The Toronto Maple Leafs enter the 2025-26 season as a club with some uncertainty, dealing with a future without Mitch Marner playing the right wing in the top six for the first time in a decade.
But the combination of Marner’s exodus to Las Vegas and some excellent negotiating from GM Brad Treliving on free agent contracts and extensions over the last two years has given the Maple Leafs something that they have not had in a long time.
Treliving took over in May, 2023 after the dismissal of Kyle Dubas and was partially constrained by Team President Brendan Shanahan to keep the “Core Four” group intact. The former Calgary Flames GM made a couple of prudent moves, like signing Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi to one-year deals, and got Auston Matthews extended for four years, but also made a couple of big mistakes in signing enforcer Ryan Reaves to a three-year deal and extending center David Kampf for four years.
The Leafs have been able to get players to take team-friendly deals during Treliving's tenure, something that seemed impossible in the Lou Lamoriello or Dubas eras. Treliving’s tactic appears to be giving players extra years in term in exchange for lowering their cap hit.
In 2024, after locking up star winger William Nylander on an eight-year, $92 million deal, he extended 20-goal scorer Bobby McMann at a $1.35 million cap hit and inked bottom-pairing blueliner Simon Benoit for three years at the same AAV.
In July, they extended Domi just before hitting free agency for four years at $3.75 million, they extended goalie Joseph Woll for three years ($3.66 million AAV) and signed free agent veteran defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($3.5 million AAV for four years) and Chris Tanev ($4.5 million AAV for six years).
During the season, they used salary deferral on Jake McCabe’s five-year deal to keep the AAV under $5 million, and they had Philadelphia and Boston retain significant portions of Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo’s salary in deals at the trade deadline.
This summer, Treliving used the hometown pull to get fourth liner Steven Lorentz to re-sign at $1.35 million, and John Tavares’ desire to finish his career in the GTA, salary deferral and extra term again to get the former captain on a four-year deal at a bargain $4.38 million cap hit. He got emerging winger Matthew Knies locked up for six years at a $7.75 million AAV and after being unburdened by Marner signing with Vegas, the Leafs were able to add depth players like Nicolas Roy ($3 million), Dakota Joshua ($3.25 million), and Matias Maccelli ($3.425 million); something they had been unable to do in the past.
Last week, the Leafs took care of some leftover business, signing goalie Anthony Stolarz to a heavily bonus-laden, four-year, $15 million contract extension. The deal gives the Leafs a starting combo in goal with a combined AAV of ($7.417 million), which costs less than the top 10 individual goalie salaries in the NHL.
As it stands currently, Toronto is just under the salary cap to start the season, but may be shedding some salary during the season by moving Kampf or winger Calle Jarnkrok. But the product of Treliving’s ability to get players locked up on good deals will be next summer, when the Leafs will have their entire roster except Laughton and McMann as UFAs, and Maccelli, Nick Robertson and Henry Thurn as RFAs, locked up and with nearly $20 million in cap space with the league’s cap going to $104 million.
With a promising class of potential unrestricted free agents next summer, that puts Toronto in an excellent position to add an impact player.
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