The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be busy during free agency but there are a number of players they should avoid signing.
As the Toronto Maple Leafs get ready for a busy off-season, rumors have swirled around who will be joining or leaving the team next year. Whether it’s a big-name right-handed shot defenseman or a veteran on a league-minimum, the Leafs have a lot of decisions to make.
Upgrading your team is not as easy as it sounds. Everyone talks about acquiring an elite defenseman, but they don’t grow on trees. The Leafs can’t go out and sign anyone they want because in a salary-cap world, it’s not feasible. Unless the team moves money around, it’s going to be tough to accomplish.
Over the years in Leaf-Land, many fans (me included) have screamed at the team to acquire the big-name player. However, when it finally happened, there’s still many fans that think signing Tavares was a terrible mistake. Would the Leafs rather have Nazem Kadri at $4.5M or Tavares at $11M? Just think of the player(s) the team could have signed with an extra $6.5M in their bank account?
The captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs has scored 148 points in 145 games, which includes 73 goals so maybe the signing was worth it. Actually, not maybe. Definitely yes, the signing was worth it. Kadri is good. John Tavares is on a different level, and was worth signing because its almost impossible to get players as good as he is.
As we get closer to Free Agency, more rumors will circulate on Twitter and I can’t wait. However, here are five players the Leafs should NOT sign this off-season.