Toronto Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Brad Treliving wasted no time once NHL Free Agency opened on July 1st. Within hours, he had signed defensemen Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and goalie Anthony Stolarz. Treliving also extended Max Domi, Timothy Liljegren, and, surprisingly to some, Matt Murray.
On day two of Free Agency, Treliving added depth with defensemen Jani Hakanpaa, Phillipe Myers, Dakota Mermis, and forward Cedric Pare.
Many of These Signings Were Depth Signings
Myers, Mermis, and Pare are all depth signings. If the Maple Leafs get through training camp healthy, we would be surprised if any of those three players were on the opening night roster.
We read several “panicky” reports that Hakanpaa had suffered a possible career-ending injury at the end of last season. Looking into it, Hakanpaa did suffer a knee injury on March 14th that was listed as day-to-day at first. However, it ultimately required arthroscopic surgery. Hakanpaa did not see any action in the postseason but was reportedly back to day-to-day status when the Stars were eliminated.
Current Maple Leafs Lineup
So, what does the Maple Leafs lineup look like after the additions?
While the website CapFriendly is due to go offline any day now, they are still keeping up to date. Using that and our feelings about who will be on the starting lineup, the present Maple Leafs roster looks like this:
Maple Leafs Forwards (12) – $60,232,667
CapFriendly only lists 11 forwards. We inserted Easton Cowan as the 12th forward. Not only does he have the best chance of any Maple Leafs prospect to make the lineup, but with Cowan being 19, the choice is the NHL or back to the Juniors. He is ineligible to play in the American Hockey League (AHL). The Maple Leafs can use Cowan for at least nine games before choosing between burning a year of his ELC or sending him back to the London Knights. We wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t stick.
Maple Leafs Defensemen (8) – $24,450,000
CapFriendly presently lists ten defensemen on the roster. We can’t see Cade Webber or Dakota Mermis making the opening night roster.
Goalies (3) – $4,141,667
Total Maple Leafs Roster:
The Maple Leafs’ current roster carries a cap hit of $88,824,334, which exceeds the NHL salary cap of $88,000,000 by $824,334.
Maple Leafs Roster Adjustments
If the Maple Leafs were to run a full 23-player roster with 12 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goalies, they would be over the NHL salary cap by $824,334. They would have to drop one defenseman or goalie if there were no injuries.
Of the defensemen and goalies, the only waiver-exempt player is Joseph Woll. We can’t see them sending Woll down. That means one of Hakanpaa, Timmins, or Murray must be placed on waivers at the end of training camp. Because it is handy to have an extra goalie around for practices, allowing one goalie to work alone and separately, we will guess one of Hakanpaa or Timmins gets dropped from the roster.
Possible Maple Leafs Line Combinations
Forward Lines
Much depends on where the Maple Leafs will want to play Cowan. They might want him to start right in the top six to use his offensive skills to the fullest. They also might want to shelter his minutes and have him work more on his defensive game playing on the third line. Having Domi able to jump back and forth between a top-six winger role or a third-line center will be useful.
The Maple Leafs’ last two head coaches were either for keeping Matthews and Marner apart or together. With Mike Babcock, it was separate. With Sheldon Keefe, it was together. We don’t yet know if Craig Berube will lean either way.
The two most likely forward combinations we see are:
Line Combination 1:
Line Combination 2:
Maple Leafs Forward Depth
While Treliving has concentrated on strengthening the defense and goaltending, the Maple Leafs have little depth at forward. The one player we didn’t mention was Nick Robertson. Robertson has not signed yet, and it has been reported that he has requested a trade. If we can believe what Treliving says, the Maple Leafs would prefer to keep Robertson. If they do get Robertson signed and they decide to send Cowan back to Juniors, we would expect Robertson to take Cowan’s spot in the lineup.
That still does not leave the Maple Leafs with much depth at forward. We could see Treliving acquiring a couple more forwards.
Maple Leafs Defensive Pairings
With the defensive pairings, a lot depends on whether Berube wants to use Jake McCabe on his natural left side or whether he puts him back on the right side. If the defense were to consist of the top six players on the depth chart, the combinations would look like this:
Pairing Combinations 1:
Pairing Combinations 2:
If Berube would instead use McCabe on the left side, the defense could look like this:
Goaltending
If everyone is healthy, the only question regarding goaltending is whether the Maple Leafs want to run a 1A and 1B tandem or with Woll as the #1 and Stolarz as the #2. If Woll is the starter, a two-thirds, one-third (55 – 27) split seems the most likely. Of course, a lot might depend on how the goalies perform in training camp.
These are the Way Things Seem Right Now
That’s the way things stand for us right now. However, things can change during preseason training camp. Injuries can occur, and other players may emerge. Trades could also be made. For now, if we were to predict what the team is likely to do, this is our best choice. Stay tuned for further changes as the offseason progresses.
