Thoughts On a Few Off-Season Rumours for the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs and off-season rumors go hand in hand. Seeing the team linked to almost every available player is nothing new.

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is going to keep all his options open. He is looking for a number one goaltender, a top-six forward, and a top-four defenseman.

Dubas still has a few of Toronto’s restricted free agents to sign. Upgrading the team from his wishlist will require Dubas to make a few trades. The question is, how much of the future will Dubas be willing to trade away? Most teams will want a pick or prospect involved along with a roster player. Can Toronto afford to pay those asking prices? Many believe the team is in “win now” mode, so Dubas might not have much choice.

The list of players that Toronto is interested in has names that Toronto fans have heard before. Once a player is linked to Toronto, they will always appear in the team’s rumors. Here are the most updated rumors surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Pagnotta from thefourthperiod.com has reported that Toronto is interested in these five players.

Toronto Maple Leafs Interested in Conor Garland

Conor Garland has a cap hit of $4.95 million for the next four seasons. He finished the 2021-22 season with 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points in 77 games. Vancouver supposedly made him available during the season, and Toronto may have had an interest at the trade deadline, but a deal didn’t happen.

If the Canucks still have interest in Alex Kerfoot, there could be a swap in the works.  The cap hit seems high for team that doesn’t appear to be interested in bringing back Mikheyev for a similar number.  (Salary Cap info from Capfriendly.com ,stats from Hockey-Reference.com)

 JT Miller

J.T. Miller has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25 million. He finished the 2021-22 season with 32 goals and 67 assists for 99 points. The Canucks are trying to see if a contract extension is possible but will make Miller available if it isn’t. Any deal for Miller will have to start with a 1st round pick and a top prospect. A high asking price with only one year guaranteed. The cap hit is great for a 100 point player, but you have to figure that if Vancouver made him available, someone would be willing to overpay and push the Leafs out.

 Jakob Chychrun

Jakob Chychrun has a salary cap hit of $4.6 million for three more seasons. He is a top-four defenseman who can play 20+ minutes a night. Arizona is said to be asking for a package of 3-4 assets for Chychrun. Depending on which assets they want from Toronto, Dubas might have to walk away.

 Dylan Strome

Dylan Strome is a restricted free agent (RFA) and is coming off a deal with a cap hit of $3 million. He finished the 2021-22 season with 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points in 69 games. Toronto will need to be willing to offer Strome a new contract worth north of $4 million. They would need to clear cap space first to make this happen.  The player seems like a good fit, but again, if they were looking at such a player for $4, why wouldn’t they just keep Kerfoot or Mikheyev instead?

John Gibson

John Gibson has a salary cap hit of $6.4 million with five years left. The Toronto Maple Leafs would need to trade away goaltender Petr Mrazek to free up $3.8 million first. Once Mrazek’s $3.8 is gone, then Toronto could entertain trading for Gibson.

If the Maple Leafs lose goaltender Jack Campbell in free agency, Gibson’s contract still likely keeps the them from being interested.