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Toronto Maple Leafs: There’s Cap Space, So Use It Now

By Lauren Kelly

TAMPA, FL - MAY 23: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals against the Tampa Bay Lightning during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)"n
TAMPA, FL - MAY 23: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals against the Tampa Bay Lightning during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)"n /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a huge opportunity this off-season – they have enough available cap space to spend on free agents, and they should take advantage of it.

No, I’m not talking about John Tavares. I don’t think the move makes sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They don’t need scoring, they need defense. Thus, they should look towards making a push for a different John, one who just hoisted the Stanley Cup last week.

The odds are slim that John Carlson will leave Washington given that they just won the franchise’s first-ever Cup. However, there is still an opportunity to make sure their voices are heard by those in Carlson’s camp. He is a right-shot defenseman with playoff and championship experience, and he’s in the prime of his career.

He’s obviously due for a huge raise. Carlson only made $4 million this season, but you know what? The Leafs can afford to give it to him. This team is good enough to make the playoffs in one of today’s toughest divisions. They have enough offensive catalysts up front. What they need to go further is to upgrade their blueline. It doesn’t make sense to wait until you have Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner locked down to monster deals, not when the Leafs have space now.

You Have Space Now – You Won’t In A Year

James van Riemsdyk’s tenure in Toronto is likely over. Tomas Plekanec and Dominic Moore are out the door too. The Leafs have been rumored to be searching for a third-line centre replacement, so Tyler Bozak is probably gone too. I refuse to believe that the Leafs will resign Roman Polak until they do. It will be interesting to see if they can bring Leo Komarov back, and for what price. He, alone of all six UFAs, has the best chance to return as a Maple Leaf next season.

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Restricted free agents notwithstanding, if all six players walk in July, that frees up $19.5 million in cap space. Naturally, the Leafs will use a portion of that to sign William Nylander and Andreas Johnsson (both RFAs) to new deals. According to CapFriendly, the Leafs currently have over $22 million in cap space (that includes RFAs). There won’t be nearly that amount of space next summer, when Matthews, Marner, and Kasperi Kapanen all need new, long-term, expensive contracts.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have the cap space right now to sign a big-name free agent that will improve their blueline. It doesn’t make sense to wait until those large Matthews/Marner contracts prohibit them from doing just that. In fact, signing someone like Carlson to a $6-7 million deal may actually help keep Matthews and Marner’s contracts in check for the time being.

Make Your Spending Worthwhile

Regardless of whether or not the Leafs decide to spend now or wait a year, the only thing that matters in the end is that these contracts have to be worth it. Another Matt Martin signing just won’t do, nor will a Tavares deal. The Leafs have enough veterans on the team now to lead this team, and the young players aren’t new to the stage anymore. They should know how to carry themselves by now. Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey have taught their younger teammates valuable lessons. 24-year old Morgan Rielly is a strong candidate for the captaincy.

The Toronto Maple Leafs number one priority remains to fix their blueline. That’s where their biggest free agent splash should come from. It’s what should eat up most of that freed-up cap space. I don’t think I’ll last another season of the same defensive blunders, especially knowing there’s an opportunity to fix it now.

If the Leafs are fine with waiting one more year (which they shouldn’t be), all right. Wait for the following summer’s free agent defenders. They are definitely better options than this year, but they might not even be available by then. Their teams could have them locked up to new extensions as early as this July (like Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Arizona). By the time next summer rolls around, those “better” players may be gone, and then their priorities won’t be improving the defense. It will revolve solely around resigning Matthews and Marner.

The longer the Leafs wait, the more likely it becomes that the opportunity passes. Either the right players will not be available, or the Leafs won’t be able to sign impact players because they’ll be hindered by other contracts. Even if it doesn’t work out with Carlson, or other free agents, that’s all right. It’s better that the Leafs attempted to spend a little more this summer than just sit back and wait.

Next: Top Ten Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects (2018)

The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t get another chance like this, not soon, anyways. This is the best time to spend on free agency to improve their team.  They have to make it count.

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Be sure to check out fellow contributor Josh Tessler’s take on why the Leafs should wait to spend money through free agency. 

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