NHL free agency: What's left for the Maple Leafs with Mitch Marner gone?

Hamilton Spectator

01-07-2025

It doesn't look as if
Maple Leafs
general manager
Brad Treliving
has a lot to do when free agency opens at noon Tuesday.
He did his own heavy lifting, getting
Steven Lorentz,
Matthew Knies
and
John Tavares
to sign contract extensions the past few days. He also added centre Nicolas Roy
in a sign-and-trade for Mitch Marner
with the Vegas Golden Knights, and winger
Matias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth
for a conditional third-round pick in 2027.
The Leafs already have 22 NHL players re-signed, with their own free agents still to deal with. Those included unrestricted free-agents
Max Pacioretty
and Pontus Holmberg, and restricted free-agent Nick Robertson.
And he watched helplessly as some of his free-agent targets re-signed with their own teams — 37-year-old
Brad Marchand
highest among them in Florida.
For a GM who said he wanted to 'change the DNA' of the Leafs, Treliving doesn't have a lot of roster openings to do it.
He is armed with about $8.9 million in salary-cap space. Teams can go over the cap by 10 per cent during the summer, or $9.5 million. Trades and demotions to the minors might free up more room.
Treliving overhauled the Leafs' goaltending
(Anthony Stolarz)
and defence (
Chris Tanev
, Oliver Ekman-Larsson) last off-season. This summer, work needs to be done at forward.
Here's a look at who the Leafs could be targeting:
The best available player as far as offence and the most like Marner: a playmaker who can score. But Ehlers is a left-winger and may be a better fit with on the second line. He is not as strong defensively, though, and the Winnipeg Jets still hoped to re-sign the player they drafted ninth in 2014, one spot after the Leafs chose Nylander. The Leafs are said to have liked Ehlers as much as they liked Nylander, and July 1 could be the chance to have both. The 29-year-old has 225 goals and 295 assists in 674 regular-season games — fifth in goals and assists, and sixth in points, in Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers history. AFP Analytics estimates a salary at just over $8 million a year on a long-term deal.
It was an odd season for just about anybody associated with the Vancouver Canucks last year, and Boeser was no exception. He dipped to 25 goals from 40, and 50 points from 73. He'll still command in the range of $8 million to $9 million a season, but may have his eye on the Flyers, who hired his favourite coach Rick Tocchet. But Boeser has also long admired Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who became more of a playmaker this season. Together, the goals could mount.
There's still fire in the belly of the three-time Stanley Cup champion. Matthews admired him as a kid, and it'd be easy to see him on the right wing on Toronto's top line for about $3 million. He had 21 goals and 38 assists last year. He's 36, but that's no longer a sin in the hockey world.
The Leafs could right a wrong by bringing back Brown, drafted by Toronto in 2012 and traded in 2019. He's a low-maintenance professional, a high-energy forward who can forecheck and kill penalties. Brown had 13 goals in a rebound year with Edmonton. He's been to the Stanley Cup final twice and performed well both times. A short-term deal at under $3 million a year would seem about right.
The 29-year-old from Bolton was one of Treliving's draft picks in Calgary, a sixth-rounder in 2015 who panned out. His offence levelled off the past couple of years, after a 35-goal season in Calgary made folks take notice in 2021-22. He's a two-way player with speed, but a bit undersized at five-foot-10. Treliving liked him before and may like him again. He had a $5.8-million cap hit last year in Washington. That price should drop after 14-goal season.
The younger brother of Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev likes to block shots, too. He's defensively aware and physical. The 33-year-old forward from East York is coming off a cap hit of $3.5 million and will field offers well under that. He had 10 goals and 12 assists for Seattle and Winnipeg last season. He'd be an easy fit on any fourth line.
The 25-year-old, six-foot-one centre seems haunted by the exceptional status he was granted to play in the QMJHL as a 15-year-old in 2015. Expectations in Detroit and Chicago seemed too high. He may never be the offensive player scouts expected, but he'd fill a role in the bottom six with size and defensive awareness. Getting bought out, as the Kraken did after they acquired him this off-season, usually lights a fire under a young player to prove everybody wrong.
The 26-year-old winger became an unrestricted free agent when the Ducks declined to make him a qualifying offer. He is six-foot-five with 220 games to his credit. The forward got just five goals in 62 games last year, though. He's got a high hockey IQ and battles for pucks. A second-rounder in 2019, Leason made $1.05 million last season.