Jonathan Bernier was an absolute necessity for the team.
“In my opinion, the organization made the right decision with going to arbitration so that with the whole new coaching staff there has no questions on who would be in training camp,” said Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello. “Right now everything is stable.”
A big difficulty in getting a deal done prior to arbitration was assessing a value. With the plethora of changes the Leafs have undergone from a managerial standpoint, the Leafs’ additions in players have largely been locked into the 1-2 year range.
Players that were retained from last season have to improve on their performance going forward.