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Toronto Maple Leafs Improvements Paint them into a Cap Corner

Blain Potvin Jul 3, 2023

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally won a playoff series last season.  

 

But they got steam rolled in the second round by a Florida Panthers squad that snuck into the playoffs on the last day. They were outworked, out muscled, in short, they got crushed. It led to the firing of the wunderkind Kyle Dubas and the hiring of a more traditionally-minded GM in Brad Treliving. 

 

 

The order of the day? Get tougher. The Leafs have been seen as way too soft for way too long. But they let Ryan O’Reilly walk away. Then, they allowed Micheal Bunting and his 23 goals per season to walk away means they lose some scoring depth, but, opens a position for someone with grit in the top six. 

 

But Treliving had a plan.  

 

Step one, Ryan Reeves 

 

A throwback to the old-school enforcer. He relies on playing a physical game, making life uncomfortable for opponents. He loves to grind it out in the corners and is the NHLs reigning heavyweight enforcer, which adds an intimidation factor. But he, won’t be able to generate a lot of offense and has only been able to average 9:19 minutes of ice time per game. The other side of this double-edged swordone-year is he tends to take an excessive number of penalties, and not just fighting majors, he gets many ill-timed minor penalties because he can tend to go over the line with his physical play. The desperate need for his type of player however is likely the reason for Treliving signing a 36-year-old to a three-year deal. 

 

But what about scoring depth? Enter Max Domi. 

 

The son of Maple Leafs legend Tie Domi, Max returns to where he grew up, the Leafs locker room. He is also being reunited with former London Knights teammate Mitch Marner, which could make for a very interesting line this coming season. Domi brings the element the Leafs have been missing, grit. He has his dad’s feistiness, but Max is a skilled offensive player, scoring 20 goals and 56 points last season splitting his 80 games played between Chicago and Dallas.  

 

But wait, there’s more! Treliving also added Tyler Bertuzzi, the nephew of Todd Bertuzzi. Tyler plays a style similar to that of Bruins star, Brad Marchand. At 6-1, has good size and will be expected to continue playing the role of an agitator, capable of playing big minutes and adding offensively on a nightly basis.  

 

 

But there are some significant issues, however. 

 

First, with these signings, the roster is overborne of forwards, especially along the wing. This pushes Nick Robertson out of the NHL and back into the AHL, which is fine for now as he is waivers exempt, but the concern is now about his development. Because over the last three seasons, he has never played more than 38 games in a single season, and that is combined between the AHL and NHL. Without more playing time, he will be needing a change of scenery just to get the opportunity he should have earned with Toronto. 

 

Even with Jake Muzzin’s final year of his contract at $5,625 million being placed on LTIR, the Leafs cap space is still above the cap by $2,431 million. Adding both Domi and Bertuzzi to somewhat team-friendly one-year deals indicates the instability of the cap structure. Both players are tailor-made fits for the Leafs’ needs, yet they were not given any terms. Why? Because even with the expectation the cap is to go up, so is the expectation that key players like Auston Matthews will demand significant raises over the next few seasons.  

 

All of this points to Treliving needing to make a significant trade, and all signs are pointing to William Nylander. Negotiations on a new deal are not going well, and the cap space necessary matches his current contract almost to the dollar. Add to that the need to make some additional moves to solidify depth, and this looks like the end of the line for the 40-goal scorer. 

 

What happens if Toronto fails to advance past the second round in the playoffs? Worse yet, what happens if they end up with an unfavorable matchup in the first round and end the season there yet again? Yes, Treliving was able to directly address the Leafs biggest need, grit, but Toronto’s fans know that now, after 8 years of being repeatedly called a Stanley Cup Favorite, the fanbase will be burning with the desire for a significant shake-up, maybe even to start a rebuild all-over again.  

Blain Potvin

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