Casey Mittelstadt, C, 3yrs x $5.75 million
Although it feels like it was only a couple years ago that Casey Mittelstadt was drafted in the top-ten, he is now 26 years old and has been a productive NHL forward for a few years now. Since being acquired by the Colorado Avalanche last year, he has not been the player he was with the Buffalo Sabres.
His production was fallen to roughly 0.5 points-per-game which is a steep drop-off from the nearly 0.75 points-per-game with the Sabres. It's clear he hasn't fit but his dropping stock, could be beneficial for the Leafs.
There is no guarantee that he would return to his former glory with the Leafs but he could still be a useful middle-six forward even with his current rate of production. The biggest downside to acquiring Mittelstadt is his caphit, which is currently a whopping $5.75 million for three more years.
It seems unlikely that many teams would be willing to retain a significant amount of the contract but if the team is able to shed some contracts, like Max Domi, Mittelstadt's deal is a little easier to swallow. There is also the added upside of his trade value being very low at the moment which would work in the Leafs favour, especially if they are planning to pay for retention.
Brock Boeser, RW, 1yr x $6.65 million
The Maple Leafs struggles with playoff scoring have been widely publicized and what better to way to address that than to acquire a player who has a knack for scoring goals?
He has been one of the NHL's most consistent scorers for much of his career and has seen some success in the postseason as well. In his two playoff runs with the Vancouver Canucks, Boeser has played 29 total games scoring 11 goals and 23 points.
He is not very physical and is not the most fleet of foot which may bother some but should be fine in the Leafs system. His scoring prowess would help to bolster the team's depth and allow Berube to mix up the lines. The biggest issue with acquiring Boeser would be his caphit, which comes in at $6.65 million. He would need to be retained and likely by a third-party broker. As well, the cost of acquisition in and of itself may be a little high. But, if goal scoring is what the Leafs want, it will not come cheap.