Report: Toronto Maple Leafs to Let At Least 3 Players Walk as UFAs

According to TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston, the Toronto Maple Leafs will say goodbye to pending unrestricted free agents Alex Kerfoot, Justin Holl, and Michael Bunting this off-season.

There’s a lot of talk surrounding Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. Many wonder whether or not he will remain with the team under new general manager Brad Treliving. For now, it seems like Treliving has no issues with keeping Keefe. However, he is taking away some of Keefe’s favourite toys.

As the Leafs puppet master behind the Maple Leafs bench, Keefe has always had a special spot in his lineup for defenseman Justin Holl and forward Alex Kerfoot. With both players being UFAs this off-season, Keefe is losing two of his puppets. Keefe relied on Holl too much and overplayed him. With Kerfoot, Keefe constantly played him in spots that were not a good fit. With them gone, Keefe will need to rely on different players.

It didn’t matter how often we witnessed Holl getting beat in a foot race or how often he made bad plays, Keefe would still send him right back out on the ice. As for Kerfoot, Keefe tried time and time again to play Kerfoot on the left wing of John Tavares. Even though it didn’t work, Keefe still tried it repeatedly. Keefe will need to try something new this season, or his time in Toronto could be up.

Toronto Maple Leafs Undecided About Michael Bunting

With back-to-back 23-goal seasons, Michael Bunting could price himself out of Toronto. The 27-year-old registered 49 points in 82 games this season, which was a decent follow-up to his 63 points in 79 games during the 2021-22 season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs got more than their money’s worth out of Bunting, whose cap hit was only $950,000. Bunting could easily command $3.5 million or more on the open market. He might be willing to take less money to stay in Toronto, but it is unlikely.

With Bunting being surpassed in the top six by Calle Jarnkrok and prospect Matthew Knies, Toronto would be foolish to keep him for more than $3 million.

Bunting’s feistiness is both good and bad. It gets him into trouble far too often. Toronto GM Brad Treliving will have to consider whether or not Bunting’s antics are an unwanted distraction. The GM could also find cheaper options via trade or free agency to fill Bunting’s spot in the lineup.