The 5 Best Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agent Signings in the Auston Matthews Era
Who were the Leafs most significant free agent signings that paid off in the past decade?
Earlier, we had taken a look at the five worst free agent signings made by the Toronto Maple Leafs during their rise to prominence in the Auston Matthews era. Had those signings not been made, perhaps we could have seen some better results by the team, especially in the playoffs.
Nevertheless, the Toronto Maple Leafs did manage to make some good signings in the free agent market during the same time frame.
They may not have resulted in the Leafs having a lot greater success in the playoffs, but they sure played a significant part in leading the team to strong regular season records as a result.
With NHL free agency set to start soon, we will take a look back at the five best free agents that the Maple Leafs wisely recruited in the past decade that helped the team to some sustained success.
The 5 Best Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agent Signings in the Auston Matthews Era
Ron Hainsey
Coming off a Stanley Cup win with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2017 NHL playoffs, the Maple Leafs believed that Ron Hainsey could bring some of that winning pedigree and mentality to Toronto to help lead a young and inspiring squad.
The Leafs inked the veteran defenseman to a two-year, $6 million contract, who certainly turned out to be better than expected given his age as well.
Not only did Hainsey help stabilize the Leafs back end for two solid seasons, he became the trusted and reliable stay-at-home partner that paired perfectly with Morgan Rielly, despite playing on his off-side. By putting the two together, it unleashed Rielly’s offensive potential, leading to his career year in 2018-19 of 20 goals and 72 points.
As for Hainsey, he still managed to put up 9 goals, 37 assists for 46 points over his two seasons with the Leafs, which was not too shabby for someone whose main strength was his defense.
John Tavares
Of course, there was the biggest free agent signing in this part of the century when the Toronto Maple Leafs brought home John Tavares with hopes to take the team to another level.
After all he had done with the New York Islanders where he regularly made serviceable players into stars, the Leafs believed that he would flourish even more with the Toronto team full of skilled players on the roster.
Well, Tavares didn’t exactly become the next Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid as a result of the move, but he did maintain his usual point-a-game output throughout his tenure so far with the Leafs.
On top of that, players such as Mitch Marner and William Nylander did end up having some great success playing with him. In addition, by anchoring a top line of his own, he constantly gave the team two potent scoring lines (with Matthews manning the other) as a result.
In 440 games with the Leafs, Tavares has registered 184 goals, 235 assists for 419 points.
He was also a force on the power play, with 60 of his goals and 137 of his points coming with the man advantage. More importantly, without Tavares and his OT winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2023 playoffs, the Leafs would still have the dubious record of consecutive first-round playoff exits intact.
So as much as he has been scrutinized for not leading the team to the Holy Grail yet, his overall output and contributions that he has provided the team have at least been significant to say the least.
Jason Spezza
After all the years tormenting the Leafs as a member of their arch rivals Ottawa Senators, the Maple Leafs managed to bring Jason Spezza home during the 2019 offseason on a one-year, $700,000 contract.
By signing such a team-friendly deal, the Leafs were hoping Spezza could bring his valuable experience and leadership to the team, as well as to help mentor some of the younger players on the roster as well in the process.
But surprisingly, not only was he able to guide the team to some level of success, he also managed to provide some much-needed secondary scoring in the Leafs bottom-six to balance their scoring attack.
As a result, Spezza was given a one-year extension after the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, as he essentially ended up playing a total of three seasons with the team.
Overall, he accumulated 31 goals and 49 assists for 80 points in 183 games played in his tenure with Toronto.
His value actually went beyond his capacity as a player, as Spezza eventually joined the management team for the 2022-23 season, continuing to provide his expertise at a higher level to the Leafs for an additional year.
He would ultimately leave the team though when GM Kyle Dubas was relieved of his duties following the 2022-23 season. Nevertheless, the significant contributions that he made during his years in the organization definitely converted him from being public enemy number one back in his time with the Senators to fan favourite in his combined four-year stint with the Leafs.
T.J. Brodie
With Hainsey leaving following the 2018-19 season, the Maple Leafs were left without a reliable, top-pairing defenseman to partner with Rielly until the 2020 offseason when they reeled in a big fish.
It was during free agency where the Leafs finally landed defensive stalwart T.J. Brodie on a four-year, $20 million deal. Toronto had expressed interest earlier in Brodie when they tried to obtain him from Calgary in a trade involving Nazem Kadri that was ultimately vetoed. But this time, the Leafs got their man.
With Brodie and his mastery of shot-blocking, positioning and breaking up plays, he helped stabilize the Leafs defensive corps for multiple seasons.
Brodie also became a steady partner with Rielly for a significant chunk of the time. In his 274 games with the club, Brodie amassed 8 goals and 74 assists for 82 points while averaging more than 21 minutes a game on a regular basis to shut down opposing teams’ top lines.
While his renowned defending abilities did severely regress during this past season, up to a point where he was practically unplayable during the playoffs, Brodie did provide full value to the Leafs during his first three seasons with the team when he was counted on to deal with the toughest assignments.
By also mentoring some of the younger defensemen on the team, he lent a hand in preparing the next generation of defenders for the Leafs.
Michael Bunting
When the Leafs chose not to retain Zach Hyman during the 2021 off-season, they pivoted to another player in free agency that they hoped could make up for some of the lost traits and abilities that Hyman brought.
That player was none other than Michael Bunting. Having shown some promise with the Arizona Coyotes the previous season with 10 goals in just 21 games played, the Maple Leafs envisioned that he could bring some of that scoring touch with him to his new squad.
Despite starting the season lower in the lineup, he eventually landed on the top line with Matthews and Marner.
With instant chemistry formed with the dynamic duo, Bunting never relinquished his spot for the rest of the year. As a result, Bunting put together a strong rookie season in 2021-22 with 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points in 79 games and ended up being a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
Bunting put those points up without much power-play time and ended up having one of the best 5v5 seasons in the last 20 years.
He followed it up with a a great second season, potting 23 goals again but this time with only 49 points, again with great underlying numbers and few power-play minutes. (All stats from hockey-reference.com)
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However, Bunting’s success eventually priced him out of town. Nevertheless, having costed just $1.9 million over his two seasons with Toronto, the Leafs certainly deserve full marks for the recruit, even if Zach Hyman's 70 combined goals in the 2024 playoffs and regular season obscures how well they did with Bunting.