The Leafs' season once again ended in disappointment and with change needed, who will Toronto decide to hang onto versus let go before the start of the 2024-25 NHL season?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been lacking for post-season success in recent years, but they aren’t lacking for options, particularly, up front. Veteran forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi are scheduled to be UFAs this summer, but let’s look at them and Toronto’s other players on the bubble – both signed and unsigned for next season – and weigh in on which bubble players are likely to be back in Blue and White in 2024-25, and which ones are likely to move on.

Coming Back For Sure

1. Bobby McMann, C

Before McMann was injured at the end of the regular season and missed out on the playoffs, he had established himself as a high-energy, physical winger who could play up and down the lineup and contribute notable numbers (including 15 goals in 56 regular-season games) while not costing them a lot of salary cap space. McMann signed a two-year contract extension with a $1.35-million cap hit, making him one of the bigger bargains on the team. And at age 27, he’s still got lots of great hockey ahead of him. McMann will have a roster spot locked up once training camp begins, and if he responds with a similarly big-bargain season, the Leafs will be holding onto him as hard as they can.

2. Connor Dewar, C

The Leafs made a late-season trade with Minnesota for Dewar’s services, and the 24-year-old generated four assists and five points in 17 regular-season games as a Leaf. Deward is an RFA this summer, and the Leafs need low-cost options like him in the lineup, so we fully expect he’ll return and give the Buds a serviceable option to play on the fourth line. His $800,000 salary from 2023-24 won’t change much, and that bargain is what the Leafs need more of. Dewar pushed forward Noah Gregor out of the lineup last year, and Toronto management likes him enough to bring him back for another kick at the can next season.

Possibly Coming Back, But No Guarantee

1. David Kampf, C

With a cap hit of $2.4 million for the next three years, Kampf’s eight-goal, 19-point season wasn’t nearly enough for the Leafs’ liking. Kampf was a penalty killer who moved between the third and fourth lines, but there are better – and cheaper – options out there to put into a bottom-six forward role. If Toronto GM Brad Treliving finds a willing taker for Kampf, he’ll move on from him without any emotional attachment. Kampf isn’t a bad player, but for the cost-conscious Leafs, he’s too pricey for what he delivers.

2. Tyler Bertuzzi, LW

Bertuzzi justified his $5.5 million salary in the second half of Toronto’s season, but in the first half of the year, he struggled mightily. Toronto can afford to bring him back at the same salary as a UFA this summer, but if other teams drive up the asking price for Bertuzzi, we see Treliving cutting the cord with him and going with a different option – say, a Tyler Toffoli or Jake DeBrusk. Bertuzzi can’t ask for the world in contract negotiations, and if he wants to stay a Leaf, he needs to temper his salary expectations. Reports have come out though saying there is mutual interest between Leafs' management and Bertuzzi to get a deal done, so perhaps a new deal between the two parties is a very real possibility.

3. Max Domi, RW

Like Bertuzzi, Domi enjoyed some great games in his first year as a Leaf. He found a home on star center Auston Matthews’ line at the end of the season, and now Domi’s future in Toronto is probably a coin-flip. If he agrees to a salary close to or the same as the $3 million he made last season, Domi will be back on a two or three-year deal. If he wants more money and/or term, Treliving will likely move on from him. Our hunch is he stays a Leaf, and develops into a season-long match with Matthews.

4. Joel Edmundson, D

The trade-deadline acquisition of Edmundson from Washington turned out to be a steal for the Leafs. Edmundson’s physical game was a welcome sight from Toronto’s blueline, and bringing him back for somewhere in the area of the $3.5-million cap hit he had last season makes a lot of sense for the Buds. It’s true Edmundson has a hard time staying healthy, but if he agrees to a dollar amount that fits in Toronto’s budget, the Leafs will happily bring the big D-man back.

Very Probably Not Coming Back

1. Nick Robertson, LW

Robertson had his best year as an NHLer this past season, posting 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games. But he was a non-factor in the playoffs, with no points in six games against Boston. He’s still only 22 years old, but Robertson has been pushed out of the top-six group of forwards by players such as Matthew Knies and McMann, and if Treliving is going to trade for help on defense, it makes a lot of sense to include Robertson in a deal to sweeten the pot. Robertson is not going to thrive in a bottom-six forward role, but that’s all that’s available to him on Toronto’s depth chart at the moment. Our suspicion is he’s played his last game as a Leaf. He may flourish elsewhere, but the end of the line for him in Toronto is drawing near.

2. Timothy Liljegren, D

It’s a measure of Liljegren’s fallen stock that, despite being a much-valued right-shot defenseman, he was a healthy scratch for one of Toronto’s playoff games against Boston. The 25-year-old Swede is scheduled to be an RFA this summer who’ll get a slight salary bump on the $1.4 million he made in 2023-24, but Liljegren is likely to be included in any trade for a better blueliner. On a true Stanley Cup contender, Liljegren is a third-pair option, and Toronto has more than enough of those types of D-men on the roster. His time as a Leaf is probably done.

3. Conor Timmins, D

Timmins had health issues last season, but he was a healthy scratch in the playoffs and he’s been overtaken on the Leafs’ defensive depth chart by Simon Benoit and late-season acquisition Cade Webber. The 25-year-old Timmins is signed at a $1.1 million cap hit for 2024-25, but he’s at best a depth option who (injury issues aside) probably wouldn’t be in Toronto’s top six defense group at any point next year. Timmins would probably welcome a trade to a team with more opportunity on the back end, and Treliving is likely to send him packing for a low draft pick that frees up his cap space. Timmins just isn’t good enough in his own end to justify another season with the Buds, and the only question now is if he begins the year as a healthy scratch, an American Leaguer or on another team.

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