It’s always a highly anticipated day when it comes to the NHL calendar — July 1 — the opening of free agency and the first day for said players to officially sign new contracts. This year, it was no different. It certainly was a frenzy, but one that the Toronto Maple Leafs and newly appointed general manager Brad Treliving didn’t exactly take full advantage of.
As a team, the Maple Leafs had a large number of pending free agents — whether it was restricted or unrestricted. With the free agency window opening, it was expected that the Maple Leafs would be filling holes in their lineup quickly with some of their own pending free agents and some that were on the market.
Instead, the Maple Leafs remained eerily quiet on day one bringing in tough guy Ryan Reaves and underperforming defenceman John Klingberg on deals that were quite polarizing amongst Leafs Nation.
As such, the team also lost a handful of valuable pieces — and some not so valuable pieces — that played major roles on the team’s getting into the second round of the playoffs last season, including Ryan O’Reilly, Michael Bunting, Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn, Alex Kerfoot, Erik Gustafsson and the fanbase’s scapegoat from the past two seasons, Justin Holl.
So while the noise of free agency has already hit the social channels of Leafs Nation, what exactly can the fanbase take from the team’s lacklustre opening to free agency? After all, it’s always said that silence can speak volumes.
Maple Leafs in on Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi
One rumour that has been floating around is that the Maple Leafs could be in on both Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi — both of whom would be interesting pick-ups for Treliving.
Bertuzzi is coming off a season in which he was moved from one Atlantic Division foe — the Detroit Red Wings — to the Boston Bruins. While it was an injury plagued season for the 28-year-old, he still managed eight goals and 30 points through 50 games spread out between the two clubs.
He added another 10 points in seven games in the playoffs for the Bruins who were knocked out in the first round, but as a player that plays with an edge he would be an interesting player to slot into the Maple Leafs top six.
As for Domi, what a way to follow in the footsteps of your father if he were to play in Toronto. Domi’s another smaller option up front that plays with a major edge in his game. Still, he can be an asset offensively and adds the Maple Leafs’ collection of former London Knights — joining Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Easton Cowan.
Domi split last season between the lowly Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars, putting up 20 goals and 56 points in 80 games played during the regular season before adding another 13 points in 19 playoff games with the Stars on their run.
Both free agents would cost the team a pretty penny, but would give them another option to spread out the scoring with the loss of Bunting who had 23 goals in each of his two seasons with the Maple Leafs.
Maple Leafs Linked to Erik Karlsson
It’s a distant link, but there was a link made between the Maple Leafs and Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. It may just have been the Maple Leafs and Treliving inquiring about the cost to land such a coveted asset, but nonetheless the idea is floating out there.
The addition of Klingberg puts a major damper on this rumour, but Karlsson noted that he would like to compete for a Cup this season and be sent to a contender knowing that the San Jose Sharks are in a rebuild type of setting at this point.
Karlsson, who could reach the 1,000-game plateau if he stays healthy this season, is coming off a year in which he played all 82 games and seemed to be back to his old self with 25 goals and 101 points for a struggling Sharks team.
Now, it is worth noting that Karlsson does have a no-movement clause in his contract and is signed through 2026-27 with a cap hit of $11.5 million, so the Maple Leafs would need to have some salary relief if a deal were to be made. While that does make it a little more unlikely we see Karlsson in blue and white, the subtle moves by Treliving thus far has to make people think there’s more to come.
Maple Leafs Relying on Prospects, Risky Moves
Then again, this eerie silence by the Maple Leafs on day one of free agency could just mean that Treliving has the guys he wants, which might infuriate Leafs Nation. After seeing the guys leave that did so far, the hope would be that the Maple Leafs would fill those holes to gain more depth scoring overall, but that might not be the case.
In fact, the Maple Leafs could be relying heavily on a resurgence from Klingberg this season on his one-year contract and hope to get some more offence from the blue line. While up front, the expectation could be that both Nick Robertson and Matthew Knies are ready to go and have breakout seasons.
Related: Maple Leafs Pop Up As Bidders for 2 Big UFAs Post Day 1 Chaos
But with both Auston Matthews and William Nylander needing new contracts, it’s hard to believe that Treliving and the Maple Leafs would put all their eggs on the two free agents they’ve signed so far and a couple of young hopefuls — especially needing to sell their stars on the future of this team.
While the Maple Leafs still have Ilya Samsonov to re-sign before the season starts, expect the team to make a little more noise as the offseason moves on. It could be one of the afore mentioned free agents or maybe Treliving has a trade up his sleeve. Either way the Maple Leafs can’t stay quiet for much longer if they want to compete again in the Atlantic Division in 2023-24.