Matt Dumba and Others the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Still Target

The Toronto Maple Leafs are well above the salary-cap right now, but there are still a few players they could sign.

We’re almost two weeks into free agency and the Toronto Maple Leafs have already been very active. Depending on your opinion, you could either think that they’ve wasted a ton of money or you could have fallen in love with their signings.

Personally, I’ve loved every move they’ve made thus far and think that Tyler Bertuzzi, John Klingberg, Max Domi and even Ryan Reeves will help this roster.

Bertuzzi is the exact player this roster needed and for one year a $5.5M, it’s good value. If he plays alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, he’s going to score 30-plus goals and will be an agitator who opponents will hate to play against.

If Michael Bunting was able to score 23 goals and register 63 points beside Matthews and Marner, Bertuzzi will be able to blow past those numbers.

As for the biggest defensive signing in Klingberg, I know that he hasn’t been an analytics darling, but Toronto needed another player to run their power-play unit. Morgan Reilly can run PP1, while Klingberg gives them serious help on the blue-line for PP2.

In addition to that, he’s still someone who can play top-four minutes and proved that during the Dallas Stars run to the Stanley Cup a few years ago.

The Leafs may be over the salary-cap right now, but they’re only a few player moves away from being well under, so if they decided to trade one of (or all) Matt Murray, Calle Jarnkrok, TJ Brodie and William Nylander, there’s plenty of money left to sign the following players.

Here are three UFA’s the Toronto Maple Leafs should still target.

No. 1: Matt Dumba

Of all the 2023 UFA defenseman available, Dumba was number-one on my “to-sign” list for the Toronto Maple Leafs because it felt like he fit everything they were missing.

With almost 600 games of NHL experience, the right-handed defenseman has strong physical attributes to his game but also has an offensive upside.

Despite playing in Minnesota his entire career, a team that is usually unknown for it’s offense, Dumba has four seasons of double-digit goals.

Not only are Dumba’s skills fantastic on the ice, but he’s a former King Clancy Memorial Award winner as well, which is “awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.”

If you look at the former winners of this award, you’d want every one of them on your roster and Dumba is no different.

Obviously his point-production and defensive skills are why you sign him to help you on the ice, but off the ice, Dumba would be a strong leader on a team that is already filled with veterans.

Dumba is a player that you clear cap-space for, so hopefully there’s still a world where they can make this work.

No. 2: Patrick Kane

Money is obviously a huge factor when you choose your next destination as a professional athlete, but when you’ve already made $115M in career earnings, wouldn’t you be fine with taking a pay-cut to win?

Kane was a big disappointment last year when he was traded to the New York Rangers, but he was clearly injured.

After the season, Kane underwent hip resurfacing surgery, which could keep him out for up to six months.

As a result, whoever signs Kane, may not see him in the line-up until November/December.

Even at this stage in Kane’s career, you can expect him to be near a point-per-game player, so every team should jump at signing him.

The Buffalo, NY native seems like he wants to play close to home and besides Buffalo itself, there’s no closer option than Toronto.

I know there’s a boarder in-between, but he’s only a 1.5 hour drive from Buffalo if he signed in Toronto. Not only that, but he’d have arguably the best chance at winning if he joined the Leafs as well.

Kane’s younger than Joe Thornton when he made the leap to Toronto, but Kane should consider a cheap one-year option like he did to try to win a championship with the Leafs. He’d get to play alongside some of the best players in the world, while staying close to home, so it’s a win-win for him.