The Leafs locked up one of their most important players on Tuesday. Mikhail Grabovski signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract, forgoing unrestricted free agency where he would have been the only real option at centre for many teams. Grabovski and his agent were pushing for six or seven years, which would have likely lowered the cap hit slightly, but the Leafs would not budge from five years.

The initial reaction from most parts—aside from a few, such as CBC's Elliotte Friedman—is that the deal is too much money. Grabovski is now the highest paid forward on the Leafs, $100,000 more than Phil Kessel.

The Leafs’ desperate need for a true number one centre isn’t a secret. Tyler Bozak was incapable of handling such a role, which isn’t surprising considering he was entering his first full season as an NHLer. Only in Toronto would the media ask whether Tyler Bozak was a true number one centre. Of course he wasn’t! He was the Leafs' only option in what was still a re-building season.

With Brad Richards all but gone from Dallas, there is a true number one centre with star quality available come July 1st. The Leafs have ample cap space and Brian Burke is known to covet star players. Richards seems like a perfect fit in Toronto, but the Leafs won’t be the only team vying for the former Conn Smythe winner’s services. Both the New York Rangers and LA Kings have plenty of cap space and a need for a number one centre as well. Look for the price tag to sky-rocket if these three teams start trying to out-bid each other.

If the Leafs do indeed sign Brad Richards, Tyler Bozak will receive third line duties. His ugly -29 rating doesn’t really scream third line centre and his advanced metrics (from Behind the Net) don’t really disprove that notion.

Bozak did score 27 points in 37 games during his rookie season before struggling for long stretches this past season, so there is hope that he can rebound with a strong 2011. However, Bozak is already 25-years-old and maybe his offensive game won’t develop much further. Is he going to fall into the dreaded void in between the second and third line where he’s not offensive enough to play in the top-six, but not defensive enough to play in the bottom-six?

If the Leafs decide they aren’t prepared to experiment with Bozak on the third line there is another centreman available that could fill in nicely.

Ilya Kovalchuk is the best pure goal scorer in the NHL. That’s a ballsy statement considering the goal-scoring prowess of Alexander Ovechkin. But notice that I used the word pure. Ovechkin isn’t a pure goal scorer because he does a lot more for the Washington Capitals than just score goals. He basically plays like a 3rd line energy player, but just happens to have the talents of an elite goal-scorer.

There are many rumours that suggest the Leafs would love to add Kovalchuk if he makes it to free agency this off-season. Kovalchuk’s goal-scoring abilities are sorely lacking from the Leafs line-up and his addition would instantly make the Leafs a playoff team, but I’m not content with just a playoff team. I want Leafs management to build a team capable of contending for the Stanley Cup. I don’t mind waiting, but I want to see it done right. I don’t think signing Kovalchuk to a ridiculous long-term contract is the answer to the Leafs problems.