Toronto Maple Leafs: The Depth Squad Assembles

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be pretty tight up against the salary cap next year.

*Extremely Jay Leno Voice* Have you seen this? Have you heard about this?

Of course, you have. Toronto’s cap claustrophobia is nothing new. In fact, it’s likely the most suffocating narrative surrounding the team at the moment. And a valid one, too.

Much of the Leafs’ situation hinges on variables. Assuming that Kyle Dubas ultimately finds no willing suitors this summer upon whom he can thrust the cap hits of Nikita Zaitsev or Connor Brown, management will enter into the 2019-20 season with, quite literally, zero wiggle room.

That is obviously a less-than-ideal outcome, albeit not for the reasons one may think.

To explain this, let’s talk about cap space for a moment.

The concept of cap space, obviously, holds tremendous value. As a commodity, it is typically viewed solely within the realm of player acquisition – an avenue through which GMs can pad their rosters with external assets. But cap space carries so much more weight than that. As it pertains to the day-to-day operations of a team, the value of cap space, in fact, supersedes the realm of free agency entirely.

The Leafs don’t need free agents right now. Why would they? Dubas’ very first move at the helm was to sign the biggest free agent in league history and promptly add him to a roster that is already bursting with young stars. Stars who, if everything falls correctly, will be locked in for years to come.

Toronto is not in the market for external pieces. What they are looking for, however, is internal flexibility. The kind of flexibility that helps shield them from 82 games worth of unpredictability, ranging anywhere from injuries to call-ups to performance bonuses, and more.

Signing Andreas Borgman to a one-year, two-way contract extension with an NHL AAV of $700,000 accomplishes exactly that.

Still only 23-years-old, Borgman remains a useful asset to the Leafs’ organization. And while his tenure with the Marlies has undoubtedly been disappointing thus far, Borgman has also battled injuries over the past calendar year at a near unrelenting rate, stunting his capacity for development and dampening the real promise he managed to show over a brief 48-game audition with the Leafs last season.

The worst-case scenario for Borgman, injuries aside, is that the sheltered, possession-driving third pairing defenceman he was in 2017-18 turns out to be his ceiling. Which, frankly, is perfectly fine.

The Leafs did not re-sign Borgman earlier last week with visions of him grabbing a starring role on their blueline. Playing even a single NHL game next season is a long shot for him at this point. Borgman was locked back in, rather, to give his team options. To ensure that they never find themselves in a position where they have less rather than more.

Calle Rosen‘s two-year, $750,000 AAV extension does the same. As does Trevor Moore at two years and $775,000 AAV. As does Garret Sparks for one year, $750,000. As does the $917,813 qualifying offer Nic Petan will likely receive in the coming months, if he’s not locked in on a similar deal to the ones above.

The injuries to Toronto’s blueline in recent weeks have only exacerbated their need for quality depth. Bodies are in short supply, and shuttling players up and down between levels to help stem the bleeding is not as simple as merely swapping out uniforms. There are notable cap complications at play here, meaning that if another Leafs’ position group takes a similar hit next season, they’ll be protected. Those deals will equip them with a bevvy of easily allocated reinforcements who leave little if any impact on the team’s bottom line.

What about asset addition? In the event a trade offer presents itself to Dubas that is simply too good to refuse, each of those five players, once passing through waivers, can be sent to the Marlies in order to facilitate the financials with their entire cap hits buried, as well.

Would another team then put in a claim for either of Borgman, Rosen, or Petan? Possibly.

Then again, each player is approaching his mid-twenties and with little in the realm of respective NHL service time. No one considers them prospects, and it’s entirely likely that their internal value surpasses how they are viewed externally, allowing for all three to bypass waivers if need be.

That will almost certainly not be necessary. But the truth is; anything can happen over an 82-game regular season. And in the event that a storm does arise, deals like Borgman’s, Rosen’s, Moore’s, and Sparks’ will allow the Leafs to whether it.

The Depth Squad has assembled.

Thanks for reading!