5 Players the Toronto Maple Leafs Shouldn't Bring Back Next Season
The Toronto Maple Leafs have 16 players who will become free agents this off-season.
11 players will be unrestricted, and five will be restricted. Not included in this list are players currently on the Toronto Marlies. Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving will have a busy off-season deciding which players to keep.
The Leafs currently have $20.55 million in available salary cap space this off-season. Considering their need to sign a top-two defenseman and a number-one goaltender, they won't have much money left to fill out their roster. Treliving will need to be both selective and creative in his signings. Hopefully, for the Leafs sake, his signings prove to be better than his first free agent signings as Leafs GM.
The Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg and David Kampf signings were not good, although I love what Reaves brings to the Leafs.
Anytime a GM puts a team together, there will be hits and misses. Sometimes, a GM can fix the team via trade, but not always. Treliving had an underwhelming trade deadline by failing to trade for any impact players, but he did get defensive depth for the playoffs. Sure, fans would have liked to see him do more, but sometimes, the deals a GM would like to make aren't there.
Hopefully, once Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Connor Dewar become familiar with the Leafs system, everything will fall into place come playoff time. Regardless of how well the Leafs do in the playoffs, there are five players on the roster that I think the Leafs shouldn't bother re-signing in the off-season. Here's a look at those five players.
John Klingberg
John Klingberg was Treliving's big defense signing as the Leafs new GM last off-season. However, due to injuries, Klingberg only played in 14 games this season before being placed on long-term injury reserve (LTIR). He registered five assists in those 14 games with an average ice time of 20:33 minutes. (All stats from hockey-reference.com)
High hopes were coming into the season that Klingberg would provide more offense from the Leafs defense.
However, things didn't work out, and I think the Leafs should move on. Klingberg was signed by Treliving for $4.1 million on a one-year deal. His contract has been more useful as LTIR cap relief than anything else. (Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)
The Leafs need to add a top-two defensive defenseman who can partner with Morgan Rielly. It should be their top priority this off-season.
I understand why Treliving signed Klingberg, but it didn't work out. He can't afford to have a miss like that again this year. Spend the money and get the guy we need.
Treliving and the Leafs were late to the Klingberg party. His best days are clearly behind him. Hopefully, the Leafs can find a younger defenseman with more upside to his game.
A defenseman who plays well in his zone and can make a good first pass to help the Leafs transition game would benefit the Leafs the best. Klingberg isn't that guy, so I don't think the Leafs should try to re-sign him.
Noah Gregor
Noah Gregor had a very impressive training camp and pre-season with the Leafs.
He was taking part in training camp on a professional tryout (PTO) contract while trying to earn a spot on the main roster. He played well enough to earn his one-year deal worth $775,000. However, since then, Gregor has been almost invisible.
Gregor has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 57 games. He is playing mostly a fourth-line role while averaging 11:27 minutes of ice time. Gregor has 21 blocked shots and 137 hits, along with 16 takeaways compared to 13 giveaways. The 137 hits in 57 games are impressive, but the Leafs need more, and Gregor is not giving it to them.
His low salary cap hit is one of the reasons why he is still playing regularly. Looking ahead, I think the Leafs already went out and acquired Gregor's replacement in Connor Dewar.
Dewar and Gregor are both pending RFAs this off-season. Treliving would be wise to re-sign only one of them, and I think the better fit is Dewar.
I will save on passing final judgment on either player until I see how each performs in the playoffs. The bottom six will be crucial for the Leafs in the playoffs.
Gregor's defensive play and penalty-killing ability will need to be noticeable. Otherwise, he has no real use on the Leafs.
T.J. Brodie
T.J. Brodie's overall stats are not bad, but he has lost a step in his performance.
There have been too many times this season where Brodie made a mistake that he wouldn't have made two years ago. The decline in play could be from the wear and tear of almost 900 games in the NHL. It could also be from his shattered mental state after the passing of his father during the off-season. Whatever the cause is, it has impacted his on-ice performance, and it is affecting the Leafs.
Brodie has registered 18 assists in 66 games while averaging 21:51 minutes of ice time. He also has 139 blocked shots, 36 hits, 18 takeaways, and 44 giveaways.
Brodie's giveaways and 48.9% Corsi rating are proof that the Leafs struggle when he is on the ice. I enjoyed Brodie being on the Leafs during his first two seasons with the team, but last year and this year have not looked good.
In the off-season, Brodie will become an unrestricted free agent. The Leafs and GM Brad Treliving should let Brodie go and use his $5 million toward a better defenseman.
Preferably a top-two defensive defenseman who can play top minutes with Morgan Rielly. Brodie's time in Toronto was fun while it lasted, but the time has come for him to go.
The Leafs defense will look much different next season with the number of free agents on the Leafs blueline.
Along with Brodie leaving in free agency, I also expect to see Mark Giordano retire this summer.
Nick Robertson
I know many Leafs fans like Nick Robertson and will hate seeing him on this list, but I have run out of patience for him.
Some may argue that he hasn't gotten the right opportunity to fit in and that it's the head coach Sheldon Keefe's fault.
At the end of the day, if he was good enough, it would show, and if it showed, he'd be a regular on the roster. The reason he keeps getting sent down to the AHL is the fact that he doesn't grab a spot when he's with the Leafs.
Players like Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann have surpassed Robertson on the depth chart. Robertson needs to play in the Leafs top six to be effective. He hasn't played well enough or stayed healthy enough to claim his spot. With other players on the depth chart passing him, it's time to trade him and let him try to find his game somewhere else.
Robertson will become a restricted free agent this off-season. I think he needs a fresh start on a new team. Instead of trying to re-sign him, the Leafs should trade his rights and put that money to better use.
Robertson has made it clear to the media that he is frustrated with the Leafs sending him up and down between the AHL and NHL. It might do him some good to get a change of scenery.
Due to injuries and his inability to keep a spot in the Leafs lineup have taken away the promise that I and others had for him after a great final season with the Peterborough Petes in the OHL when he registered 55 goals and 31 assists for 86 points in 46 games in the 2019-20 season.
Ilya Samsonov
The Leafs and Ilya Samsonov had to go to arbitration last off-season to get Samsonov signed to a $3.55 million one-year deal.
Samsonov will become a UFA this summer and can sign with any team. The Leafs will likely need to pay him more than $5 million if they want him to stay. His asking price will be around what the Leafs will need to spend on a number-one starting goaltender.
However, do the Leafs want to re-sign Samsonov, or does Treliving have another goaltender in mind?
Samsonov had a shaky start this season, but since being sent down to the AHL for a mental health break, he's played great. Since January 14th, Samsonov has a 13-4-1 record, which brings his season record to 18-6-7. He has a 3.12 GAA and .888 SV%, with two shutouts in 33 games.
Regardless of how the rest of the season goes, it won't matter if Samsonov and the Leafs underperform in the playoffs. Samsonov lost the starting goaltending job in the playoffs last season to rookie Joseph Woll. If he stumbles again, I'm sure Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe won't hesitate to use Woll again.
Samsonov has been a good goaltender for the Leafs during his two seasons in Toronto. As of Friday, Samsonov has an overall record of 45-16-12 with six shutouts in 75 games. He also has a 2.67 GAA and a .906 SV% during his time with the Leafs.
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I can see Samsonov leaving in free agency unless the Leafs overpay. I would rather see the Leafs spend their money wisely to fix more than just their goaltending.