5 Toronto Maple Leafs That Won’t Be Back Next Season
With Toronto’s 2023-24 season coming to a close, who likely have seen their last game in a Leafs uniform?
After a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs ended their potentially exciting comeback run in the 2023-24 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Once again, the Toronto Maple Leafs were unable to overcome their arch nemesis as the Bruins have made it four-in-a-row in Game 7s against Toronto in the past twelve years.
As for the le Leafs players, coaches and management, they are all left to ponder what could have been, as each time it seemed so close, yet still so far.
Nevertheless, the organization as a whole will need to regroup and prepare to fight and battle hard once again next season.
No doubt that some of the returning players will be hungry to finish off some unfinished business when the 2024-25 season rolls around. However, there will definitely be some roster turnover, with the expiration of contracts for some players and the regression in performance of various others.
As a result, which Maple Leafs players will not likely be back with the team next season?
5 Toronto Maple Leafs That Won’t Be Back Next Season
Here, we will take a look at five players that probably played their last game in a Leafs uniform when their season officially ended on Saturday night.
Mark Giordano
For the past three seasons, Mark Giordano had been a warrior for the Maple Leafs since coming over from the Seattle Kraken at the trade deadline in 2022.
Not only has he been a leader on the back end, his hard-nosed play and never-quit determination helped inspired the team to play a tougher game against their opponents. Moreover, he significantly aided in the development of Timothy Liljegren’s game such that he has now become a mainstay in the Leafs defensive corps.
However, after a strong first couple of seasons with Toronto, Father Time may have finally caught up to Giordano this year. He had regressed considerably in terms of his offensive output, putting up just three goals and six assists in 46 games, easily making it his lowest output for his career.
On top of that, he appeared to be a lot slower in his defensive positioning and checking, making him a less effective play for the Leafs overall .
In addition, Giordano suffered an ill-timed concussion when he crashed hard into the boards in a game against the Arizona Coyotes in early March. As a result, he missed most of the remaining parts of the season and didn’t factor in a role during the Leafs playoff run against Boston as he never saw a game of action.
With Giordano turning 41 later this year and to perhaps not risk any long-term effects of his health following his concussion, it is highly likely that this may be the end of his illustrious NHL career.
It had certainly been a great one for Giordano, but it may be slightly marred by the fact that he never had the chance to capture the Stanley Cup.
T.J. Brodie
The moment T.J. Brodie joined the Maple Leafs back in 2020 on a four-year, $20 million contract, everyone knew they had reeled in a defensive stalwart for their back end.
A true specialist in blocking shots, breaking up plays along with smart positioning, the Leafs knew they had potentially a top-pairing defenseman that they could rely on to provide strong defensive minutes to help complement the offensively-focussed attack.
Brodie certainly did not disappoint, as he constantly maintained an above 54% expected goals rate and scoring chances rate during 5-on-5 situations, tilting the ice in the Leafs favour. On top of that, he was also able to chip in with some supplemental offense, tallying 56 points in his previous three seasons with the club.
However, Brodie had taken a huge step back this season in regards to his defensive play. Most notably, his CF% numbers along with his expected goals and scoring chance rate have all fallen below 50%, along with often being caught out of position, leading to unexpected scoring chances for the opposing team.
Things got so bad that he wasn’t even considered to be one of the top six defenseman for the Leafs heading into this year’s playoffs. When he did eventually draw in for one game, he played dreadfully. In particular was his failed defensive play against Brad Marchand that led directly to David Pastranak’s goal during the second period in Game 4.
As a result, with the elevated level of play by the likes of Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit and even Liljegren, Brodie won’t be retained by the Leafs in the coming season.
John Klingberg
Because it happened such a long time ago, many may have forgotten that former three-time All-Star John Klingberg was actually a part of the 2023-24 Leafs team this year.
After all, he was one of the key offseason signings by Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving which was suppose to help bolster their defense corps.
However, that move had turned out to be a complete disaster for both Klingberg and the Leafs.
Not only did he not provide the team with the much-needed offensive spark that was expected of him, he appeared totally lost in the defensive end at times.
On the season, Klingberg put up only five assists in 14 games while registering an abysmal 42% expected goals rate and 45% scoring chances rate whenever he was on the ice in 5-on-5 situations.
Klingberg’s season would end with the Leafs when he had to undergo season-ending hip surgery late in 2023.
In doing so, it gave the opportunity for other players to step up in his place, including the likes of Conor Timmins and William Lagesson, and help solidify the back end both from an offensive and defensive standpoint as a result.
With the failed experiment, the chances of Klingberg returning next season appears to be slim, with plenty of other affordable and much more reliable options internally for the Maple Leafs already.
Ilya Samsonov
It seems cruel to put Ilya Samsonov into this category, especially just after his hard-fought Game 7 playoff game against the Bruins in which he did possibly everything to give the Leafs a chance to win.
However, the Leafs organization as a whole has to look at the big picture in terms of what future lies ahead for Samsonov with the team.
After helping the Leafs to their first playoff round series win in over two decades last season, Samsonov was leaned upon to help carry the team once again for the 2023-24 season.
However, the year did not start off well for the 27-year-old as he struggled mightily coming out of the gate. Things got worse when he was put on waivers in December and sent down to the Marlies with hopes he could rediscover his game.
Fortunately, Samsonov did manage to regather himself to come back and play a solid role in helping lead the Leafs to some level of success down the stretch. However, despite his stronger and improved play, he was still victimized at times by letting in a soft goal that often deflated the surging Leafs.
For the season, Samsonov registered a 3.13 GAA along with an .890 save percentage despite a 23-7-8 winning record.
In the playoffs, he failed to raise his game to another level to help the Leafs steal more than a game as he went 1-3-1 with a 3.01 GAA and .896 save percentage.
With Joseph Woll looking more and more like the real deal, it could be his net going forward as the starter for the Maple Leafs. In that case, with Samsonov likely looking for a new contract in the neighborhood of above $3.5/4 million AAV per season, his time with the team should come to an end.
Matt Murray
Finally, there’s the forgotten one in veteran goaltender Matt Murray.
After being acquired by the Leafs from the Ottawa Senators back during the 2022 offseason, Murray was expected to form a strong tandem with Samsonov in the crease to help lead the team to potential Stanley Cup success.
After all, Murray was proven to a be a winner from his two Cups that he had won as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, things certainly did not go to plan during the 2022-23 NHL season as he was once again plagued by injuries over the course of the year. Murray was foiled by a groin injury after making just one start, and later missed another significant stretch in 2023 due to an ankle injury.
As a result, he struggled to a 3.01 GAA and .903 save percentage in just 26 games played. He did somehow manage to post a respectable 14-8-2 record nonetheless. (All stats from NHL.com and naturalstattrick.com)
Looking ahead to the 2023-24 season, bad luck would catch up to Murray once again as he had to undergo bilateral hip surgery that had put him out for the majority of the year as a result.
Despite still being just 29 years old, the wear and tear on his body has been put to the extreme limit in recent years with his constant battle with injuries.
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Therefore, even if Murray is willing to come back with a minimum-based salary, the Leafs not likely to risk their chances on someone that may be injury-prone. As a result, they will surely move on from Murray for the coming season as they look for the perfect goaltending partner for Woll going forward.