Could the Leafs trade Franson?
There has been speculation Franson’s rights might be dealt sooner than later with a number of interested suitors should the two-way defenceman be put on the market. But Carlyle and Franson hit it off after previous coach Ron Wilson could not find the right fit for the hard-shooting defender.
Ranger, who madfe strides with the Marlies last season after a couple of years out of the game for personal reasons, will need a strong camp to stick.
Nonis will know a bit more about his bank balance after arbitrator Fred Horowitz hears Fraser’s case in Toronto, barring a last-minute agreement between Loiselle and Fraser’s agent, Larry Kelly. There had been no contact between the sides up to Monday, but that doesn’t mean a late-night or early Tuesday phone call from either side won’t lead to a cancelling of the hearing and striking a deal.
Fraser is asking $2 million after his best NHL year, ending with a gruesome skull injury in the playoffs. The Leafs’ submitted brief offers of a slight raise to $855,000. Horowitz can decide on a one-year contract anywhere between those figures. He must announce it no later than 48 hours after the hearing.
If Fraser ends up with something above $1 million, but much lower than his requested figure, the Leafs will live with that and work him in. Under the new CBA, teams have no right to ‘walk away’ from an arbitrator’s decision on salaries up to or above $3.5 million.
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/29/maple-leafs-fraser-set-for-arbitration-hearing