Toronto Maple Leafs Not Only Team in Contract Trouble

The Toronto Maple Leafs got off to strange start with their new GM and are now in a bit of contract trouble.

I don’t think anyone was expecting that the first three moves the Toronto Maple Leafs new GM would make would be for David Kampf, Pontus Holmberg and Ryan Reaves.

Be that as it may, and Leafs started with a limited amount of cap space and spent a fair bit of what they did have on replacement players.  They then followed that up by spending another seven million on John Klingberg and Tie Domi.

The limited cap space is one thing, but the entire organization is in a state of flux because of the uncertain future of their superstars.

One year, that is all that is left that Auston Matthews and William Nylander are signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Once that one season is over, as of this writing, the Toronto Maple Leafs would lose both those star players for nothing.

There is a lot of talk through hockey media about Nylander and Matthews contract extensions and how they are not going smoothly.  What is not being discussed nearly enough is how the  Leafs are not the only team that are in trouble as other franchises have multiple of their star players entering the 2023-24 season on the final year of their deals as well.

Here is a look at what other teams need to get some of their star players re-signed.

Calgary Flames

You have to be feeling bad for the Calgary Flames; just a couple seasons ago they looked like a team that was set to be a Western Conference powerhouse for years.

However, after losing Johnny Gaudreau for nothing, they were forced to trade Matthew Tkachuk and then overpay on a contract to keep Jonathan Huberdeau.  Recently they had to trade their top player Tyler Toffoli before losing him for nothing and he may just be the start.

Now going into the season their next two top forwards behind Toffoli are going to be unrestricted free agents.

Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund both enter the year on the final seasons of their deals.  Both these players have been top six forwards on the team for a half decade, with Backlund for ten years.

Backlund wouldn’t cost too much and the career Flame could get a contract done relatively early, however Lindholm could cost the team upwards of $9 Million to retain.

Where the team could be in a lot of trouble is that three of their top five defenseman are free to sign anywhere after this season.  Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and most importantly Noah Hanifin are all in the final years of their contracts.  The three of those players averaged 20:30 a game, meaning they took up half the defensive ice for the game.

If Hanifin would hit the open market, the former fifth overall pick is likely looking at a maximum seven-year deal and in around $8-$9 Million a season.  Tanev and Zadorov are both likely looking for 2-4 year deals in around $6 Million.

It is rumoured that the Hanifin contract talks have not been progressing and he could find himself traded this summer.

GM Craig Conroy has some work to do, to not lose an important group.

Buffalo Sabres

For years, Buffalo Sabres fans mocked the Toronto Maple Leafs for failing to make it out of the first round or have any playoff success, which is comical considering the Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2010-11 and have not won a round since 2007-08.

Well, now it looks like the Sabres are finally on the right path, but it is going to cost them.  Right now, Erik Karlsson is the highest paid defenseman in the NHL at $11.5 Million per season, but Buffalo Sabres top defender Rasmus Dahlin may pass that mark.

Dahlin has quietly become one of the best defenders in the entire league and how much it pains a Leafs fan to say it, he is a legit number one defenseman and there are not many of those guys out there.

The benefit the Sabres have is that he is a restricted free agent, however, they better not let him add another season to his numbers and risk being the subject of an offer sheet.

Dahlin plays almost half the game while averaging almost a point per game and could be a future Hart Trophy candidate.  If I’m Dahlin, I am looking for an eight-year deal in the range of Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6M) and Buffalo would be smart to sign that deal.

Batman is always better with his Robin, and for Dahlin that is Owen Power.  Like Dahlin, Power was a first overall selection and is looking like he could be as good, if not better than Dahlin.

In his first full season, Power average almost 24-minutes a game, while being named to the All-Rookie Team and being a finalist for the Calder Trophy.

The benefit for Buffalo with Power’s contract is that although he has one-year left, he is not eligible for an offer sheet.  However, if Buffalo was smart they would try and lock him up now for eight-years before entering the upcoming season or he could be seeing a deal in the $11 Million range next summer.

The Sabres are quickly going to find themselves in cap trouble, but at least it is for a couple top pairing defenseman.

While you may feel the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team in contract trouble, there are several other teams that are feeling the same pain.