Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Sign Coleman and Goodrow

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to take advantage of Tampa Bay’s salary cap issues and sign Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow.

After getting swept in the First Round of the playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t blow their team up. Despite winning the President’s Trophy and falling in embarrassing fashion, they kept the core and rebuilt their depth.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a similar spot right now.

They had a great regular season, won the North Division, but still couldn’t find a way to win a playoff series. Many fans want them to trade Mitch Marner, William Nylander and/or Morgan Rielly and blow this thing up, instead of building on a great regular season.

Although I sympathize with those fans who want to trade some of the team’s best players, it’s not the best option. By giving away one of those three players I mentioned, you’re not going to get anyone better in return, so why even attempt it?

Instead, the Leafs should copy the Lightning’s approach and steal two of their depth players, who were instrumental in back-to-back Stanley Cup championship’s.

Toronto Maple Leafs Should Pursue Goodrow and Coleman

Goodrow is coming off a $925K contract, while Coleman was previously making $1.8M. Based on their performance during back-to-back Stanley Cup victories, it’s safe to say that they’re going to get a raise this offseason.

I don’t think they’re going to get paid like superstars but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Goodrow ask for a minimum of $2M, while Coleman would be looking for at least $3M.

At that price point, that’s well worth it for the Leafs to pursue both of them. Even if they’re asking for closer to a combined $6M, the Leafs have enough cap-space to make this work.

Goodrow is from Aurora, ON, so he’s a local kid and after winning two ring’s already, the idea of playing for his hometown team may be an exciting challenge. He makes the perfect third-liner, who can kill penalties, play with an edge and is defensively responsible in his own end.

Coleman on the other hand would be a great replacement for Alex Kerfoot, who’s expected to get picked up by Seattle in the Expansion Draft. He plays a similar physical style as Goodrow, but has way more of an offensive upside.

The 29-year-old is a two-time 20-goal scorer, who can play in the top-six but would fit better on a third line beside Goodrow and potentially even Ilya Mikeyev or Wayne Simmonds. The trio would be very energetic and physical, which is ideal for your third line.

The Toronto Maple Leafs core-four has to be the backbone of this team to go far, but if they can have a reliable third line that’s physical, can chip in a few goals and kill penalties, that would go a long way in the playoffs.

Toronto needs to do everything they can to sign both Goodrow and Coleman.