The Toronto Maple Leafs will face a number of challenges this season, some unforeseen and others expected. Based on the rules for the NHL’s Return to Play released this weekend, the Leafs 56-game schedule will be exclusively within the seven-team All-Canadian North Division, likely playing nine times against four Western teams and 10 against Ottawa and Montreal.
Going into the season, GM Kyle Dubas expected that after the signing of free agents Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey, Zach Bogosian, TJ Brodie and Joe Thornton, and the re-signings of Jason Spezza, Travis Dermott, and Ilya Mikheyev that the club would be right up against the $81.5 million salary cap. That will still be the case when the season begins on January 13, but navigating the cap may be helped by the implementation of a four-to-six man taxi squad.
“Whether we have to go with 20 men on the roster to start, or whether on off days and with the team being so close. (Sending) guys down to play games for the Marlies rather than sitting out for us, if they have been through waivers or they are waiver exempt in order to keep guys fresh and active and accrue some savings that way, will be key.” Dubas said in October. “At this time, in working with Brandon Pridham on it daily, it doesn’t appear that we will need to move anybody else out.”
It is unknown whether the AHL will be able to begin their season in early February or whether it is financially feasible without fans, making it necessary for the 31 clubs to have extra players available in case of positive COVID cases or injury. The taxi squad will operate in many of the same ways that the minors do, in that clearing waivers will be still necessary for veteran players, youngsters are exempt from waivers, and that a maximum of $1.075 million in salary can be buried in the minors.
It is likely that the Leafs will carry a minimum number of players on the active roster to stay under the cap, using the taxi squad as a lifeboat for players such as Mikko Lehtonen, Alexander Barabanov, Rasmus Sandin, Pierre Engvall, and Nick Robertson (who are all exempt), promoting and demoting them on days off to save space. The rules for taxi squads stipulate that three goaltenders have to be on either the roster or taxi squad, but Toronto risks losing Aaron Dell on waivers if they try to send him to the taxi squad.
With clubs like Washington looking for goaltending help after the announcement that Henrik Lundqvist will not play this season, the Leafs could choose to keep three goalies on the active roster to prevent losing Dell before the season as happened with Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard in 2018.
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