Toronto Maple Leafs: The Battles for the Last Few Roster Spots

The Toronto Maple Leafs head into the final few days of training camp which include the last two preseason games with what looks to be more unknowns for roster spots than in previous years.

Going into the season, with the risk of William Nylander leaving next summer and just two years left on Mitch Marner, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to be all-in.  In that aspect, they need to be quick to correct mistakes that may have occurred during the summer or even in years past.

It has now been over four months since Brad Treliving has taken over the role as General Manager of the Leafs and he has taken the direction of sitting back to see what type of team he has in front of him.

The obvious points are that he has world class talent up front in Nylander and Marner, along with two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews.

The superstars are supported by enough young talent that the team should be contending for a Stanley Cup and not just making it through a playoff round or two.  With that being the case, no matter the name, no matter the contract, if there is a better player whether it be an 18-year old or a 40-year old, the player that makes the team the best should be playing.

It is time to no longer worry about burning years of entry level contracts or losing players to waivers, it is time to go with the best roster available to you.

Heading into the last weekend before the season starts, their should be just eight forwards and four defenseman comfortable with spots on the Maple Leafs roster.

For the final three to four forward positions, some of the veterans are going to get pushed for the final spot which could leave a few players exposed to waivers.

The question is whether or not coach Sheldon Keefe and GM Treliving have the courage to make some of the tough decisions heading into the season.

The eight different forwards that have secured their spots on the roster include: Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, David Kampf and Matthew Knies.

In total, those nine names take up approximately $52.43 Million of the salary cap space.

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Battles for the Last Few Roster Spots

Forward Battles – Likely Locks
Two players that are likely secure on the roster are Sam Lafferty and Ryan Reaves.  Lafferty has looked good playing alongside John Tavares through September and has collected three points in four contests.

Lafferty does make $1.15 Million and if he can produce beside Tavares, the cap hit would be a steal, however if he falters and plays in a fourth line role, the team could likely have someone make a couple hundred thousand less than him for similar production.

The Toronto Maple Leafs would have to place Lafferty on waivers to send him down to the Toronto Marlies, however his entire cap hit would be buried.

The curious case of Ryan Reaves is a bit different than Lafferty.  Reaves just signed a three year deal at $1.35 Million per season to bring energy to the Maple Leafs, however that is valuable cap space the team is using on a player that may only play eight minutes a night, if he gets in at all.

For the role he is slated to play, Reaves has looked okay as he has dressed for three games beside David Kampf and Noah Gregor.  If this is truly the fourth line it could be a dangerous trio as Kampf and Gregor are both talented players.

A Lock, buts Need to be Moved

With the noted eight players already secured along with Reaves and Lafferty, this leaves six players battling for potentially two forward spots if the team is able to carry 13 forwards.

Calle Järnkrok is the most identifiable player missing from the list as the veteran forward scored 20-goals last season and is signed to three more years at $2.1 Million per season.

Järnkrok struggled down the stretch last season and was invisible in another playoff performance.  In his last 11 regular season games, the Swedish forward collected just four points and then had just one goal in the two playoff series.  He has been noticeably silent over his career in the playoffs as he has just five goals in 86 playoff games.

When he signed the contract, Järnkrok received a ten team no trade clause and if Treliving hasn’t tried moving him he should start.  If their are not team’s interested, it should not be dismissed to put him on waivers to be sent to the minors.  By sending to the AHL, the club would get a $1,150,000 in cap relief and if he were to be claimed, it could be addition by subtraction in the way of cap space.

The Young Guns

No player has seen his value increase more than former second round pick Fraser Minten.  The Toronto Maple Leafs may have struck it with another depth draft pick by taking Minten 38th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Minten will start start his fifth game of the Pre Season Thursday night and has collected four points in the first four games.  Only Nick Robertson has fired the puck more times at that net than Minten’s 12 so far during the exhibition games.

If there is one player that is forcing Keefe and Treliving to strongly think about a big adjustment to the forward crop it is Minten who may be finding himself receiving nine further games during the regular season to audition for the whole year.

Similar to Minten, recent first round pick Easton Cowan has impressed the coaching staff and is still remaining at training camp, however of the forwards that remain he is likely the easiest choice to send down where he can head back to junior.

The Surprise

Last season the Maple Leafs brought in Zach Aston Reese on a Professional Tryout; and this season Noah Gregor fills that role.  The difference is there seems to be a lot more upside to Gregor than there was with ZAR.

Gregor has looked very good in a fourth line role with the Maple Leafs this pre-season.  The Beaumont native has dressed in five games and collected three points, while firing 11 shots on net.  He looks to have a lot of similarities to Ilya Mikheyev and it appears all but a lock that Gregor will sign a one-year contract with the team.

The benefit of signing Gregor is the team that the team can retain his rights next off-season by qualifying him.

Good Enough to Stick

The two players that should make the team that may lose out strictly because they are waiver exempt is Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg.  Both players are NHL level players now and deserve to be on the roster.  Once the William Nylander center experience ends, which could be as early as Thursday Holmberg would have a quicker path to the lineup.

Robertson has looked good, but unlucky during the exhibition games and has averaged nearly four shots a game, but has scored just once.

The Defense

Four of the defensemen that will certainly start with the team are Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Timothy Liljegren and TJ Brodie, unless someone is traded.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are flirting dangerously with the salary cap and a trade of TJ Brodie could solve all the concerns.  The Toronto native has one year left with a $5 Million cap hit ($7M owing) and if they could get out from under the deal, the team can easily carry spares this year.

Barring an injury, John Klingberg will start the season with the  Leafs, however he did not look good in his one full game he played and is not dressing Thursday night.

When Klingberg falters, Treliving needs maneuver around his ten team no trade list and move on from him.  Klingberg could be appetizing to another team as he carries a $4.15 Million cap hit, however has just $2.15 Million paid out for the season.  If a trade can’t happen, waivers could be an option where he would likely be claimed.

With the five spots taken, the Leafs have Conor Timmins (who is likely to start the season on LTIR), Mark Giordano, Sam Benoit, Mikko Kokkonen and William Lagesson battling for the last two spots.

Of those players, the two that have the inside track (Giordano and Benoit) are both dressing in Thursday nights game.  Giordano carries a team friendly cap hit of just $800,000, however he may not have the skill to play at an NHL level.  He may be used as a seventh defenseman to stay with the team, but put on waivers to clear the cap space.

Benoit may be the beneficiary of Timmins injury and Giordano’s decline to make the team.

Kokkonen and Legesson have got long looks with the team, however will likely find themselves on the Marlies to start the season.