It’s been an eventful last 48 hours in the NHL, and it looks like it’s going to get even more eventful with the free agent market opening in just a few hours. The Toronto Maple Leafs have made several trades, and with more to come it can get hard to keep track of, so sometimes it’s best to do a quick recap of what’s happened so far.
Related: 2024 NHL Free Agent Tracker
Without further ado, let’s take a look back at what the Maple Leafs have been up to over the past 48 hours and make some predictions about what’s to come.
Domi and Liljegren sign new contracts
Yes, that’s right. The Maple Leafs signed two players to contract extensions yesterday. The first was fan favorite Max Domi. The team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth $3.75 million per year. This was a very smart deal by Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to acquire a tenacious, scoring, and character player for under $4 million per season. Domi was looking for job security and wanted a term contract on his next contract, and he got it while staying in the city he loves. Like last season, he gives the team roster flexibility and will be used in any situation or line combination.
Max Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
As for Timothy Liljegren, he signed a two-year contract with an annual salary of $3 million. The deal surprised some people because there was speculation that he would play his final game in a blue and white uniform and then be moved to help rebuild the Maple Leafs’ blue line. However, at this point, it seems likely that he will stay in Toronto and be used as a bottom-pair defenseman, just like he was last season. The only difference is that he will have a higher signing bonus. That’s why I think there’s a chance he could be moved this offseason, depending on who else the Maple Leafs sign when free agency opens up.
Maple Leafs and Tanev sign deal
According to recent reports from multiple NHL sources, the Maple Leafs have signed Chris Tanev to a contract that they plan to announce once free agency begins. Kevin Weeks reports the deal is for an unknown amount of time, but will be worth around $5 million per season.
However, Elliotte Friedman previously speculated on his latest podcast, 32 Thoughts The Podcast, that the team may be seeking a long-term deal to lower salary.
RELATED: Maple Leafs sign Timothy Liljegren to two-year contract extension
If this is true and it’s around $5 million, it’s higher than I expected. But it’s good to see management focusing on strengthening a solid defense for a change. The blue line hasn’t been a top priority the past few years, but that’s not the case with Treliving. He prefers to build his team from the blue line up, and he showed that with the acquisition of Tanev.
Will Robertson and Bertuzzi step down?
Well, it appears that this is true. Recent reports suggest that neither player will likely play for the Maple Leafs next season. First, there’s Robertson. Chris Johnston reported late Sunday night that Robertson has no intention of re-signing after receiving a qualifying offer.
According to sources, RFA’s Nick Robertson: #leaf He left the team this summer and told the team he wanted to be traded.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 1, 2024
Johnston also said he is believed to have asked the Maple Leafs for a trade, which honestly isn’t a surprise since he was always going to be demoted at the beginning of training camp for being too much of a forward and was eligible for waivers.
Last season was his first full season in the NHL, but he was still demoted near the end of the year for the return of Mitch Marner. After being recalled, he wasn’t used every night late in the season or in the playoffs. Unfortunately, this could have long-term effects on his development and he deserves to be treated better. It will be interesting to see which teams are interested in acquiring him. Some that come to mind are the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and of course the Dallas Stars considering his brother (Jason) plays there.
As for Bertuzzi, unfortunately, Darren Dreger of TSN reported late Sunday night that he has been priced out of Toronto and will be hitting the market.
Tyler Bertuzzi won’t be returning to the Maple Leafs. His value is outweighed by Toronto’s. He’ll sign with another team for four years and earn $5 million more per deal.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 1, 2024
This isn’t great news because he has great chemistry with Domi and Auston Matthews and Leafs Nation could have seen a full season of that, but that’s the business side of hockey and now unless they bounce back and lower the AAV he’ll be playing somewhere else next season.
What will happen on July 1st?
Now, with a projected $12 million in cap space, the Maple Leafs need to fill out their blue line, sign a goaltender and find a second scorer up front. Let’s start with the forwards. As of now, they have 11 forwards under contract for next season. They offered Connor Dewar a qualifying offer and will likely sign him within the next few days or weeks, which would bring that to 12. There are some interesting options on the open market for depth scorers. First, David Perron has known head coach Craig Berube since their days with the St. Louis Blues, and at 36 years old, he might be willing to take less money for a chance to win another Cup.
Another intriguing name is Jeff Skinner. He was recently acquired by the Buffalo Sabres and could bring the team 40 points per season as a middle-six addition. The upside for the Maple Leafs is that because he was acquired, he will likely require less money to play for a championship-contending team, which would help the team’s cap situation.
Next up is the blue line. Once the Tanev deal is official, the Maple Leafs will have less than $12 million in projected cap space, which makes things even tougher. The team will need to look for bargains in the second half, but it’s worth noting that they have five defensemen locked down after the Tanev deal. If they can sign someone like Oliver Ekman-Larsson or re-sign Joel Edmundson or Ilya Lyubushkin, he’ll likely be the bottom pairing of defensemen alongside Liljegren. The defenseman pairings would be Morgan Rielly and Tanev, Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit, and Ekman-Larsson/Edmundson and Liljegren, which is a big improvement over last season’s team. If they were to spend a class more on their bottom pairing, they could also acquire Sean Walker for $3.5-4 million to play him with McCabe and move Benoit down to Liljegren. Either way, it will be interesting to keep an eye on Treliving’s moves as he looks to further bolster his defensive core via the open market.
RELATED: Maple Leafs should consider cost of reuniting with Nazem Kadri
Finally, goaltenders. I touched on this in my recent article, “Maple Leafs sign Max Domi for four more years in team-favorable extension.” I wrote that the Maple Leafs could consider either Cam Talbot or Laurent Brossoit as options to pair with Joseph Wall. Anthony Stolarz, Scott Wedgewood, and Casey DeSmith are all options for Treliving and his staff to consider. In this situation, the organization wants to acquire the best option for the cheapest salary. But sometimes that’s not the best strategy. It hasn’t worked in the past. But with names like these, even if they spend $2-3 million on a tandem goaltender, it would be a good deal. That being said, they could also end up with Martin Jones on a league-minimum contract to fill the third goaltender role, like they did last season.
With less than 12 hours left until the market opens, things are constantly changing. There are tons of reports coming out about different teams and players, which can be fun for hockey fans this time of year, but it can also be hard to keep up with. But at least we have an idea of what the Maple Leafs have done so far and what their needs are now that free agency officially opens on July 1st.
