year-old had a .922 save percentage with the AHL's Toronto Marlies last season.
The Leafs biggest remaining off-season priorities are new contracts to restricted free agents, Zach Hyman and Connor Brown.
Jonas Siegel, The Canadian Press
