Who Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Pursue in Free Agency: Roundtable

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 3: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs steps onto the ice before the first period of the home opener against the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Arena on October 3, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 3: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs steps onto the ice before the first period of the home opener against the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Arena on October 3, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 02: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of options to sign UFA’s during free agency.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a total of 4 pending UFA’s on their NHL roster, among them one of the top free agents of the 2020 class, Tyson Barrie.

Currently, free agency is expected to start after October the 31st as the NHL and NHLPA agreed to extend all expiring contracts to that date, given the NHL plan to resume play will succeed.

Regardless of that uncertainty, one can assume that every GM has been doing their homework during the postponement of the league, Kyle Dubas among them.

While the expected salary freeze for the next 3 years around $81.5 million per year complicates the matter for several teams that have limited projected cap space next season, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything possible at all.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and UFA targets

Their projected cap situation for the upcoming 2020 – 2021 season shows that the Toronto Maple Leafs are heavily loaded already, however, that doesn’t mean Dubas won’t be on the lookout to strike during free agency this summer.

Inherent to the franchise, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be linked to every available UFA this summer, regardless of if it even making sense, it’s almost an unwritten rule.

That’s why for this week (returning) roundtable, I asked the Editor In Leaf writing staff the following question; “Which UFA do you want the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign (when free agency starts)?”

Let’s find out!