The Toronto Maple Leafs upgraded their roster ahead of the trade deadline. At this time in April, with the trade deadline come and gone, there are just minor tweaks General Manager Kyle Dubas can make to his team before they enter the postseason. Any major additions will need to wait until the offseason.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can make their team even more dynamic by signing an unrestricted free agent (UFA). There are many that will be available this summer but ten of them stand out above the rest as strong fits for the Buds.
Before digging into the list, it’s important to note which players are currently playing on an expiring contract in Toronto. They will be excluded from the top-ten, but that doesn’t mean that Dubas won’t be interested in bringing any or all of them back.
The Leafs have three forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender who will become UFAs at season’s end. Up front, they risk losing Ilya Mikheyev, Jason Spezza, and the newly acquired Colin Blackwell. Both UFA blue liners are new to the team in Mark Giordano and Ilya Lyubushkin.
The biggest potential loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs would be if their backstop, Jack Campbell, left town. With him being the team’s most reliable stopper, Toronto would need to either shop for a new number one or trust that Joseph Woll is ready for the NHL. Relying on Woll would be an enormous risk as there isn’t evidence yet that he is far enough along in his development to carry the bulk of the goaltending load for the Leafs next season.
With the potential of there being openings throughout the roster, Dubas can turn his attention to filling it in with at least one of the best available players. These are those players.
All player statistics are from Hockey Reference and all contract information comes from CapFriendly.