Toronto Maple Leafs Rumors: Joffrey Lupul and Kris Russell
It’s no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs would prefer to not be the current owners of Joffrey Lupul and his massive dollar figure contract.
Steve Simmons went a step further on the Toronto Maple Leafs forward in his latest column for the Toronto Sun:
“Joffrey Lupul wasn’t at the Leafs pre-camp golf tournament. Still wondering what rule the Leafs will stretch to find a way not to play and maybe not pay the veteran winger, whom they don’t want at camp” (Toronto Sun)
The Leafs already have Nathan Horton going to LTIR, with Stephane Robidas not far behind if it’s needed. The LTIR rules in the CBA aren’t as cut and dry as throwing players on it willy-nilly, and it’s unlikely the Leafs all of a sudden need three players totaling over $13M off the cap this year.
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If Lupul is injured, that’s what injury insurance is for. As far as not playing him, well, there are more valuable pieces to play and that’s a decision that Lupul has no control over – injured or not.
There’s no getting rid of Joffrey Lupul until his deal is over, and it’s hard to envision a scenario prior to his deal ending where the Leafs need that much additional cap space.
Kris Russell
Kris Russell hasn’t been signed yet and there were manufactured rumors a few weeks ago reigniting the Toronto talk.
Lyle Richardson, without mentioning Toronto, helps throw some more water on the Russell fire – if there’s anything left out there.
“It’s rumored Russell prefers staying in the Western Conference. Recent speculation had him hoping to return to Calgary. If that’s not possible, moving up the road to Edmonton could be the next best thing for him. ” (Spector’s Hockey)
It’s perfect that Russell desires the West over the East, because he’s no longer a good defender and the Leafs don’t have room for any more defenders, let alone bad ones.
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