Orlando Solar Bears’ Toronto Maple Leafs affiliation still uncertain

The Orlando Solar Bears have somewhat unexpectedly been thrown into some turmoil as their offseason begins.

The team failed to make the Kelly Cup Playoffs and now have some time to regroup and prepare for the 2017 season. When Orlando Sports Daily sat down with coach Anthony Noreen for an exit interview last week, it seemed everything was gung ho for a productive summer following his rookie season as a professional coach. Then came the surprising report that Noreen would interview for the head coaching job at St. Lawrence University.

That was the unexpected news of the early summer. Perhaps that plays into the expected negotiations that could create some turmoil this summer.

The Solar Bears’ affiliation agreement with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies expires at the end of the season. The two sides will be negotiating their partnership and deciding whether the Solar Bears will remain a proud affiliate of the Maple Leafs or seek another team for affiliation.

As of April 14, there is no deal although negotiations are ongoing. Without overdramatizing the response, Solar Bears president Jason Siegel said, “Until we have a deal, we don’t have a deal.”

With the Marlies just starting their playoff chase in the American Hockey League, it is likely not a priority for that organization and the Maple Leafs organization for some time. That is to be expected.

Toronto Marlies general manager and Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Kyle Dubas addressed the media Wednesday and spoke briefly about the ongoing renewal negotiations and the Marlies relationship with the Solar Bears.

“The affiliation with Orlando was excellent this year. I know that they didn’t have the succes that they wanted in terms of wins and losses. They are in a very difficult division. With Anthony Noreen, Jason Siegel, Joe Haleski and their staff were excellent to deal with.

It was very easy to deal with them. We never had an instance where logistics were an issue in getting a player to wherever we needed them. With so many guys shuffling in and around all the pieces of our organization, it proved to be an excellent affiliation and worked out very well for us. We’re very happy with it.”

That seems to be an endorsement of sorts for the Solar Bears and the current affiliation arrangement. Without doubt the Marlies and Maple Leafs were extremely active with call ups throughout the season.

Orlando had more than 100 separate transactions this season involving signing new players, sending players up, recalling them and the like. Noreen said throughout the season he was in daily contact with the Marlies regarding future roster moves and player progress.

It was a relationship that Noreen had glowing reviews of despite the possible disruption it brought to the early part of the season as the Solar Bears were trying to establish a rhythm.

“That comes with the territory,” Noreen said. “Our communication with them, I can’t imagine anyone else has the same communication with them. We talked every day. If there is a chance they could do us a favor, they did us a favor. I don’t know if there are many other affiliates who would have done that for their ECHL team. They care. They are invested in their players. It’s not something where I have to go to them, because it’s something they do already.”

The Solar Bears are part of the conversation and the layer of the organization. They are considered in their plans for call ups and developments and transactions at the higher level.

Obviously the Maple Leafs take the priority as the parent club. The synergy though was a big goal for the Maple Leafs and their new general manager Lou Lamoriello.

As part of the new general manager regime that came in with the Maple Leafs last year, the Solar Bears began running the same offensive and defensive systems as the parent club. It is one of the reasons Noreen was brought in. He said his philosophy matches very similarly to what the Maple Leafs are trying to build.

It is also why the affiliation is so important. Most of the Solar Bears player — and certainly many of the key ones — have tryout agreements and contracts with the Marlies too. They helped put together the roster. A new affiliation likely means an almost entirely new roster.

That is all up in the air right now. It adds to the uncertainty surrounding the franchise at this point of the season for the Solar Bears. An uncertainty that probably is not going to be answered any time soon.