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Logan Couture discusses the loss of Patrick Marleau in San Jose and his fit in Toronto, Leon Draisaitl signs for eight years and $8.5 million AAV, former Leaf prospect Dominic Toninato signs with the Avs, and more in the links.


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Couture: Sharks will miss Marleau’s leadership (TSN1050)
Sharks forward Logan Couture joined OverDrive to discuss his All In for Brain Research charity event, Joe Thornton & Brent Burns’ beards, plus his thoughts on Patrick Marleau will fit with the Maple Leafs.

I think Patty is excited for the new opportunity that awaits him in Toronto. As a teammate and a friend, I’m happy for him with the deal that he got and that he’s happy and his family is happy. He’s definitely going to be missed in San Jose. He’s a tremendous leader. He’s a guy that leads by example and he was an incredible pro for the eight years I spent with him. I learned so much from him as a person and as a player. I’ll definitely miss him. On the ice, it’s going to be different. You’re missing a guy that scores 25 goals every season. He’s done that for the 18 years he’s been in San Jose.

Is Draisaitl’s deal fair for both sides? (TSN)
TSN Hockey analyst Dave Poulin explains why he thinks Leon Draisaitl’s new contract is fair for both sides and how it will affect the Maple Leafs‘ core of young players.

You look at the fact that McDavid won the MVP in his second year. You may say that Auston Matthews is the equivalent of Connor McDavid; well, he’s not until he wins an MVP. That will obviously be an indicator right there. But everybody would like to have the problems the Leafs are going to have, and that’s a lot of really good young players. And no one loves their cap. Everyone looks at their own cap situation and thinks, “Well, this is the biggest problem anyone could have.” It means you have good young players. These young players are getting to their second contract earlier.

You could have a nightmare situation in Tampa in a couple of years by signing a bridge contract with Kucherov for three years, and now watch him emerge. With PK Subban, it was a two-year contract and then — boom — up to nine million. I think this longer term thing is the way teams are going.

This is a fair deal. How it plays out in Toronto will go according to how these kids perform this year.

Draisaitl another overpayment from EDM — but potentially good one (Yahoo)
This is No. 1 center money. Actually, it’s more than that: There are only five centers who will make more against the cap than Draisaitl next season: Jonathan Toews ($13.8 million, 29 years old), Anze Kopitar ($13 million, 29), Evgeni Malkin ($9.5 million, 31), Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million, 31) and Steven Stamkos ($8.5 million, 27). Together, this group has 11 Stanley Cups, four Conn Smythe trophies and three Hart trophies.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Dominic Toninato (Avalanche.com)
“We are excited to announce that Dominic has decided to sign with our organization,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President / General Manager Joe Sakic. “He is a big, responsible two-way center and represents a solid prospect for the future of our team.” A fifth-round (126th overall) selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2012 NHL Draft, Toninato joined the USHL’s Fargo Force following three seasons with Duluth East High School and notched one point (1g/0a) in four contests in 2011-12.

Leafs’ ‘father figure’ on D focuses on reaching next level (TSN.ca)
“Just the mentality, that feeling amongst the guys going into a year, it’s extremely different than in any other that I’ve been a part of,” Rielly told TSN.ca recently. “Those were very strong moves. They send a clear message to our players and the rest of the league that we feel we’ve got a team that can compete. When you look at Marleau as an example of a great guy who wants to compete for a championship later in his career, to come to our team, that speaks volumes.”

Mirtle: Leafs in good cap shape to sign Matthews, Marner, Nylander (TSN1050)
Editor for The Athletic James Mirtle talked to Scott MacArthur about the future of the Maple Leafs salary cap signing their young stars. James also talks about the contract situation regarding Connor Brown and what the Leafs defence will look like.

Top 25 Under 25: #13 Jeremy Bracco (PPP)
For the Memorial Cup, Bracco took his long rested body, ran thorough a training camp again during the break before the tournament, and scored 2PPG in the tournament – three goals and five assists in four games. He set set up the goal that would give the Windsor Spitfires their third Memorial Cup in nine years.

[Paywall] Bourne: What I learned after two seasons with Marlies (The Athletic)
Being awesome at hockey young doesn’t negate the tendency to prioritize the short term over the long term at that age. They still want to be cool, to be popular amongst their peers, as most people that age do. That’s not a crime. But because of that, asking for extra time with staff, truly working on something they’re bad at for everyone to see, some of these things can be perceived as embarrassing, like walking up to your teacher in high school and asking for extra work for extra credit. It’s great, and you’ll probably benefit from it, but you’ll almost certainly get chirped by the “cool” kids, which most would prefer to avoid.