Playing For Contracts May Motivate Leafs

from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star, Only four forwards (Jason Blake, Niklas Hagman, Mikhail Grabovski and Colton Orr) and four defencemen (Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Luke Schenn and Kaberle) have contracts with the club for next season. No goaltenders are committed beyond this season, with Vesa Toskala poised to become unrestricted next summer. Right now, there seems to be little urgency on the part of the hockey club to get any of these players signed, although it’s possible centre John Mitchell could be an exception. If Mitchell has the kind of season the Leafs hope he can have, he could demand significant dollars next summer, so signing him now might be the smart move for the Leafs. Hockey idealism, of course, suggests all any red-blooded player wants to do is win a Stanley Cup, but of course, reality is different. Establishing full-time NHL credentials or achieving salary ambitions are understandably motivations for many players, which means playing through the final year of a contract sometimes motivates some athletes to deliver their best performances. more