NEW YORK \u2014 Keith Pelley has had four months now to get a closer glimpse of the day-to-day operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs via close interactions with general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube.<\/p>\n
The president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment began taking a more day-to-day approach with the Leafs after the decision was made to let go of Brendan Shanahan as team president.<\/p>\n
What has Pelley learned in those four months?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been very enjoyable working with Brad and Chief,\u201d Pelley told The Athletic at the NHL Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday. \u201cThe way they work together is really, really good. The vibe around the team is positive. The new players that they brought in seem to have created a good chemistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of optimism. After last night\u2019s win, in the coach\u2019s room, talking to Chief, we\u2019re pretty optimistic. But it\u2019s pretty early. The last four months have been incredibly enjoyable. Brad is meticulous in his decision-making process and his analysis, and Chief is one of the most straightforward, strong-willed, passionate hockey guys you can meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for life after Mitch Marner, it\u2019s clear the Leafs have moved on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess the story has to be over sometime soon in terms of people asking questions about Mitch,\u201d Pelley said. \u201cMitch is a prolific scorer. He was a great Toronto Maple Leaf player for so many years. We didn\u2019t win the Cup. We move on. And every change provides a great opportunity. So we wish Mitch all the best in Las Vegas. There\u2019s still lots of conversation about Mitch with the media and potentially with some fans, but there\u2019s no conversation about Mitch inside the Toronto Maple Leafs locker room or inside the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The flip side to Marner\u2019s exit is that the Leafs have cap flexibility and intend to take a swing with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the combination of the cap going up at the exact time,\u201d Pelley said. \u201cThere\u2019s no question we didn\u2019t have as much cap room last year at the playoff (trade) deadline, that perhaps we needed to make a move that might have even taken us further. But we\u2019re really conscious of cap room. We definitely have flexibility. And it\u2019s go time now for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know the age of this team. It\u2019s go time. And I think we have two leaders, in Brad and Chief, to hopefully take us to the promised land.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson on McDavid deal<\/p>\n
Relieved? Um, yeah. The man atop the Edmonton Oilers\u2019 front office insists, though, that he always believed Connor McDavid would sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, you\u2019re always relieved when things that are that important are done,\u201d Jeff Jackson, CEO of hockey operations for the Oilers, told The Athletic. \u201cBut I also was very confident we would get it done. It wasn\u2019t just empty thoughts of getting it done. I really believed it was just a matter of him working through it. He came to the conclusion he came to.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then there was the sweet kicker: No. 97 didn\u2019t even want a raise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich was actually a surprise to us,\u201d Jackson said of McDavid sticking with $12.5 million as his salary. \u201cBut that\u2019s so on-brand for Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the flip side, the common refrain in the moments after McDavid\u2019s extension was announced Oct. 6 was that the Oilers were now on the clock.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019re always on the clock,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way it is. That\u2019s natural for that conclusion to be drawn. When I took the job two years ago, I said we have to be a very competitive team, with an opportunity to compete for the Cup, to make sure that we keep Connor and Leon (Draisaitl) and the core. So it\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number that Connor took for his cap hit \u2014 really, like, what were the options over one or two years? He\u2019s not taking $12.5 million for an extended period of time. So it\u2019s a decision he made in the short term so that we have three years at $12.5 million, and yeah, our goal is to continue to be a good team and be there at the end. His deal doesn\u2019t change that. I don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re on the clock any more than we were on the clock two years ago, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did any NHL teams have the audacity to call Edmonton this summer while McDavid took his time deciding and ask about presenting a trade offer?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I mean, I think there were lots of teams that were maybe looking at it and wondering, \u2018What\u2019s going to happen there?\u2019 But ultimately, there was no trade offer, and we weren\u2019t thinking that at all,\u201d Jackson said with emphasis.<\/p>\n
Kings-Kempe talks<\/p>\n
Now that many other big stars around the league have signed extensions, there\u2019s an increasing spotlight on the Los Angeles Kings and their effort to extend pending unrestricted free agent forward Adrian Kempe \u2014 and how they\u2019ll find a deal that makes sense in the NHL\u2019s new salary-cap landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know (GM) Kenny (Holland) is talking to Adrian and J.P. Barry, his agent,\u201d Kings president Luc Robitaille told The Athletic. \u201cIt\u2019s still ongoing. It\u2019s just finding the number that works for us and works for him. He\u2019s a priority for us. Kenny told me the same and said they\u2019re going to keep talking until they get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I wrote last week, an AAV in the $11 million to $12 million range probably makes sense here on a long-term deal.<\/p>\n
The urgency to extend Kempe is magnified by the reality of losing the great Anze Kopitar after this season. The Kings, however, were not taken by surprise by their captain\u2019s announcement before the season that 2025-26 would be it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a big hole, but we\u2019ve known it,\u201d Robitaille said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking as an organization for three years. I remember when he signed for two more years, he kind of gave us a heads-up that would be it. So we\u2019ve known, and we drafted (Quinton) Byfield. Turc (Alex Turcotte) is finally healthy. Just like every team, we\u2019re going to have a big hole to fill. It happens to every one of us. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve been preparing for, and we\u2019re going to keep our eyes open to how we\u2019re going to fill that hole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Filling that hole would have been more alluring had dreamlike options like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel decided to hit the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were all expecting all these guys to sign,\u201d Robitaille said. \u201cGreat players will always find a way. Teams understand how it is. One guy took a lot less (McDavid), but everyone else seemed to sign to what their value is, their production. Maybe Jack Eichel took a little less. But that\u2019s the way our game is.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you look at the AAV and you look at what he\u2019s worth and so forth. But sometimes the player will say, \u2018I\u2019m getting $75 million or $90 million. That\u2019s a lot of money.\u2019 So I think guys are looking at it that way. They\u2019ve earned it. It\u2019s good for the game that these guys are signing, and it\u2019s good for the fans. And I think it\u2019s going to happen more and more as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olympic concerns<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a newsy Board of Governors meeting, which is the norm for this quick, three-hour session at the start of the season. The meatier owners meeting comes in December \u2014 this year, for two days in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n