The Toronto Maple Leafs bolstered their defense while trading one of their worst contracts on the team, so kudos to the organization for another fantastic move.
Trading Ryan Reaves was a cheeky move by GM Brad Treliving as the team got rid of a player who never plays and somehow acquired a 24-year-old defense in return. Henry Thrun will probably play on the Toronto Marlies next season, but he's a depth piece that is way more intriguing than 38-year-old enforcer, Reaves.
When the Leafs originally signed Reaves, they gave him a three-year deal, which in my opinion, was two years too long. At $1.35M AAV, it was also a little rich, but Reaves did his job. Sure, he only appeared in 84 games in two seasons, but the dressing room loved him, he gave the fans some entertainment and that was fine.
You obviously need tough-guy's on your roster, so Reaves' presence was shown, but overall, he didn't really help (or hurt) this team from advancing further in the playoffs. However, now that he's gone, I truly think that more changes are happening.
For whatever reason, the Reaves contract felt like it was unmoveable. I know he only makes $1.35M but it felt like he'd be bought-out before traded, so it could also mean the end to either David Kampf, Max Domi and/or Calle Jarnkrok. The biggest thing that has came out of free agency thus far is that there are a lot of teams with cash kicking around and they don't know how to spend it.
Ryan Reaves trade could start domino effect of moves
With the 2025 free agent class being mediocre and the salary cap going up drastically, there are a number of teams (Leafs included) that are saving their cash for trades. With Reaves moving, the Leafs now have over $5.3 million in cap space, so they have the ability to make another splash and I think one of those three players I mentioned will be changing teams too.
Having too many centres isn't a terrible thing, but the Leafs don't need three bottom-six centres, so after acquiring Nic Roy, they should move on from David Kampf, who's making $2.4 mimllion AAV. For some teams, that contract isn't terrible because he's a reliable fourth-line centre who can play penalty-kill, but on the Leafs, that's too much.
When you're already set with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Nic Roy, and Scott Laughton down the middle, you don't need another $2.4 million centre. Instead, you can use that money and invest it in a top-nine winger who can score. Kampf, unfortunately only has seven points in 35 playoff games, so the team would much rather use that $2.4M on a player with some offense (Bryan Rust, anyone?).
As for Jarnkrok and Domi, I think they're both in the same position, as they're ultimately making more money than their production. They're both former 20-goal scorers with over 700 NHL games of experience, but they're far from those players they were at their peak. However, based on that resume, there's definitely a team out there that would give them both a chance or use them in the dressing room for some veteran experience.
The Leafs have a big opportunity to gain more cap-space and improve their roster this offseason, or mid-season, which is something they haven't been able to do in a while, so I'm really happy about the Reaves trade and feel like it's a sign of great things to come.