Ivan Barbashev C/LW/RW
Ivan Barbashev seems like he would be a good depth option for the Leafs, as he is a pending UFA with a small cap hit of $2.25 million
Barbashev doesn’t fill the need for a top-six forward but is secondary scoring nonetheless. He is one of the better rental options available. It should be noted that his 26 goal performance last year was in a year when his shooting-percentage went up like crazy, and that his advanced stats are very bad.
Conor Garland RW/LW
Conor Garland is signed until the end of the 2025-26 season with a $4.95 million cap hit. Production-wise, he would be a long-term replacement for Alex Kerfoot in the event that Kerfoot (Pending UFA) gets traded. Garland might perform better in Toronto once he’s away from the mess in Vancouver.
The Leafs have repeatedly non-star players before giving them contracts like Garland’s. The Leafs let Hyman, Johnson, Kapanen, Miheyev and Andersen walk instead of paying them, it seems unlikely they want someone else’s version of the thing they have been shown to constantly avoid.
Vladislav Gavrikov LD
Vladislav Gavrikov is a 6’3, 213 Lbs defenseman linked to Toronto.
He would give the Maple Leafs some added size but he isn’t necessarily as physical as a player of his size usually is. His cap hit is $2.8 million, and he is a pending UFA, so the Leafs would clearly be interested if they don’t land either Chychrun or McCabe. Gavrikov makes a decent fall back option, but only really fits if the Leafs decide to use Sandin as trade bait.