Which Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agents Should Stay and Which Should Go

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. 

Who Should Come Back

Tyler Bertuzzi

Bertuzzi's stat line on the year won't jump out at you but I thought he was extremely snake-bitten and came alive after the all-star break.

Bertuzzi did a great job being a net-front presence throughout the year and got into the dirty areas. He was exceptional at keeping Marchand sidetracked in the playoffs and also had four points in the series. This is going to depend on the type of deal Bertuzzi finds in free agency and ultimately the price may be too steep but I would like to see the Leafs find a way to retain Bertuzzi.

Max Domi

Domi is by no means a perfect player. He has defensive warts in his game and his strictly passing mentality can be frustrating however I like a lot of what he brought. He brought speed to the lineup and wasn't scared to jump in to defend his teammates.

I also thought Domi played well as a winger with Matthews and when he needed to centre a line of him, Bertuzzi and Marner the line was extremely effective. By all accounts, Domi would love to stay and Treliving should keep him. If there is a deal that is around four years long with an AAV of 3.5 to 4 million I would be willing to sign something like that.

Nicholas Robertson

I am once again asking this organization to give Robertson a consistent run of playing time in the NHL. He was not given enough of a chance by Sheldon Keefe throughout the regular season and he is still a young player. Please give him a shot with some actual playing time.

Martin Jones

Unless the Leafs can bring in an elite goalie via trade this offseason I think the Leafs should give Woll a run. We are all aware of his injury history so bringing in Martin Jones provides you with organizational depth just like he did this year. Jones was pretty solid while Woll was injured and Samsonov was unusable. If you can bring Jones back and also bring in somebody like Laurent Brossoit from Winnipeg that gives you the depth as well as giving Woll a chance to take the starter's role.

Timothy Liljegren

Liljegren has taken a lot of abuse from the media and this fanbase. Sure he hasn't been what was probably expected of him out of the draft but he is one of the only guys who can move the puck in this defence core. You're not going to have to sign him to a big deal and retaining him should be easy. I do think he will probably be moved but if it was up to me I would keep him around.

Connor Dewar

Connor Dewar was the only forward Treliving brought in at the deadline this past year. Dewar can penalty kill and I thought he played his role well on the fourth line. He was good on the forecheck and won a lot of puck battles however, he didn't provide much offence.

I still would look to keep Dewar. He's a useful depth option that the Leafs could keep on a cheap deal.