Now that the Toronto Maple Leafs season has ended, it’s time to start thinking about the off-season. Which free agents stay, and which ones leave?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have ten unrestricted free agents on their active roster and 14 if you include players from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. There will not be enough cap space to keep everyone.
This year’s UFAs and RFAs are not Toronto’s only concern either. The team would like to get Auston Matthews, and William Nylander signed to contract extensions before next season starts. Both will become UFAs at the end of the 2023-24 season.
According to capfriendly.com, the Toronto Maple Leafs have just over $8.2 million in cap space. One area of concern is the forward group.
The Leafs have seven forwards signed for next season, and a team usually has 12. One way to add more cap space will be through the trade market. Goaltender Matt Murray is one player likely to be traded or bought out. Another trade candidate is defenseman T.J. Brodie.
If Toronto can find a way to trade Murray ($4.68 million) and Brodie ($5 million) this off-season, they’ll have $17.88 million to work with. That will make things easier for general manager Kyle Dubas.
Here is a look at which free agents I think Toronto should keep and which ones they should let go.