We’re just one day away from finding out which team will hoist the Stanley Cup and from there business around the NHL should get very busy. The NHLs first buyout window opens on June 27th and runs through June 30th. There are a number of players that pundits believe could be bought out, which could provide some interesting options for the Leafs via free agency, but until that happens we’ll stick with talking about players that are currently still not signed by their clubs.
In the middle of the buyout period we’ll have the NHL Entry Draft, with the 1st round going on Friday, June 28th and rounds 2-7 the following day. After all of that free agency opens on July 1st, which is just 8 days from now. GM’s around the NHL have their work cut out for them, but it will be an entertaining few days for fans.
One player the Leafs should consider approaching on July 1st is Carolina’s top blueline scorer, Brady Skjei.
Brady Skjei
Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 215lbs
It feels like everybody is focusing solely on defenders that shoot right, which is fair considering that the Leafs have left shot defenders Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit signed for next season and each player seemingly slots in flawlessly on pairs 1, 2 and 3 respectively. However, with McCabe’s ability to play the right side and the chemistry he has shown with Benoit making that a good pairing to pencil in for next season, the Leafs could easily fit another left shot defender onto the roster, but I would caution on adding any more than that.
If they do look for a left shooting defenseman then Skjei checks a lot of boxes. For starters, he has scored 40 regular season goals over his past 3 seasons. Toronto hasn’t had a real shooting threat from the blueline in a long time and are said to be interested in adding a player(s) that can provide that skill. Only Rielly produced more than 100 shots on goal from the blueline this past season for the Leafs, with Jake McCabe’s 73 being the 2nd most. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes had 5 defenders with at least 100 shots and Jalen Chatfield registered 90. That’s a problem for the Buds, especially when you consider the fact that none of the Leafs blueliners are getting heavy shots on goal.
Aside from the goal totals Skjei has produced 39, 38 and 47pts over the past 3 years, which have all been healthy campaigns. He’s a scoring threat from the backend and with Morgan Rielly being the only Leafs defender to break the 30pt plateau, again, that is something that is desperately needed.
His offense doesn’t come at the cost of good defense though. While Skjei isn’t a “gritty stat” darling, as in he doesn’t hit a ton or block a massive amount of shots, he uses his long stick and strength well to stifle attacks and minimize scoring chances against. He was a regular contributor on the top penalty killing team in the league, playing over 2 minutes a night while shorthanded this season, while also getting about 1 minute a night on the powerplay and over 21 minutes a night overall. If the Leafs decided to employ him on the 1st powerplay unit it’s very possible that his point totals would increase, as just 12 of his 47 points came with the man advantage. For reference, 20 of Morgan Rielly’s 58pts came while his team was up a man.
The risk with Skjei, as is the case with most free agent targets, is that he just turned 30 years old in March, so giving him a long term contract might be unwise. He’s missed just 3 games over the past 3 seasons, so injuries shouldn’t be a concern, but a natural regression wouldn’t come as a surprise. Any contract over the 5 year mark is risky, but luckily our friends at @AFPAnalytics are predicting a 5 year deal with a caphit of $7.5M, which is certainly a contract the Leafs could entertain. The question is if there’s mutual interest from Skjei.
Over the years we’ve seen management here try to find alternative options for the powerplay and Skjei could be just that. While they’ve opted for “all offense, no defense” players like Tyson Barrie and John Klingberg, this could be an option that bolsters their offense, defense and size all at once. While I’m not expecting Skjei to sign with the Leafs on July 1st, I believe if he does get to market they’d be foolish not to look into bringing him in.