With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Last Season: 49-26-7 record (105 points), third in the Pacific Division (lost to Boston in the first round of the playoffs)
Remaining Cap Space: $13.317MM per CapFriendly (still need to re-sign F William Nylander)
Key Additions: F Tyler Ennis (free agent, Minnesota), F Par Lindholm (free agent, Skelleftea, SHL), F John Tavares (free agent, NY Islanders)
Key Departures: F Tyler Bozak (free agent, St. Louis), F Leo Komarov (free agent, NY Islanders), F Matt Martin (trade, NY Islanders), F Dominic Moore (free agent, unsigned), F Tomas Plekanec (free agent, Montreal), D Roman Polak (free agent, Dallas), F James van Riemsdyk (free agent, Philadelphia)
[Related: Maple Leafs Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F John Tavares – Really, who else could it be? The long-time Islanders star surprised quite a few people by heading to his hometown team in free agency this summer and signing a seven-year, $77MM contract. How will he adapt to his new environment and, quite possibly, his new role?
With New York, Tavares was the focal part of their attack but Toronto already boasts three high-end players up front in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Nylander. Matthews was their number one center last season and it’s hard to envision that changing. They’re not going to move Tavares to the wing (that wouldn’t make any sense to do) so that means he will likely slot in on the second, a position he hasn’t been in quite some time.
On the surface, that may seem like a demotion but it could certainly go the other way too. Tavares should now be freed from the top checking he faced with New York which should result in some extra space and opportunities. He should also play alongside one of their top wingers so there shouldn’t be a big drop off in talent either.
The contract is going to firmly place Tavares in the spotlight. The pressure and expectations have never been higher for him but he’s going to have a lot more on-ice support than he has been used to. It’s going to be quite interesting to see how he fares in Toronto.
Key Storyline: Toronto’s long-term cap questions have been well discussed already. However, even though they won’t be up against the Upper Limit again until next season, that looming cap crunch is probably going to play a role in their decision making in 2018-19.
Whenever Nylander signs, Toronto should still have enough room to account for their potential bonuses without having to put Nathan Horton on LTIR. (Placing him there could result in a bonus carryover like there is for this coming season, something they’re really going to want to avoid now.) After all that, they still should have enough room left to start banking some space towards the trade deadline, especially if they opt to shuttle some of their entry-level players back and forth between the NHL and AHL to save some extra money.
Even with the most optimistic view of next year’s cap situation, there is still going to be some roster trimming for 2019-20. With that in mind, new GM Kyle Dubas may view this season as their best chance to really make a run for the Stanley Cup. In other words, around the trade deadline is going to be the time to look to make another significant addition to their roster. If they stay fairly healthy between now and then, Toronto should be able to bank enough space to make that impact addition without setting themselves up for the bonus overage.
We’re still a year away from really seeing what the full effects will be once Nylander, Matthews, and Marner all are on big-money, long-term deals. Even so, it still should play an important role in Toronto’s decision making as they shape their roster throughout the season.
Overall Outlook: Toronto was already a contender last season and while their losses shouldn’t be overlooked entirely, adding the prized free agent in Tavares should only help. The Atlantic Division looks like a three-team runaway already and the Maple Leafs are certainly among those teams.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.