The Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas has had a very busy beginning to the summer.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have revamped nearly a third of their roster, and positioned themselves as one of the best teams in the NHL for the next five or so years.
That is, assuming that they eventually sign Mitch Marner to a contract extension.
Lost in the heat of big-name transactions, and the fact that the team’s current roster, while drastically different, isn’t significantly upgraded from the one that just lost to the Bruins in the playoffs this past may, is the fact that the Leafs have set themselves up for years with these moves.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Competitive Window
The Leafs more or less lost Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner, and replaced them with Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot.
The rest of the changes – as far as the on ice product goes – aren’t going to make a huge difference (though I would argue they do have more depth and upside now, the fact is, most games are won or lost with the top of your lineup).
But what the Leafs have really accomplished is far more important than just some minor tinkering to the lineup – they’ve set themselves up for years of championship contention.
Assuming the Marner signing, the Leafs will have a core of Matthews, Rielly, Marner, Nylander and Tavares locked up for a minimum of three years. Additionally they’ve got young, cheap, locked in, potential first line talent in Kerfoot, Johnson and Kapanen.
And to compliment this, the Leafs have a very good pipeline of up and coming players such as Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin who are all still on their cheap entry-level contracts.
The roster also has a nice balance of expiring contracts, locked in contracts that are sure to deliver value, cheap league minimum deals with upside, and entry level deals.
But crucially, all the team’s core players are locked in , and there isn’t a single bad deal on the roster (with the exception of Cody Ceci, who is only for one year, and who can be traded if necessary).
As you can see, the Toronto Maple Leafs are primed to keep their core together and compete for years to come. They have bet on the fact that a team should prioritize skill, and pay money only to players who are either impact players, or stand a good chance of becoming impact player.
Of course, to truly celebrate, the Leafs will actually have to put it all together and win, but the subtle brilliance with which they’ve solved their cap problems, balanced their roster, and set themselves up for years of contention is never-the-less a cause for celebration.