Toronto Maple Leafs: Examining The Value of Cap Space

What if Toronto Maple Leafs let James van Riemsdyk walk for nothing at the end of his contract? Is that bad asset management?

When it comes to asset management, trading an expiring contract seems like the smart decision. To get something instead of nothing seems like an obvious choice. And yet, while it may seem counter-intuitive, in a league with a salary cap, the Toronto Maple Leafs could lose a player for nothing and it wouldn’t necessarily be the wrong decision.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will head into the season with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk on expiring contracts. With Toronto needing defensive help, both have seen their name in trade rumors this summer.

Trade rumours circulate 100% of good players in the last year of their contract, if re-signing them looks like anything less than a sure-thing.

So, if the right deal doesn’t present itself, what should Toronto do? Does it makes sense to risk losing a player for nothing?

They shouldn’t deal either of them for the sake of trading them. In a perfect world, Toronto would garner much-needed assets on the blueline for the two veterans.

Hockey isn’t a perfect world though, so why not keep them and let them walk in the summer? According to Cap Friendly, JVR has a cap hit of $4.25M while Bozak’s hit is at $4.2M; that’s over $8M off the books.

If the right deal isn’t there, take the cap space. Having their contracts off the books allows for financial flexibility. You aren’t technically losing the players for nothing, you get one year of their services + the player you can sign with the newly available cap-space. In a league with a salary cap, and a 50 contract limit, this could actually be preferable to taking on players.

There’s this ideology that teams should move assets with expiring contracts. The thought is, obtain something before they leave and end up getting nothing for them. Although in some situations the idea is valid; for the most part, if the deal isn’t there, let the player walk.

Cap Space Is Undervalued

In the National Hockey League, cap space seems like an underrated asset for general managers. Teams tend to forget that other teams will get into cap trouble. Some by default of having a good team and having to pay their core players. Others due to having inept management.

The Chicago Blackhawks are a prime example of a team having to offload talent to remain under the cap. Artemi Panarin, Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Leddy, and Dustin Byfuglien are names who departed as a result of Chicago’s cap situation.

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Letting both JVR and Bozak go for nothing isn’t the end of the world. Acquiring cap space puts Toronto in a position to take advantage over teams who mismanage their cap. Furthermore, they can use their cap space to pluck defenceman; the New York Islanders acquire two top-four defencemen in Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk.

Every off-season, there are teams in a bind; needing to shed players to cut cost. This off-season, Chicago again had to say goodbye to a talented player when they dealt Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Washington Capitals sent Marcus Johannson, who scored 58 points this past season, to the New Jersey Devils in one of the worst trades in recent memory.

The point is, teams will deal away talent, and if Toronto has space, they can exploit these teams. Having cap space is a better trade off than dealing away one or both of JVR and Bozak with a underwhelming return.

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It might take some patience, but Toronto can solve their defense issues by having cap space. Also, with the trio of William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner needing extensions over the next two years, the flexibility helps.

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