4 Players From Cup Final That Toronto Maple Leafs Should Sign

The Stanley Cup Finals produced a ton of free agents that could help the Toronto Maple Leafs next year.

It’s pretty safe to say that the best team won the Stanley Cup this season, which is why the Toronto Maple Leafs were watching from home. Although this team is a good team, they lacked a few qualities that stopped them from even winning a playoff round.

Their goaltender was good, but Jack Campbell was no match for Andrei Vasilevskiy. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s depth produced when they needed them the most, which seemed to be the difference-maker.

If the Leafs were in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Colorado Avalanche, would a different result have happened?

Yes.

The Toronto Maple Leafs would have lost in four or five games and the fact that the Lightning stretched it out for six and almost seven was an impressive feat. The Avalanche’s top three forwards are just as good as Toronto’s, yet they have Cale Makar and many other depth pieces that would’ve destroyed them.

The one problem that Colorado was potentially going to face was a goaltending scare, but Darcy Kuemper shined, especially in the deciding game where he only allowed one goal.

Both team’s are going to look different next year, but with their core’s still in-tact, we may be looking at another Lightning/Avalanche final next year, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have different plans than that, as there are four potential UFA’s they’ll look to target from the Stanley Cup Finals.

No. 1: Ondrej Palat (LW/RW)

With 94 points in 138 career playoff games, I can’t think of a better player to join the Toronto Maple Leafs top-six than Ondrej Palat.

Drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Palat has turned into a spectacular player with the Lightning, but his play seems to heighten when the game’s more important.

Starting as early as his days in the American Hockey League, Palat turns up his play during the playoffs, which is something that can’t be said about everyone.

Although, on average, he’s been between a 45-60 point per-season player, Palat is probably going to be asking for a big contract, based on his playoff performances.

With two Stanley Cup rings and four Stanley Cup Finals appearances, that experience is worth the price, especially because he backs it up.

The price is obviously the biggest thing right now, but if there was a way for Toronto to afford him, he should be their number-one option.

The Leafs second-line needs one more piece to solidify the top-six, so in a perfect world, Palat is the guy to do it.

No. 2: André Burakovsky (LW/RW)

On a team filled with plenty of talent up-front, Burakovsky got lost in the shuffle, but he would be another great piece in Toronto’s top-six.

Coming off his best season of his career (61 points in 80 games), Burakovsky would not only bring skill, but he would add size and experience on the Toronto Maple Leafs second-line that would be a nice mix beside John Tavares and William Nylander.

At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, the two-time Stanley Cup champion would be a great mix on the Leafs second line and would help fill a role that is needed.

He’s currently coming off a $4.9M AAV contract, but some injury concerns may cause that number to deflate a little bit. However, as is the case with Palat, the AAV number will be the indicator as to whether or not Toronto has a chance to sign him.

I’d assume that he re-signs in Colorado but if he becomes a UFA, Toronto should do what they can to sign him.

No. 4: Josh Manson (RD)

After being rumored to the Toronto Maple Leafs for years, that trade never happened and the soon-to-be UFA got shipped to the Colorado Avalanche, where he won a Stanley Cup.

The 30-year-old was a big-bodied defensive-first defenseman who could have been a difference-maker in Toronto’s series against Tampa Bay, but instead, he got to do that against them in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Even Manson’s offense came alive, as he scored three goals and had eight points in 20 playoff games after only having six goals and 16 points in 67 regular season games.

Coming off a $4.1M AAV contract, it seems highly unlikely that his price-tag will be much more than that next year, despite just winning a Stanley Cup. Manson doesn’t provide a lot of offensive abilities from the blue-line, so the Leafs may actually be able to afford him if he wants to come to Toronto.

The Leafs could always use another veteran defenseman who can play big minutes when the games get tough and that’s exactly what they’d be getting out of Mason if they signed him.