The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of pending free agents, and with the free agency window opening up in less than two months, they have tough decisions to make.
The Toronto Marlies also house a number of pending free agents as they continue to march through the Calder Cup Playoffs. Because their season hasn’t ended yet, we’ll just focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs for now.
The Leafs have six pending unrestricted free agents, and five of them are forwards. There’s a good chance all five could be gone in September. That will be a huge change. There are also two restricted free agents. It’s four if you count Andreas Johnsson, who finished the season with the Leafs, and Martin Marincin, whose NHL salary is buried in the minors.
Matthews, Marner and Nylander are all due for contract extensions in the next two off-seasons. Although, it is possible that they try to sign all of them this summer. Until those three are locked up, it’s difficult to assess how the Leafs will address their needs since giving big contracts this summer might impact how much you can pay Marner next summer. From a team perspective, it makes sense to sign them sooner than later, but the Players may opt to show what they can do for one more year in order to maximize the value of their contracts.
It’s imperative that the Leafs have to manage their depth players’ contracts in preparation for those monstrous ones. Let’s take a look at the odds we’ll see these free agents back in Toronto this fall.