The Toronto Maple Leafs have had one of the busiest off-seasons in the NHL this year.
At the end of the Toronto Maple Leafs season, I wrote a series of predictions and several people laughed at the idea of the team turning over more than a third of the roster, but here we are.
However next season goes, Leafs G.M Kyle Dubas has cemented his reputation as one of the best managers in the game by taking the worst salary cap situation in the NHL and turning it into the best one.
Without trading either of their top three prospects, the Leafs managed to retain 100% of their core (assuming Marner signs) and improve their team at the same time.
When you look at it, the main pieces are Kadri and Gardiner swapped out for Kerfoot and Barrie, which doesn’t look like a huge improvement, but it balances the roster out much better (top pairing RHD and an elite defensive forward).
The main improvement is addition by subtraction: no longer will the Leafs dress Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev in the most embarrassing top-four deployment in the NHL.
So it’s all good up to now, but how do they finish the summer?
Kyle Dubas in August
The Leafs will finish up the summer by signing Mitch Marner. I can’t believe it’s taken this long, but Marner wants to play here and the Leafs want him back. The rest is just details.
Hopefully he signs to a long-term deal that starts the process of making him a career Leaf.
Now that is all but guaranteed to happen.
But assuming Marner signs, I’m not loving the current roster because Cody Ceci should not be anywhere near this team when October rolls around.
The Leafs have a top five goalie. They’re the deepest team at centre, and their bottom six roster of forwards is incredible.
Their blue line – Rielly, Muzzin, Barrie, Dermott – is also excellent, but adding Jake Gardiner would make it incredible.
Re-signing Jake Gardiner would put the Leafs over the top. So, the move I would make is Cody Ceci and Zach Hyman traded to whoever for draft picks.
This would clear almost seven million in cap space from the books. More than enough to sign Jake Gardiner.
The Leafs lineup would look like this
Johnsson – Matthews – Nylander
Moore – Tavares – Marner
Mikheyev – Kerfoot – Kapanen
Shore – Spezza – Wilson/Aburg
Rielly – Gardiner
Muzzin – Barrie
Dermott – Liljegren
Andersen
What you have there is probably the best roster ever assembled in the salary cap era, and the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
All it would take to accomplish is to sign Marner, trade two overpaid players, and bring back Jake Gardiner.