Toronto Maple Leafs Joffrey Lupul Injured Again
Toronto Maple Leafs Joffrey Lupul Injured Again
The Toronto Maple Leafs Joffrey Lupul has been hit with the injury bug…again. The Maple Leafs recently announced that Joffrey Lupul would not be traveling with the team during the four-game Western Conference road trip this week. All too frequently throughout his six-year tenure with the Maple Leafs, Joffrey Lupul has been held out of the lineup due to injury. Here is a deeper look at the 32 year-old winger’s performance:
Lupul is in the third year of his five-year contract paying an annual cap hit of $5.25 million dollars and holds a no-trade clause. This significant cap hit makes Joffrey Lupul the highest paid player on the Leafs offense (Nathan Horton‘s contract on IR excluded).
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Is Joffrey Lupul living up to his contract? No. In the 2014-15 season, Lupul was often mentioned in media trade discussions, but the winger was only able to dress in 55 of 82 games. During those 55 games played, Lupul put up 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points, with a plus/minus of minus 10. With the arrival of Mike Babcock ahead of the 2015-16 season many hoped the aging winger would follow-up the paltry season with strong play and hoped to see him come close to playing an entire season. Through the Leafs 51 games this season, Lupul has dressed 46 of them and put up 11 goals, three assists and managed a familiar plus/minus of minus 10. This season Mike Babcock has relegated Lupul to 3rd line minutes with an average time on ice of 14:37 minutes, a career worst in Toronto.
So how is he performing compared to fellow Leafs?
On offense, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk and P.A. Parenteau are all receiving more playing time than Lupul and have put up more points while doing so. Lupul is currently tied in 11th (with Brad Boyes) on the team in terms of total points. Three Leafs defenseman have even put up more points than Lupul so far this season; Dion Phaneuf (24 pts), Morgan Reilly (23 pts) and Jake Gardiner (16 pts). A fourth defenseman, Roman Polak (12 pts), is breathing down Lupul’s neck as he sits only two points behind Lupul this season and has a chance to leapfrog the injured winger during the four game road trip. In the case you are thinking the Veteran has focused on his defensive game, his minus 10 plus/minus is the team’s second lowest, leading only the rookie – Byron Froese.
How does this impact the rebuilding Leafs?
The Leafs have $5.25 million dollars per year invested in the struggling Lupul, which are funds the Leafs need to re-sign Morgan Reilly and explore Free Agency. With Lupul spending the majority of his time on the third line under Mike Babcock, it appears as though the Leafs are prepared to enter the next chapter of their re-build without him. With youngsters Josh Leivo, William Nylander, Connor Brown, Brendan Leipsic, Jeremy Morin, Kasperi Kapanen, Zach Hyman and Nikita Soshnikov knocking at the door for NHL playing time on the wing, time is running out for Joffrey Lupul to prove his case for staying in a Leafs uniform. Unless Lupul returns from injury and lights the hockey world on fire, he may have played his last season as a Leaf.
What options do the Leafs have?
Trade – According to multiple reports, the Leafs have been actively marketing Joffrey Lupul since last season. Injury history has proven to be a key factor in why a move hasn’t been made. Ultimately, when you look at what Lupul provides on the ice, he is not deserving of a $5.25 million dollar deal. The over-payment aside, any team vying for Lupul’s services has a rightful concern as to how their asset will remain healthy given a troubling injury history. To address these concerns, what is a fair net salary? Anything north of $4 million dollars is a drastic over-payment for Lupul’s services. If you find a trading partner interested in Lupul, they will likely value the player closer to $3 million, which means the leafs are either taking back an ugly contract or eating close to $2.25 million dollars in each of the next two seasons. If the leafs can work either of those scenarios into including a third round draft pick and/or a decent prospect, a trade may be worth exploring. While the David Clarkson trade last year can make a believer out of anyone, a Lupul trade is unlikely to occur during the season and it is not likely to be pretty.
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Waivers – Is there any scenario you can see unfolding where a team would claim Lupul and his $5.25 million if placed on waivers? If so, this could be an avenue explored simply to open room for younger players to crack the Leafs roster.
Buyout – Buying Lupul out would, of course, be an ugly option. It would help the team in the next two seasons by providing a few million in cap relief, but ultimately the Leafs would have the additional cap hit in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. This additional cap hit would correspond with a time where young Leafs prospects are exiting their ELCs and a time where – most would hope – the Leafs are playoff contenders. The benefit here may not outweigh the cost.
Keep him – Ultimately, when healthy Joffrey Lupul is still a serviceable winger in the bottom of your lineup. If a buyout is the only course of action for the Leafs, it would make sense to keep him as a veteran presence in the locker room and hope he increases his trade value for a potential move at next year’s deadline or offseason. Eating salary for one season sounds more appetizing than two seasons.