Jonas Siegel of TSN: Tyler Bozak holds value for the Maple Leafs, but at what price will cost them to retain the UFA.
“I’m not really looking into that stuff right now,” said Bozak, in conversation with TSN.ca on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s more just focusing on the year at hand and trying to do our best to get as far as we can [as a team]. When the season ends and that time comes, I’ll deal with it then. I’ve just got to try and set myself up good, keep playing well, and then the rest should work out fine.”
The Leafs won’t overpay him, but realize what he can and can’t bring. It won’t be at your typical No. 1 center price, but maybe something in the David Desharnais range, $3.5 million per season. The Leafs have about $20 million in cap space for next season, but have to sign RFAs Nazem Kadri, Cody Franson and Carl Gunnarsson and UFAs Bozak and Clarke MacArthur. If Bozak is looking to cash in, he may end up playing elsewhere next season.
“They show confidence in me [and] I’d love to play as big a role as I can. I want to be out there as much as I can be out there, play big minutes, power play, penalty kill and all that stuff. Hopefully I’ll be able to do that still.”
Other center UFA options that could be available this summers include: Derek Roy, Stephen Weiss, Mike Ribeiro and Andy McDonald.