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The Toronto Maple Leafs Top 5 Off-Season Priorities

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 23: (l-r) Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan of the Toronto Maple Leafs handle the draft table during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 23: (l-r) Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan of the Toronto Maple Leafs handle the draft table during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 27: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 27: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1. Lock up the RFAs

The word RFA might cause traumatic flashback for Toronto Maple Leafs fans, ushering in memories of the previous contract negotiations with William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.

Some were easier than others, and some were rather lengthy processes.

Although this offseason may not present the Toronto Maple Leafs with as high profile RFA’s as years past, they still have to decide on whether they want to keep them.

Mainly, the RFAs the Leafs have to decide on are Ilya Mikheyev and Travis Dermott.

I think both players have been key pieces for the Leafs last season and will surely need to be extended.

Dermott has put up some of the best third pairing numbers in the NHL over the past couple year,  and Mikheyev turned heads during the first half of the season, prior to his injury.

For other RFAs, like Denis Malgin and Frederik Gauthier, the decision isn’t as clear cut. However, once these players are locked up, it becomes easier to decide how to allocate remaining cap space.

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