Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Tinker or Make a Big Splash?

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs tinker with their lineup this off-season or make a big splash to upgrade the team?

Many would argue that this team is close and doesn’t need too many changes. Others think it’s time to rid the Toronto Maple Leafs of some big contracts to acquire players who fit the team’s needs.

The 2022 NHL draft will be on July 7th and 8th. Will Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas make a move before then? The  Leafs have no picks in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds. Can Dubas find a way to unload some salary and recoup some draft picks? Creating salary cap space and adding draft picks would help the team in two ways.

Depending on which contracts Dubas can move, Toronto could have plenty of salary-cap space to acquire the right players when free agency starts on July 13th. Toronto’s priority this off-season is to sign a new starting goaltender. That becomes easier if you have plenty of cap space. The Toronto Maple Leafs only have $7.8 million in available cap space. A few small contracts or one big contract will need to be on the move to give Dubas more freedom.
(Salary Cap info from: capfriendly.com)

This team is a couple of pieces away from being a true contender, but those pieces have to be the right ones. Hopefully, Dubas will be able to find those pieces once he creates some salary-cap space.

Contracts that the Toronto Maple Leafs Might Trade

Whether Dubas decides to tinker or make a big splash will determine which players he will trade. If Toronto only wants to tinker with their lineup, then players such as Justin Holl, Petr Mrazek, Wayne Simmonds, Kyle Clifford, and Alex Kerfoot could get moved.

Out of those five players, Mrazek ($3.8 M), Kerfoot ($3.5 M), and Holl ($2 M) give the Maple Leafs the most salary cap relief if traded. The possible return for each of them would be better than whatever Dubas would get for Simmonds or Clifford. To maximize their cap relief, Toronto might only ask for draft picks and prospects in any deals for these players.

If tinkering is not enough, then Dubas has a few options for making a big splash this off-season. Players such as William Nylander or Jake Muzzin can give Toronto more cap space or get players that better fit the team’s needs.  However,

It is hard to imagine a team trading away a player who is 26-years-old and coming off an 80-point season. The truth is, out of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ big four, Nylander’s contract is the easiest to move because it’s a good contact that constantly returns value on the investment.

He has two more years left at just over $6.9 million. Trading Nylander could help Dubas land a top-four defenseman or a starting goaltender, but it’s extremely unlikely that the Leafs take this route.

Muzzin might not get as high of a return as Nylander, but he could still fetch a good return. Moving Muzzin would get rid of his $5.625 million cap hit. If Dubas can trade one of these players and one or two from the “tinkering” list, he could add around $8 million – $11 million to the team’s current total of $7.8 million in cap space. It might be wishful thinking, but it is possible.

The NHL draft is less than a month away. Toronto could make a move pretty soon. We will have to wait and see what Dubas has planned. I think one of Kerfoot or Nylander will get traded. The possibility of a trade involving Holl or Muzzin is high. Lastly, I believe Mrazek will be gone.