It has been a wild 48 hours in the NHL, and it is about to get even wilder now that the free-agent market opens in just a few hours. The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a handful of transactions, and with more to come, it can get tricky to keep track, so sometimes it is best to have a small recap to go over what has happened.
Related: 2024 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Without further ado, join me as we recap what the Maple Leafs have done in the last 48 hours and preview what could happen going forward.
Domi & Liljegren Ink New Deals
Yes, that is right; the Maple Leafs extended two players yesterday. The first one is fan favourite Max Domi; they re-signed him to a four-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $3.75 million. A very tidy piece of business from Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Brad Treliving, who locks up a gritty, point-producing, character guy for less than $4 million per season. Domi was looking for job security and wanted to get term in his next contract, and he was able to do so while staying in the city he loves. Like last season, he will provide the team with roster flexibility and be used in all types of situations and line combinations.
As for Timothy Liljegren, he signed a two-year contract with an AAV of $3 million per year. This one surprised a few people because there was speculation that he may have played his last game in blue and white and would be moved to help the Maple Leafs rebuild their blue line. As of now, though, he is staying in Toronto and will likely be used as a bottom-pairing defenceman like he was last season. The only difference is that it will be at a higher price tag, which is why I feel like he could still be on the move this off-season, depending on who else the Maple Leafs sign when free agency opens.
Maple Leafs & Tanev Have Deal in Place
As per recent reports from numerous NHL insiders, it appears that the Maple Leafs have a deal in place with Chris Tanev and will announce it when free agency opens. As per Kevin Weekes, it will be somewhere around $5 million per season, with the number of years not being known.
However, there had been previous speculation from Elliotte Friedman on his latest 32 Thoughts The Podcast episode that the team was looking for a longer-term deal to bring down the AAV.
Related: Maple Leafs Sign Timothy Liljegren to 2-Year Contract Extension
If this is true and it does come in around $5 million, it was higher than I expected it to be; however, it is nice to see management focus on building a solid defence core for a change. In past years, the blue line was the last priority, but that isn’t the case with Treliving, he likes to build his teams from the blue line out, and he is showing it with the acquisition of Tanev.
Are Robertson & Bertuzzi on Their Way Out?
Yeah, it appears that this is the truth, as recent reports suggest that both players are unlikely to be playing for the Maple Leafs next season. Starting first with Robertson, Chris Johnston reported late Sunday evening that Robertson has no intention of re-signing after being offered a qualifying offer (QO).
Johnston also mentioned that it is believed that he asked the Maple Leafs for a trade. Honestly, this isn’t shocking since he was always the player who was sent down at the beginning of training camp because they had too many forwards and he was waiver-exempt.
Last season was his first full season in the NHL, and even still, he was sent down near the end of the year to make room for the return of Mitch Marner. After he was recalled, he wasn’t used on a nightly basis down the stretch or into the playoffs. Unfortunately, this could have a long-lasting effect on his development, and he deserves better. It would be interesting to see what teams are interested in acquiring him. A few that come to mind would be the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and, of course, the Dallas Stars, given that his brother (Jason) plays there.
Moving on to Bertuzzi, sadly, it was reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger late Sunday night that he has priced himself out of Toronto and will head to the market.
This isn’t the best news since he had great chemistry with Domi and Auston Matthews, and Leafs Nation could have seen an entire season of that. But that is the business side of hockey, and now, unless they can circle back and bring down the AAV, he will be playing elsewhere next season.
What’s to Come on July 1?
Well, with $12 million in projected cap space, the Maple Leafs will need to fill out their blue line, sign a goalie, and look for some secondary scoring up front. Let’s start with the forwards. As of right now, they have 11 forwards signed for next season. They did offer Connor Dewar a QO and will likely sign him in the next few days or weeks, which would give them 12. There are a few options on the open market that could be interesting for depth scoring. First, David Perron is familiar with head coach Craig Berube from their days with the St. Louis Blues, and at 36 years old, he could take less for a chance to win another Cup.
Another name that would be interesting would be Jeff Skinner. He was recently bought out by the Buffalo Sabres and could be a nice addition in the middle-six who can give the team 40 points per season. An advantage the Maple Leafs would have is that because he was bought out, he would likely be willing to take less to play for a contender, which would help the club with their cap situation.
Next up is the blue line. After they make the Tanev signing official, the Maple Leafs will have less than $12 million in projected cap space, which makes things even tighter. They will need to look for some bargain buys on the back end, but it is worth noting that they do have five defencemen locked up (after the Tanev signing). If they can sign a player like Oliver Ekman-Larsson or even re-sign Joel Edmundson or Ilya Lyubushkin, they would likely be a bottom-pairing defenceman alongside Liljegren. The defence pairings would be Morgan Rielly and Tanev, Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit, and Ekman-Larsson/Edmundson and Liljegren, which is a major improvement over what the team had last season. If by chance they spend a class higher for the bottom pairing, they could target Sean Walker for around $3.5-4 million then play him with McCabe and move Benoit down with Liljegren. Either way, Treliving is looking to improve his defence core even more through the open market, so stay tuned for that.
Related: Maple Leafs Should Check the Cost to Reunite with Nazem Kadri
Lastly, between the pipes. I mentioned this in my most recent article: Maple Leafs Get 4 More Years of Max Domi with Team-Friendly Extension. I wrote about how the Maple Leafs could look at either Cam Talbot or Laurent Brossoit as tandem options to play with Joseph Woll. Anthony Stolarz, Scott Wedgewood, and Casey DeSmith are all options that Treliving and his staff should look into. In this situation, the organization wants to get the best option for the cheapest AAV. However, sometimes that isn’t the best strategy; it hasn’t worked in the past for them. But with these types of names, even if they spend $2–3 million on a tandem goalie, it would be a good deal. With that said, they will likely also sign Martin Jones to a league-minimum contract to take on the third goalie role, like he did last season.
With less than 12 hours till the market opens, things are always changing. There will be a ton of reports about different teams and players, and that is what makes it so fun to be a hockey fan this time of year. However, there is also the other side of it that makes it hard to keep up. But now, at least you will know what the Maple Leafs have been up to and what their needs are as free agency officially opens on July 1.
