The Toronto Maple Leafs have numerous things to work on this off-season. Will they find a way to re-sign their top UFAs, Mitch Marner and John Tavares? How much will they re-sign RFA Matthew Knies for? Who stays, and who goes? Brad Treliving will have his work cut out for him, but one thing is clear, he won't have Brendan Shanahan overseeing any of his off-season moves.
One off-season move that the Leafs GM could make to free up a little extra salary cap space is using one of the team's buyouts on 38-year-old forward Ryan Reaves. Having signed a three-year deal worth $1.35 million per year in Toronto before the 2023-24 season, Reaves played just 35 games for the Leafs this past season. Reaves also played three games for the Toronto Marlies after clearing waivers this season.
Reaves registered just two assists and one fight for the Leafs this season. Although his teammates like his energy and personality, he clearly fell out of favor with Leafs head coach Craig Berube. Considering that he cleared waivers at such a low value, and isn’t guaranteed to have another go in the NHL next season, Reaves' time in Toronto may be up. When speaking with Luke Fox from Sportsnet, Reaves stated that he could see the writing on the wall. He also feels that the AHL isn't tailored for veteran guys like him.
So, if he's not going to be in Berube's Leafs lineup and doesn't want to play in the AHL for the Marlies, the best thing to do is buy him out. A trade seems highly unlikely unless he is part of a bigger deal. Reaves has one year left on his contract with a $1.35 million cap hit. If the Leafs decide to bury him in the AHL they’d still have to pay him his full amount of $1.35 million, but the cap hit would only be $200k for the next season. However, if they buy him out, they’d be faced with a cap hit of $450k each of the next two seasons, and $900k in real money.
If I were Brad Treliving, I would treat the situation like a Band-Aid. Just rip it off and get it over with. Burying Reaves in the AHL doesn't seem fair to the player. Buy him out and be done with him. Allow the team and the player to both move on from the situation and go their separate ways. Treliving needs to have as much cap space at his disposal as possible and this is one way to free up some extra space.