Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Unrestricted Free-Agents Still Available to Sign

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are up against the salary cap but it shouldn’t mean they’re finished in free agency.

There are still plenty of great name’s left in free agency and as a result, the Toronto Maple Leafs should be actively looking to improve their roster.

If the regular season started tomorrow, would the Leafs be Stanley Cup contenders? Yes, they definitely would be, but the salary cap is worrisome and they have no goaltending depth.

The combination of Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov on paper seems like a logical choice.

Both goalies make a combined $4.3M, so that’s super cheap for NHL starting goaltending. However, neither player has played a full NHL workload and they’re both very inexperienced.

Obviously, we all know what Samsonov is capable of, but he still hasn’t played more than 44 games in a season, while Woll is practically a rookie.

He only has 11 NHL regular season games under his belt and despite looking great, a small sample size can hide his imperfections.

As for the rest of the roster, the offense is set, but it could change drastically if someone like William Nylander is traded. Although his contract is the best on the roster, his high demands for a big salary next season could kick him out the door.

With that potentially happening, the Toronto Maple Leafs could get creative by bringing in a veteran winger on a cheap salary who could put up great numbers at a cheap price.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about that forward now.

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 25: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Patrick Kane (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

No. 1 UFA the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Sign: Patrick Kane

The 34-year-old winger has accomplished everything you’d ever dream of in professional hockey.

He’s a three-time Stanley Cup winner, Hart Trophy winner and Conn Smythe Trophy winner and still has another potential five years left in his career.

Despite dealing with injuries all season and playing the majority of the games a on terrible Chicago Blackhawks team, he still scored 21 goals and had 57 points.

I know it was a down-season for Kane, but based on those injuries and the scrutiny in Chicago, I’d say it was still a successful year for Kane.

Kane’s currently on the shelf until most likely November, or December, but the UFA would fit great in Toronto.

I know a $1M seems crazy for Kane, but after this injury, he’d actually be smart to sign with a great team on a cheap deal and then get a crazy big contract in the summer of 2024.

If he can show he still has something left in the tank, a team will give him a three-year deal somewhere between $6-9M AAV for his services.

Team’s should be a little worried to give Kane a long-term deal now, which is probably why he hasn’t signed, so a short-term, small-money deal in Toronto could lead to big things for not only the Leafs, but Kane as well.

BOSTON, MA – MARCH 25: Brian Elliott #1 of the Tampa Bay Lightning . (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Brian Elliot

I’ve continued to talk about this player throughout multiple articles, but his name needs to be written about again.

By the way I’ve been written about how much the Leafs need to sign Elliot, you’d think he was a future Hall-of-Famer, but realistically, Elliot needs to fill a void. Samsonov and Woll don’t have enough experience to fill all 82 games next year, so Elliot needs to be someone who can play between 15-20 games and steer the ship.

Even if the Toronto Maple Leafs thought Samsonov and Woll could tag-team the entire season, one of them will most likely miss some time due to the injury, so Toronto should be cashing into their insurance policy now.

Elliot’s stats weren’t great last year (.891 SV % and 3.40 GAA), but he’s cheap and reliable. At 38-years-old, having him around instead of calling up a young Toronto Marlies is just better for the team because he can help in other ways besides playing.

Having a veteran around for two young goalies can help tremendously, so although Elliot isn’t going to be a future Hall-of-Famer, his longevity and experience can be vital to Woll and Samsonov.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 13: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Jaroslav Halak

There’s a theme for what the Leafs need right now and it’s a veteran back-up or third-string goaltender.

As previously mentioned, the combination of Samsonov and Woll is fine, but realistically one of them is going to get injure, struggle, or can’t carry an 82-game workload.

Similar to Elliot, Halak is a fantastic choice to serve as the back-up/third-stringer.

For the past four seasons, Halak has been a serviceable back-up, playing on the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers.

He’s continued to bounce around the league, but his stats have stayed neutral everywhere he’s played.

For the first half of Halak’s career, he was a legitimate starting goaltender and an NHL All-Star, but as he’s gotten older, he’s turned into a solid 1B/2 goalie.

At this point in his career, it’s possible that another team will offer him the back-up position, but if Halak wants to move into a mentoring phase of his career and be on a team that is a real Stanley Cup contender, Toronto could be a perfect fit.

As much as I like Woll, I’d prefer him play more with the Toronto Marlies next year and would have someone like Halak backing up most nights, but it’s unclear what the Leafs want to do yet.

Next. Leafs Need A Goalie. dark

Either way, they should definitely consider Halak as a back-up/third-string option next year.

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