With the free agent market opening in less than 12 hours and teams setting up shop for who they want to sign, it is a good time to look at noteworthy names for the Toronto Maple Leafs that didn’t receive a qualifying offer (QO) or that were recently bought out by their respective teams.
Related: 2024 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Some of these names may be household names that were bought out and looking to sign for cheap. Whereas some of them may just need a fresh start and can get that on the Maple Leafs playing with their star players. With that, here are a couple bargain buys for the Maple Leafs in free agency.
Alex Nylander
Everyone knows that Leafs Nation loves William Nylander, so why not sign his brother Alex and put him in the bottom six? After a shaky start to his NHL career, he has been passed around from team to team. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016 and has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, and Columbus Blue Jackets. Last season, he played in 23 games with the Blue Jackets and had a career-high in goals. He scored 11 goals and four assists for 15 points and looked to potentially have found a home in Columbus, but unfortunately, they left him without a QO, and now he is an unrestricted free agent (UFA).
Besides the fact that he would play in the same organization as his brother, it would be interesting to see the Maple Leafs give Nylander an opportunity. They have $12 million in projected cap space but still need to address other areas of need, which will force them to find bargain buys to fill out their forward group. He would be considerably cheaper and likely sign for somewhere just under $1 million for a season and could even agree to a two-way deal. So if it doesn’t work out, he can be sent down and play with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). It could be a win-win for the Maple Leafs; he could find his game, have a good season, and be a very low-cap hit.
Jeff Skinner
Jeff Skinner may be one of the best forward targets for the Maple Leafs. He may not have always been on their radar, but as soon as the Buffalo Sabres processed his contractual buyout, he should have found his way onto it. Yes, that is right; the Sabres have bought him out and the remaining three years of his contract, leaving him as a UFA. Skinner is a unique player; he has spent 14 seasons in the NHL with the Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes but never played in an NHL playoff game. That is 1,006 NHL games and not even a shift in the postseason, so now that he is a UFA, he likely will want to sign with a contender, and the Maple Leafs should be calling his agent.
Last season with Buffalo, Skinner had 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points in 76 games, which is a large drop from the season prior, when he scored 82 points. However, looking at the season the Sabres had, it plays a factor in why players have massive drop-offs in their point production. At 32 years old, Skinner could easily hit the 50-point mark again in his career; he just needs to be part of the right lineup, and that is where the Maple Leafs come into play. He could be a fit for Toronto on both their second and third lines. If he were to be on a line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner, he could excel with his skill and score 50-plus points this season. He could also be a part of a third line with Calle Jarnkrok, Matthew Knies, Max Domi, or David Kampf and score 40–50 points, which would help the Maple Leafs immensely with their secondary scoring.
Related: Maple Leafs Get 4 More Years of Max Domi with Team-Friendly Extension
This signing would be low-risk, high-reward, and it could be something that Skinner welcomes because the Maple Leafs are in the same division as the Sabres, so he can show them they shouldn’t have given up on him. In terms of a contract, typically someone who is a buyout candidate tends to sign for significantly less because they were just bought out and got a chunk of money. In Skinner’s situation, he was making $9 million per season, and having been bought out for the remainder of that deal, it would pay him $27 million, which could mean he is willing to sign for $1-1.5 million for a chance to play in meaningful games towards the end of the season and suit up for his first playoff game.
A few other names that could be of interest to the Maple Leafs are Blake Lizotte (Los Angeles Kings), Erik Brannstrom (Ottawa Senators), and Kailer Yamamoto (Seattle Kraken); all three weren’t given a QO. Ultimately, it’ll depend on what happens as the opening day of free agency comes to an end, but as of right now, the Maple Leafs will likely be big-name hunting, and Skinner may be the one on this list that they attempt to sign later today. Regardless, it will be fun to see what the organization does over the next few weeks.
