A Look at Where the Toronto Maple Leafs Cap Situation Stands

Nearly two weeks into the free-agent signing period, it seems the dust has begun to settle on the Toronto Maple Leafs most recent moves. The frenzy that characterized July 1 seems like a distant memory now. As teams start to assess their current roster structures, there’s one key factor that looms large over every decision general managers will make from now till the start of the season: The salary Cap.

So, I wanted to take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs current salary cap situation, focusing on how much the club has left over to address potential holes. While the main lineup seems set, the fact is that there are specific areas to adress.

In particular, the bottom-six forward group looks a little iffy. The makeup of the bottom six will largely depend on who plays with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Also, the second line is a bit of a question mark. I’ve suggested that John Tavares should move to the wing, but given the Leafs’ lack of a number-two centre, there’s no point going down that road.

So, let’s take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ current Cap situation as we anticipate the start of next season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Current Cap Situation

Forwards

In an earlier piece, I looked at how the Leafs lineup could look on opening night based on the current players on the roster. That lineup assumed that Connor Dewar, an RFA, had re-signed with the Leafs. Without Dewar, the Leafs have eleven forwards, including Ryan Reaves.

Say what you will about Reaves, but the Leafs need to look at more consistent depth players to support the Core Four. PuckPedia projects the Leafs have $955K in cap space. That’s not much to round out the bottom six. That cap space essentially allows one more league-minimum deal to round out the bottom six.

If Dewar’s arbitration hearing comes back with a decision over $955K, the Leafs won’t have the space to sign Dewar. Otherwise, the Leafs will need to get creative to make everyone fit under the cap.

Defence

There are eight blueliners on the team, according to PuckPedia. That list includes Jani Hakanpaa and his $1.5 million cap hit. From my point of view, Hakanpaa looks like an early LTIR candidate, giving the Leafs some wiggle room. However, that also means the team needs to find more depth on the blue line.

Perhaps Mark Giordano comes back as an eighth defenceman? Giordano could be a serviceable option, especially as injuries mount throughout the season.

Unless the Leafs can find other cheap depth defencemen out there or call guys up from the Marlies, it looks like the Leafs won’t have much depth on the blue line beyond a very solid top six. That thought should keep fans up at night.

Goaltending

I’ve discussed the goaltending situation in depth. In short, the Toronto Maple Leafs are rolling with Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll. If this tandem somehow works out like Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman did for Boston last year or the way Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin did for the Islanders a couple of seasons ago, the Leafs will be pushing the envelope.

Behind Stolarz and Woll is Matt Murray. Sure, he’s on a one-year, league-minimum deal. I hope the idea is to have Murray with the Marlies and call him up only if the Zamboni driver is unavailable. However, I fear the Leafs may want to get Murray in the NHL at some point in the season.

Personally, I feel the Leafs need a solid third-string goaltender. Martin Jones is still out there. But it might also be the moment for the club to look at Dennis Hildeby. The Leafs may have something there, allowing the club to have several fallback options in case one of Woll or Stolarz gets hurt.

Given Woll’s injury history, it’s likely he gets hurt at some point.

A Final Thought

Overall, the Leafs don’t have much wiggle room at this point. The roster is pretty much set unless Toronto moves out some contracts. But there’s one other option to consider. The Leafs could find players on LTIR whose contracts could help provide cap relief.

As it stands, the Leafs don’t have any such contracts. Regardless, GM Brad Treliving and company will need to find answers soon as this club, while looking fine on paper, won’t really keep anyone up at night in the Eastern Conference.