One of the many issues facing the Toronto Maple Leafs is that they are limited.
With multiple players on long-term injured reserve, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team able to stay under the cap while having no cap room and even exceeding it.
That need not be the case, though.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs so choose, they can have nearly limitless cap room. This is due to the fact that they are spending close to $20 million on new players. Given that it is realistic to assume that any transaction they make will be dollar-for-dollar money-in-money out, they ought to have enough cap room to do as they choose. Particularly considering that none of the players on the following roster have contracts that extend past this season, save from David Kampf.
In essence, the Toronto Maple Leafs have infinite cap space.
Max Domi is a completely one-dimensional player who, despite his occasional great play, earns $3 million that may be better used elsewhere.
Domi plays extremely sheltered minutes, yet he has a 48% Xgoals rating. A half-point a game and poor defense can be had for a lot less money than $3 million, I’m sure of it.
TJ Brodie is worth $5 million, yet he isn’t worth having on a Cup Contender team any longer. Although he had a good career, it hurts to see him go. A 48% player cannot be on your top pair.
Ryan Reaves and David Kampf are both useless players. These were errors, and together they form the worst and most costly fourth line in the National Hockey League. With a total cap hit of $3.75, they have essentially squandered $4 million.
Lastly, even though Ilya Samsonov has been playing well lately, his $3.5 million salary makes it impossible to trust him to play in important games for this squad.
All in all, $15.3 million worth of players that could be traded for any AHL player earning the league minimum and no one would really notice the difference. That’s essentially limitless cap room, and the Leafs can do whatever they want until the trade deadline, provided the general manager is prepared to acknowledge and fix his mistakes.
Take note that this should dispel the myth that paying your stars a lot of money is harmful. The reason for the Leafs’ lack of depth is that they have $15 million in mishandled salary on their roster, with not a single dime going to any of their players.
The Leafs can surely make roster changes and ice a cup contender in time for the playoffs with this much money available. The only reason cap space becomes an issue is if they are unable to get rid of the losers from their team.
They could easily get the goalie and defenseman they need to win it all with this much money.
