3 Buy-Low Free Agency Options For the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering this off-season with an estimated $18 million in capspace (according to Capfriendly.com).
Ironically, that's about the same amount of money that Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving had to spend last summer.
Let's hope he does better this year.
The money the Leafs have to spend will probably be eaten up on some key additions to the blueline, leaving little to add to the teams forward depth. Fortunately, there are quite a few intriguing options in the 2024 Free Agency “bargain bin” which could help the Leafs find useful players who may be undervalued.
There are many reasons players could be undervalued, like through past injuries or poor performance. Exploiting this fact has paid off in spades in recent years with players like Anthony Duclair, Dylan Strome, and Jonathan Drouin being major examples of players who have been able to provide surplus value to their teams on short-term low-AAV contracts.
Of course, investing in these players can prove to be risky which makes their value drop on the open market. However, these players are intriguing for cap-strapped teams who need to extract as much value out of their players as possible.
I have highlighted a few players that piqued my interest when searching through Capfriendly’s 2024 free agent list. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
Kevin Labanc
Projection: One-year, $893,000 AAV
Labanc at one point was amongst the new wave of Sharks players that was looked upon to keep their cup contending window wedged open.
Unfortunately, things have not worked out well for either party and Labanc will likely hit the open market for a fresh start.
The forward has not come close to matching a career best 2018-19 season that saw him reach 17 goals and 56 points in 82 games.
This is due to a combination of factors like a brutal shoulder injury a couple seasons ago as well as the Sharks team bottoming out. However, he was able to hit a promising 15 goals and 33 points in 72 games last season before only scoring two goals and nine points in 46 this year that saw him healthy scratched for long stretches.
Labanc has consistently been a fairly good driver of offence and suppressor on defence at even strength.
His sound two-way play could make him an intriguing option on a low-AAV deal for the Leafs’ middle/bottom-six. He has historically been used sparingly on special teams aside from 2018-19 where 20 of his 56 points came on the powerplay.
However in 2022-23, only two of his 33 points were on the man advantage meaning that most of his offence came from playing at even strength where he was playing well under 15 minutes a night. So, he has shown he is capable of producing in that role before and could provide excess value on a cheap deal.
Connor Brown
Projection: one-year, $992,000 AAV
After playing only four games in 2022-23 due to a torn ACL that required surgery, he was able to return to action this year playing in 71 games with the Edmonton Oilers.
His production has not returned to what it once was, scoring only 12 points this season but he has shown positive signs especially in the Oilers Stanley Cup run.
If Brown is healthy enough, he could make sense to take over a spot either to fill a hole left by trading a player like Calle Jarnkrok or to supplement their roster.
He has even shown an ability to play in an increased role throughout an NHL lineup, doing so as an Ottawa Senator where he averaged 18-20 minutes a night. There, he played 191 games and scored 47 goals and 70 assists for 117 points, which averages out to 0.61points-per-game.
At his peak, Brown was a useful middle-six energy winger who could play the penalty kill and provide secondary offence. He even did so with the Leafs scoring a career high 20 goals in his rookie season on top of his impressive production with the Senators.
At this point, it is tough to project if he will ever reach that level again but depending on the price tag, which should not be high, it could be worth the gamble. The Leafs have a need for cheap and useful depth which Brown could provide.
Jakub Vrana
Projection: One-year, $842,000 AAV
The former 13th overall pick in 2014 has fallen far from grace.
Between a shoulder injury and substance abuse problems that forced him to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, the last few seasons have been a struggle for Vrana.
This has understandably had an impact on his on-ice performance, seeing him sitting in the press box and receiving multiple demotions to the AHL.
Despite all of this, Vrana has produced at an impressive rate over the past few seasons scoring 45 goals and 32 assist for 77 points in 122 games since 2020-21.
Before that, he was quickly rising the ranks with the Washington Capitals, scoring 24 goals and 47 points in 82 games in just his second full season in the NHL. He followed that up with an even more impressive 25 goals and 52 points in only 69 games. He is a high-scoring winger who possesses good offensive tools, namely an elite shot.
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There is no doubting his talent level and if given the opportunity, he could prove to be a worthwhile addition to the Leafs. If they can bring him into the fold at his current projection, he could be a grand slam homerun signing.