New Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager (GM) Brad Treliving has a load of work ahead of him over the next few months. But, a couple of items on his to-do list pop up higher than others. The key task is figuring out the contract status of Auston Matthews.
That’s followed closely by the second question of what to do with William Nylander. Third, the status of head coach Sheldon Keefe seems to remain in limbo. Fourth the goalie situation needs some resolution.
Perhaps a bit further down on his list might be the unsigned unrestricted free agents (UFAs). Yesterday, Stan Smith and I looked at five of the 10 UFAs on the team. Those included Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, Justin Holl, David Kampf, and Ryan O’Reilly.
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In today’s edition of Maple Leafs’ News & Rumors, we’ll look at the last five players on the list of UFAs. These include Luke Schenn, Noel Acciari, Zach Aston-Reese, Erik Gustafsson, and finally Wayne Simmonds.
Player One: Luke Schenn
There have been reports that Schenn and the Maple Leafs have already had negotiations on a new deal. He has expressed his desire to remain with the team that drafted him back in 2008. The Maple Leafs have to be ecstatic over how well he played in the playoffs. He and Morgan Rielly were the best pairing for the Maple Leafs in the postseason. With Schenn as a partner, Rielly looked like the Rielly of the 2018-19 season when he scored 20 goals and put up 72 points.
Of course, as with any UFA, it will come down to money and term. But for a player who has not commanded a salary over $1 million in six years, it should not cost the Maple Leafs a lot of money to get a deal done. Heck, the Maple Leafs could offer Schenn a five-year deal if they wanted. If it didn’t work out, they could bury his whole salary cap hit in the minors.
Player Two: Noel Acciari
Acciari did not come to Toronto of his own free will. He was part of the trade to acquire O’Reilly. He signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues as a UFA last summer; and, we see no reason why he won’t test the market again this summer.
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Acciari wasn’t a bad addition to the bottom six of the Maple Leafs. He provided the team with much-needed physicality, leading the Maple Leafs in hits during the playoffs with 78. We aren’t sold on whether or not he really was a difference-maker though.
Ultimately we think Acciari becomes a UFA on July 1 and subsequently will sign elsewhere. We’re guessing he might follow former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Player Three: Zach Aston-Reese
When it counted, in the playoffs, Aston-Reese had a difficult time making the lineup. He was a healthy scratch for five of the 11 games the Maple Leafs played in the postseason. His upsides are that he’s physical and should be inexpensive.
We don’t see a way he’s back with the team in 2023-24, especially with youngster Bobby McMann waiting in the wings.
Player Four: Erik Gustafsson
After signing a one-year $800,000 deal with the Washington Capitals last season, Gustafsson had the second-best season of his career. He played over 20 minutes a game in a top-four role with the Capitals and put up 31 points in 61 games. Then he was sent to Toronto as part of the package that saw the Capitals acquire Rasmus Sandin.
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Gustafsson never got a chance to show the Maple Leafs what he could do, and only dressed for two games in the postseason. We can’t see him being happy with how his short time with the Maple Leafs went. We also can’t see the Maple Leafs trying too hard to convince him to stay. That said, if did stay and replicated last year’s regular season, he could be a great addition.
Player Five: Wayne Simmonds
Simmonds is a great guy and was a dynamite player in his day. But, the sun has set on that day.
We lost track of the number of times Simmonds was placed on, and cleared, waivers last season. It was also rumoured he was offered to any team for the cliched “future considerations” with no takers. It would be nice if the Maple Leafs could figure out a post-career position for him somewhere in the organization. He won’t be on the team’s roster, though.
The Bottom Line
Here’s how we see the second five UFAs on our list.
First, negotiations are underway for Schenn to remain with the Maple Leafs. After his impressive playoff performance alongside Rielly, a reasonable contract should secure his spot on the team. That would bolster the team’s defensive stability. Second, Acciari’s future in Toronto is uncertain and we expect him to test the free-agent market. He added physicality in the bottom six, but his impact on the team was debatable.
Third, with Aston-Reese’s limited playing time in the playoffs, he’s unlikely to return to the team for the upcoming season. Fourth, Gustafsson’s time with the Maple Leafs didn’t provide him with much chance to showcase his skills. We don’t see him returning, although he might add something in terms of offence from the blue line if he did. Fifth, Simmonds’ playing days have wound down. Finding a post-career role for him within the organization would be beneficial, but his time on the ice with the team has likely come to an end.
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In short, unless we are far off base, the only one of the five UFAs we believe will be back is Schenn. We look forward to him re-signing.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]