It’s been a quiet August for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and unless something unforeseen happens before training camp, the team’s roster could head into camp as it is currently constructed. This means there is no direct replacement for Mitch Marner, who departed the organization in June in a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.

So where does that leave the Leafs if things stay the way they are?

According to Puckpedia.com, the Maple Leafs have $1,919,722 in salary cap space with a roster of 23 players. Of course, there could be more than that. The Leafs don’t necessarily have to carry 22 players, or they could have Philippe Myers on their roster instead of Henry Thrun, freeing up an additional $150,000 in cap space.

If the Leafs play their cards right and avoid a catastrophic string of injuries, they could use the method of daily salary cap accrual to their advantage for the first time in a meaningful way, instead of just being in LTIR.

Under the daily salary cap accrual method, saved money is banked, which allows a team to increase its cap space later in the year to acquire players with a larger salary hit. For example, while the Leafs currently have $1,919,722 in cap space, Puckpedia also lists the team’s deadline cap space at a much higher figure: $8,775,872.

The calculation is based on how many days have expired in the season and how much money would have been saved under the cap by then. The number assumes the Leafs stay $1,919,722 under the salary cap every day of the regular season until deadline day. For example, if Myers makes the team over Thrun and stays there all season long, that deadline cap space would increase to $9,461,586.

The Leafs could then go about their business, trying to land a high-quality 'top gun', possibly on an expiring contract (but not necessarily), to add to their roster if it becomes clear they are contenders.

So while the choices right now don’t look attractive in free agency, the Leafs could be best served by effectively banking space all season long for a bigger swing at the deadline if necessary.

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