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Toronto Maple Leafs: The Best Roster of the Salary Cap Era

By James Tanner

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 24: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at the Scotiabank Arena on November 24, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 24: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at the Scotiabank Arena on November 24, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs got Auston Matthews back last night for 14 minutes and two goals.

The Toronto Maple Leafs got their best player back last night, and they assembled a power play that isn’t even fair.  Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Nazem Kadri is the type of lineup you make in a video game, not the something you’re supposed to see in real life.

They are currently the top team in the NHL, and they haven’t dressed their optimal lineup a single time so far this year.  William Nylander is on his way back soon , we assume. But what’s more, the Leafs currently have almost $17 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly.

Some of that is going to get eaten up by Nylander, and some of it has to be saved for bonus overages, but once they max it out, they’ve also got Nathan Horton’s cap hit of $5 million that can be moved the LTIR so that it doesn’t count.

The salary cap is complicated and, frankly, boring.  The Leafs have money to spend, that’s basically all we need to know.

The Math Here Is Crazy

Let’s see how this equation looks:

The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the NHL in points, they have missed their best player for over half a season, they are getting back another elite player next week, they have tons of cap space, and a  ton of tradable picks and prospects.

So basically what was already the best team in the league is adding two elite players plus whatever else they are able to acquire before the trade deadline.  It’s a 200% guarantee that they will not go into the playoffs with their current blue line, so by the time the season is over the Leafs should be looking like the 2010-11 Miami Heat.

It’s gotten to the point where it’s laughable when anyone tries to argue that Tampa or maybe Winnipeg is the best team in the league.  No one is within ten miles of the Leafs. Their third line centre has back-to-back 30 goal seasons and is a #1 centre himself. (Kadri might not be an elite player, but there sure aren’t 30 better centres in the NHL). It’s insane.

Even their blue line isn’t close to as bad as people think. Sure, the right side is awful, but the left side is the best in hockey.  Add in breakout seasons from Andreas Johnsson (first line last night!) and Kasperi Kapanen and you have just a freakish amount of talent.

Next. Four Ways to Keep the Winning Going. dark

One final thought: John Tavares is on pace for over 50 goals and he isn’t even the best goal scorer on the team.

I think we’ve sailed right by the best team in the NHL conversation, and pretty soon we might have to start talking about the best team of all time. For now I think it’s safe to say this is more than likely going to be the best team of the salary cap era.

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