No Leo For Leafs

It's not a big deal, but the Leafs have experienced their first disappointment of what is shaping up to be an eventful and pivotal off-season.

Instead of signing an entry-level contract with the Leafs, 24-year-old centre Leo Komarov has instead opted to ink a deal in the KHL. Komarov, born in Estonia but a Finn by nationality who played for the gold-medal winning Finnish side at the recent world championships, is a 5-foot-11 disturber who had been described as a smaller version of Jarkko Ruutu.

He was drafted in the sixth round by John Ferguson Jr. in 2006, and the Leafs had hoped to sign him this summer to add more sandpaper to their bottom six forward. Ideally, he might have filled the crucial checking role that Sammy Pahlsson did for Brian Burke's Cup-winning club in Anaheim in 2007.

Komarov played for Moscow Dynamo the last two years and apparently also carries a Russian passport. He believes he can make more money playing in the KHL than under an NHL entry-level deal, and now will become a free agent this summer.

The Leafs first round pick acquired from Philadelphia in the Kris Versteeg deal, meanwhile, is now slotted in at No. 25. The pick acquired from Boston depends on how the B's finish.

Finally, hearing whispers that negotiations between Atlanta and Winnipeg over the future of the Thrashers may be slowed by the difficulty in reaching a sale price. The team is valued at about $60 million by industry analysts, and the Winnipeg group backed by Mark Chipman and David Thomson may be wondering why they are being asked to pay $160 million or more.

Part of that is an NHL relocation fee, to which Chipman and Thomson might wonder why they should have to pay such a cost given that the Thrashers can't stay in Atlanta and have nowhere else to go but Winnipeg. Short of folding the Thrashers, which in many ways would be the most sensible thing to do, the NHL has to do business with Winnipeg, which should give Chipman and Thomson useful leverage.

 

 

Comments

[KD]

You're right about the Thrashers, Damien - don't relocate them to Winnipeg, or to Kansas City, or to Las Vegas - FOLD them. While they're at it, fold the Coyotes, Panthers, Predators, Islanders and Blue Jackets too - maybe even a few others. Get the league down to about 24 teams or so, have a dispersal draft, get rid of some of the deadwood, and have a better overall talent level in the game. Right now, 30 teams is too many for a league that barely has 20 teams worth of NHL-calibre players.

[Peter]

Good luck, Leo with Ruskies. hope we will never see you in the NHL.

[Peter]

Why should we care about a player that so clearly just cares about money? If he doesn't want to start off on an entry level deal and work his way up to a proper salary then good riddance to him. These players have to earn what they make, not expect a huge payment right off the bat.

[flamesfan]

Who wants another Jarko Ruttu? That guy is a clown.

[Matt B]

Contraction and relocation. Love them both for the NHL.

If we could move teams into the markets of Seattle (hello super-charged rivalry with Vancouver), Hartford (worth exploring again, lots of money), Quebec City (I can't wait for playoff games vs. Montreal), and the GTA (I think a suburban Toronto team in Vaughan or Mississauga is better option than Hamilton or K-W). I'm not sold on Winnipeg to be honest; yes they have great fans, but I suspect they will be one of the poor children of the NHL in terms of attendance draw and corporate support.

I would love to see the Panthers, Coyotes, and Thrashers moved out of those markets and into the ones I suggest above.

[Chris]

Happens all the time with guys like Komarov. I'm not going to shrug it off with the "well he sucks anyway" sour grapes that a lot of Leaf fans will probably do. I actually liked his play at the World Championships and hoped that he'd sign with the Leafs. We've seen this happen before and I honestly think that the problem is with the system. How does a guy like Blake Wheeler get drafted 5th overall and then just refuse to sign a pro deal while he plays out his college career? Same with Bill Sweatt. These guy shouldn't be allowed to become UFAs at anywhere from 21 to 25 when guys who choose to sign entry level deals can't be a UFA until they're at least 25 and that's only if they played their rookie season at 18.

[sal]

Can we move a team here and fold the leafs?

[Rob N]

To bad the kid is looking for money rather than playing in the best league in the world, especially with a team he would have a reasonably good chance of making as a bottom 6-forward. W.e, last we're probably ever going to hear about him.

[mikey]

KHL>NHL for sure and always. see the record between soviet teams and nhl teams. He just wants to play for a quality league.

[mikey]

khl>nhl.

[Jon K.]

Hmmm, if someone offers you several million to play one year in Russia, which isn't a bad place to play and you'll be a free agent and able to play wherever you want next season OR less than a million to not even play at the NHL level for three years? If I was offered that deal, I'd go KHL too.

[JDK]

would any of u move to Russia if u were getting a better offer to stay here?

[latefordinner]

Komarov: maybe the man doesn't want to be a bottom 6 player on a bottom feeding team. Maybe he wants to play for an organization with a history of winning. Maybe he wants to play closer to home. Maybe he's looking at the mess the NHL has gotten itself into and figures its on its way to another lock-out. Maybe he feels some loyalty to a team that has nurtured him. Maybe he has his own reasons. Why should he care what we think anyway?
Thrashers: maybe you're right, Mr Cox. Maybe folding that team would be the most sensible thing to do. The league owners, however, are not the sort of people to admit a mistake.

[Rob N]

I don't understand how people can say the KHL is better than the NHL. Malkin made a clandestine attempt to come to North America to play in the NHL for a reason. He could have had more money in the KHL but like Ovechkin, he came to play for a chance to dominate in the best league in the world. Theres a reason why the KHL is afraid of their players leaving. Hell, castoffs like Nabokov eventually come back, even Kyle Wellwood. NHL>KHL. Theres no contest.