Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agency Outlook, Potential Fits
By Ryan Ritchie
Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agency Preview/Outlook, Salary Cap Situation, Restricted Free Agents, Team Needs, and Potential Fits
Many Toronto Maple Leafs fans were upset on Wednesday when they heard hometown kid Steven Stamkos no longer a part of the 2016 free agency class. Truth be told, the Leafs are better off using that $10-plus million/year elsewhere after striking gold with 1st overall selection Auston Matthews.
Heading into July 1, the Maple Leafs are pressed up against the cap, and still have a few minor RFAs to re-sign. Teams can spend 10 percent above the cap during the offseason, but Toronto can also clear money by trading one of Jonathan Bernier or Tyler Bozak, or buying out Joffrey Lupul‘s contract.
The attitude among Leafs Nation was surprisingly upbeat in 2015-16 for a 30th place team that finished with a record of 29-42-11 (69 points).
It seems the fan base embraced the rebuild process with open arms.
Next step in the process is to see improvement in 2016-17, both in the standings, and individual growth.
After a year of bringing prospects along slowly, it seems several young players are ready to make an NHL impact this Fall.
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Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agency Outlook/Preview
Salary Cap Committed to 2016-17: $66,044,084
Number of Players Signed: 36
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents: Michael Grabner, P.A. Parenteau, Brad Boyes, Sam Carrick, T.J. Brennan, Raffi Torres, Alex Stalock, Ben Smith, Stuart Percy, Colin Smith, Rich Clune
Notable Restricted Free Agents: Peter Holland, Martin Marincin, Frank Corrado, Josh Leivo, Garret Sparks, Connor Carrick
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It should be interesting to see what type of money Holland and Marincin receive, but regardless, the remaining RFAs will carry a fairly low cap hit.
Several UFA contracts are set to come off the books next summer.
Those names include Brooks Laich ($4.5 million/year), Milan Michalek ($4 million/year), Colin Greening ($2.65 million/year), Jonathan Bernier ($4.15 million/year), and Stephane Robidas ($3 million/year) – although Robidas’ contract is buried on the LTIR.
That’s roughly $15 million dollars in cap space (excluding Robidas).
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Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agency Team Needs
4th Line Forward, Top-Four RH Defense Upgrade
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Toronto has more than enough offensive depth with their wealth of NHL ready prospects.
Filling the top nine is the easy part, but the Maple Leafs could use experienced veteran 4th line forwards.
Now that goaltending has been addressed, top priority should turn to a right-handed top four defender.
Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, and Matt Hunwick all shoot left, and it’s unclear at this point if any RH defensive prospect has top four potential.
The hope is that KHL signing Nikita Zaitsev might be able to fill at least one of those slots on the right side (maybe a no.4 on the second pairing?).
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Potential Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agency Targets
4th Line Forwards: Boyd Gordon, Steve Downie, Matt Martin, Patrick Bordeleau, Quinton Howden, Steve Bernier, Matt Halischuk, Brad Malone
Top-Four RH Defense: Jason Demers, Justin Schultz, Roman Polak, Yannick Weber (better suited in a third pairing, could eventually slide down depth chart)
*Salary/Free Agent information was obtained through www.generalfanager.com