3 Players Toronto Maple Leafs Should Let Walk In Free Agency

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of decisions they need to make when it comes to free agency this offseason.

After another disappointing finish, the Toronto Maple Leafs roster is going to look a little different next year.

There could be a few trades, but more specifically, they are going to lose some players who are set to become free agents.

Kyle Dubas has been apart of the organization for a few years now and he’s been pretty consistent when it comes to free agency.

He’s never going to overpay for a role player and instead believes that he can find cheaper talent, using a “moneyball” type approach.

We’ve seen this as recently as Michael Bunting, who was signed for less than a $1M, then after two years with the Toronto Maple Leafs is bound for a huge pay-raise. In the open-market, Bunting will probably fetch between $3-4M AAV, which he deserves.

As for the rest of the team, there are plenty of pending free agents that many fans may love to re-sign, but others that don’t make sense.

Let’s look at three players who the Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t re-sign this offseason.

Apr 29, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Maple Leafs UFA to Walk No. 1: Michael Bunting

As previously mentioned, Bunting is someone who will be very wanted this offseason.

When he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs two years ago, he was an unknown late-blooming prospect we didn’t expect much from.

Nick Ritchie was the hot left-winger signing that offseason and it was speculated that Ritchie would play alongside Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, when in fact, that role was given, and earned, by Bunting.

After Zach Hyman left, the Leafs didn’t have a first-line left-winger to play alongside their two All-Star’s, but Bunting fit that role perfectly for two seasons.

His second season wasn’t as effective as Year 1 but he continued to overdeliver, especially on a contract that paid him less than $1M.

There’s no doubt that the players, and fans, would love to see Bunting back in the organization, but his price is going to be too high.

You could argue that a $3.5M contract would replace Alex Kerfoot perfectly, but that’s too much for Bunting.

Calle Jarnkrok has shown that he can play alongside Matthews and Marner, so he seems like a natural fit to slide into that role.

It was a great run by Bunting, especially since he’s a local player, but unless his price-point stays similar to this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs should let him walk.

Apr 24, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs . Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2: Alex Kerfoot

Over his tenure, Kerfoot has been a smart player who can play up-and-down in the lineup but was never loved by the fanbase.

At $3.5M AAV, Kerfoot was always chatted about in trade rumors, as it never felt like he would play out his entire contract in Toronto.

It’s not like he was a bad player but he was always judged more than others because he was traded for Nazem Kadri.

Kerfoot was a solid player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he’s someone who should move on and play somewhere else.

He was a swiss-army knife because he had the ability play in every situation but he was never spectacular at it. When he moved up to the second-line, he could keep up because of his speed, but his stats never reflected being a full-time top-six winger.

As for his bottom-six role, he provided some potential depth offense, but he didn’t bring grit or play heavy to be a true fourth-liner.

Kerfoot will play in the NHL for a long-time but I think his time with Toronto is up.

Feb 24, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Justin Holl (3) warms up before playing the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3: Justin Holl

As long as Kyle Dubas is the GM of the Leafs, Holl will probably be a member of the Toronto maple Leafs, but I don’t think they should re-sign him this offseason.

Holl has great size and can skate well, but it’s time to move on. When you look at Holl’s game, what does he bring that you can’t get from Connor Timmins or any up-and-coming prospect?

His $2M contract this year actually turned out to be a fair deal, when you compared it to other Leafs who left in free agency/trade like Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie, but at the end of the day, he’s not very good.

With 11 career goals and 82 points, Holl’s offensive numbers are actually better than I expected but he’s not worth re-signing, unless he’s once again willing to take a salary below $2M.

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Toronto’s defense is in a pretty good spot right now that Holl’s money is best suited to be given to a prospect or free agent and I think the fanbase would be happy. There aren’t too many fans who are lining up to buy Holl jersey’s, so whoever the Leafs bring in, in his absence would be ideal.

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