The Toronto Maple Leafs have a full roster right now, but with nine pending free agents this summer, some are bound to get moved before the NHL trade deadline on March 3rd, 2023.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are clearly a top team, and as such will look to improve at the deadline, but complicating the issues is that there are many pending unrestricted free-agents on the roster.
With nine UFAs, the Leafs have some tough choices to make. Out of Toronto’s nine UFAs, there are four that Dubas needs to focus on more than the others. Will he trade them to upgrade Toronto’s roster? Will he move them for draft picks and give himself more cap space for other trades? Time will tell, but the NHL trade deadline is only six weeks away.
Here is a closer look at the four pending UFAs that Toronto GM Kyle Dubas has to focus on the most. Each one holds a different level of importance.
Toronto Maple Leafs Pending UFAs
Michael Bunting
Michael Bunting should be a top priority for Dubas and his staff. Bunting registered 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points in 79 games last season. Although his numbers have declined a bit this season, he is still on pace for 26 goals and 31 assists for 57 points in 82 games. Bunting does not get first-unit power-play time (usually) and the majority of his points are scored even-strength where he scores as much as many bigger name stars.
(Stats from hockey-reference.com)
The native of Scarborough, Ontario, is an important player on the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they haven’t been shy about letting players leave if they ask for too much money or term.
Bunting will be looking to cash in on his recent success in Toronto with a multi-year deal, and it will be interesting to see if the Leafs will commit to a player outside of their core.
Alex Kerfoot
Alex Kerfoot set a new career high last season with 51 points. This season he is on pace for 34 points in 82 games. There is more to Kerfoot’s game than point production, but I suspect that Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe would like to see more offense from Kerfoot.
Still, his 1.5 points per 60 is good production, considering his much different role this season. Last year Kerfoot skated primarily with Tavares and Nylander, and at 5v5 he equaled their production. This year, he is skating mostly with Engvall and Kampf and being used in a much different way. In this context his production is actually impressive.
If Toronto’s off-season focus is to keep Bunting, then Kerfoot becomes their top UFA forward available on the trading block. Kerfoot is in the final year of a four-year deal that carries a $3.5 million cap hit. For what he brings to the team, it’s unlikely that Dubas will re-sign him for more than he is already making.
Kerfoot will hit the open market this off-season, so it may be better if Dubas trades him for something at the deadline. Then again, if keeping him makes them a better team right now, then letting him walk could be the right move – it all hinges on who they try to acquire. (Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)
Pierre Engvall
Pierre Engvall registered 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points in 78 games last season.
That earned him a one-year contract from Toronto GM Kyle Dubas worth $2.25 million. Many fans, myself included, believe that Dubas overpaid Engvall. He is on pace to record another 30-point season, and he’s doing while being one of the most effective defensive forwards in the NHL for the second straight season.
While many of us think the Toronto Maple Leafs should be looking at trading Engvall between now and March 3rd, they clearly value him and it is highly unlikely they move him.
Justin Holl
Justin Holl is the only regularly used defenseman on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster that is a pending UFA this summer. While Holl previously might not have had much trade value, he is now a pending UFA who is big, shoots right and has played a top pairing role on one of the NHL’s best teams.
The Leafs are not likely to move him – since they up until recently, and obviously owing to injuries, he was their most used defenseman by both average time per game and total minutes.
Despite what his overall stats might tell you, Holl has seen himself become a scapegoat numerous times by fans during his time in Toronto. Trading Holl should not be a problem for Dubas, if he wants to move him, teams will line up.
Holl is a right-shooting defenseman who can play 20+ minutes a night, block shots (75), and hit (85). His salary cap hit is $2 million, which will be attractive to many teams looking to add a defenseman at the deadline.
Other players or prospects might get traded at the deadline, but these are the four pending UFAs people should keep an eye on. If Dubas re-signs Bunting but trades Kerfoot, Engvall, and Holl, I would be okay with that.