Yet another Toronto Maple Leafs playoff loss has been dissected so now it's time to pivot to what the offseason may hold for the franchise.
Going into this offseason the Toronto Maple Leafs have 12 expiring deals (not including players on LTIR) between restricted and unrestricted free agents.
The unrestricted free agents for the Leafs include Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, TJ Brodie, Joel Edmundson, Mark Giordano, Ilya Lyubushkin, Ilya Samsonov, and Martin Jones. The list of restricted free agents includes Connor Dewar, Nicholas Robertson, Noah Gregor, and Timothy Liljegren. (All contract statistics from CapFriendly.com)
With all these expiring deals there is going to be roster turnover heading into next year but who should Brad Treliving keep around?
Toronto Maple Leafs Free-Agents
Who You Let Go
TJ Brodie
Brodie has spent four seasons here and three of the four were great. Unfortunately, Brodie was brutal this year there is no other way to put it. He had a tough offseason leading into the year when it comes to his private life and he is also just aging and maybe his best years are behind him. Brodie would benefit from a change of scenery and the Leafs could look elsewhere for a potential upgrade.
Ilya Lyubushkin
This one is a bit different for me. I'm not a huge Lyubushkin fan, I thought he was too slow and watching him handle the puck is scary. However, depending on how the offseason goes I wouldn't be against him coming back on a very cheap deal to be a depth option. I do think Treliving should look elsewhere before thinking about bringing Lyubushkin back. This blue line needs to be revamped.
Joel Edmundson
Edmundson was a deadline acquisition and was about what he was expected to be. He was a big guy who was physical and steady in the defensive zone while providing some good shot blocks throughout the series.
The reason I think the Leafs need to move on from Edmundson is because this year's defensive core had way too many of the same players. The defensive core was loaded with guys who couldn't skate or pass the puck and if the Leafs want success Treliving is going to need to find the balance of gritty and puck movers. Joel Edmundson is not a guy the Leafs need on this team.