After a quiet opening day to the NHL’s free agency period, Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs made some noise on day two. Treliving went out and signed two of the bigger remaining free agents in Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, both to one-year contracts, but it came at a cost.
That cost was $5.5 million for Bertuzzi and $3 million for Domi and while it seems like a hefty cost for the two players, it’s not that bad when you consider the two have combined for 213 goals over their careers, including five 20-goal seasons.
Still, these moves put Treliving and the Maple Leafs in a tough spot when it comes to the salary cap as they currently sit projected more than $8 million over the cap and that’s with Ilya Samsonov still unsigned for the upcoming season.
With that in mind, there’s only one realistic way for the team to get under the cap in time for puck drop on the 2023-24 season and that seems to be moving Matt Murray and his nearly $4.7-million cap hit.
Murray Isn’t A Buyout Candidate
Realistically, there is another option for the Maple Leafs outside of moving Murray. Given what they have in Joseph Woll and Samsonov, assuming they sign him soon, the Maple Leafs could buy out the remainder of Murray’s contract.
However, here’s how that would break down. The buyout would last two seasons in which his cap hit would look like this. In year one, the Maple Leafs would be tagged with a $687,500 cap hit while the Ottawa Senators would still see him on their salary cap at $229,167. In year two, the Maple Leafs would be hit with a $2-million tag, while the Senators would be charged $666,667.
While it seems like a feasible route to go, and maybe it is for the Senators, the Maple Leafs will be looking to use every dollar available to them next season when both Auston Matthews and William Nylander are due for new contracts to kick in.
Along with those two, the Maple Leafs will be looking to re-up Mitch Marner in the following season and to continue to build the team around these stars, the Maple Leafs won’t be interested in a $2-million cap hit against them for Murray given that he will no longer be with the organization.
So, that leaves us with the notion of moving the contract. But that will also cost the Maple Leafs future assets.
Moving Murray A Costly Case for Maple Leafs
Right now, the biggest hole the Maple Leafs will have to fill is in net. Given their current situation, they will kick off the year with Woll and Murray as Samsonov remains an unsigned restricted free agent.
However, assuming Samsonov signs, the Maple Leafs will have even bigger cap issues given that he’s due for a fairly big raise following his first season in blue and white. So, with that in mind, the Maple Leafs will be forced to move a contract to help get them under the cap — with the understanding that Jake Muzzin’s contract will be moved to LTIR at the start of the season.
The most realistic contract to move? You guessed it — Matt Murray.
But, it won’t come cheap for the Maple Leafs. Moving his contract, given his numbers and injury woes of late, will likely cost the Maple Leafs a draft pick in the first or second round of the 2024 NHL Draft — especially with teams knowing where the Maple Leafs sit cap-wise.
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Regardless, Murray looks like he will be the odd man out when Samsonov does sign and it won’t be cheap or easy for Treliving to get it done. It certainly doesn’t help that Murray has a 10-team no-trade list as well on his contract.
Murray’s Numbers Aren’t Terrible
The one thing playing in favour of the Maple Leafs is that when he’s been healthy of late, his numbers aren’t horrible. In fact, he has played quite well considering he’s been in and out of the lineup and dealing with head injuries over that span.
Over the past two seasons, he’s played a total of 46 games between the Senators and Maple Leafs. He has a record of 19-20-4, while he went 14-8-2 with the Maple Leafs last season. As for his goals against and save percentage, he’s posted just over 3.00 and just over .900 over that span — again, not bad for an injury-prone netminder.
At 29, his value has diminished. Add to that his injuries and there might not be anyone that desperate in the goalie market. That said, Treliving will be given another shot to buyout the goalie later in the summer — an option he likely won’t use. So, it’ll come down to someone needing a goalie heading into the season where the Maple Leafs could make a move, but that’s a high hope for a team currently in major cap trouble.