*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.
*******
The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering the consequential weeks of the offseason when most of the moves are made. In the next three or four weeks, decisions will be made on players on their roster who have expiring contracts, those on other clubs with term left on their deals they would have to trade for, and players who are heading to the open market on July 1.
In the free agent market, a few of the options would potentially be a part of the Leafs clearing Mitch Marner’s $10.9 million salary for next season, otherwise signing blueliner free agents would necessitate GM Brad Treliving moving on from forward Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, which would leave Toronto extremely thin at forward.
1) Chris Tanev – The most likely target of the Leafs come July 1. Treliving tried to trade for Tanev before Calgary shipped him to Dallas, and the Stars want to bring him back after the 34-year-old played so well in the playoffs, but his roots in Toronto give the Leafs an advantage if they are willing to offer a competitive salary.
2) Brandon Montour – It is a big question whether the Florida Panthers blueliner will reach free agency since he has been important to their consecutive Stanley Cup runs, but if he does, the Leafs will be in on him because of his being right-handed and an excellent power-play quarterback. Treliving recognized the importance of adding a shot from the point when he took a flyer on John Klingberg in free agency and will likely do so again with Montour or someone else like him.
3) Brett Pesce - A possible fallback if Tanev re-signs with Dallas or the Leafs get outbid. The 29-year-old has been linked to Toronto for years in various rumors, and while not a big offensive contributor, he is an excellent defensive blueliner who can play top-four minutes. Carolina is expected to be focused on re-signing Jaccob Slavin and possibly Brady Skjei, and it is expected that it will take in the neighborhood of $6 million on a six-or-seven-year deal to get Pesce signed.
4) Nikita Zadorov – The big Russian was another ex-Treliving signing in Calgary that the Leafs attempted to acquire during the season. The 29-year-old made himself a lot of scratch with his excellent playoff with Vancouver and will likely draw interest from any team looking to add size and toughness on the blueline. The only downside to Zadorov and Toronto is his being left-handed and the Leafs decided need for at least one or two defensemen on the right side.
5) Matt Roy – Perhaps a Plan C if Tanev and Pesce end up elsewhere, Roy is 29 years old with 369 NHL games experience with the Kings over six seasons. The big right-hander (6’1”, 200 lb.) is not an offensive dynamo, but a solid two-way defender and a mainstay on LA’s penalty kill.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»