4 Leafs, aside from the core, who need to make huge strides this year to allow the team to flourish
The Leafs have their core already established in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander all inked through at least this coming season. Whether a change is made to this core is still up in the air, but assuming the core returns in its entirety next season, there are 4 players who will really need to elevate their games this year to give the Leafs the best chance to win.
There are a number of players likely to be departing this summer as either UFAs or being allowed to walk as RFAs, which could create a lot of extra opportunity for the team's young up-and-comers. In terms of who the 4 guys the Leafs will need the most from, those players are Joseph Woll, Nick Robertson, Matthew Knies and Timothy Liljegren.
Often, when you're looking to contend for a championship, you need guys on their entry-level deals or inexpensive second contracts to step in and outperform those contracts. In this case, all of Woll and Liljegren, both are on their second deals in Toronto and combine for just over $2M in salary. Robertson and Knies, however, are both on their entry-level deals and combine for just over $1.7M.
Why is this important? Well, because it makes for less holes that the Leafs will need to fill. Assuming that Matt Murray is sent packing this summer, the Leafs will have close to $20M to spend in free agency. As you can imagine, that will go a hell of a lot further if you're able to fill roster spots with inexpensive players and use that cap space on either re-signing your own impact players or seeking out impact players in the free agent market.
Some of the potential names floating around out there who can really help to push the Leafs over the top are Patrick Kane, Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko and Dmitry Orlov - all of whom have Stanley Cup rings. There are a few other candidates that could also make a great deal of sense for the Leafs, such as Tyler Bertuzzi, Alex Killorn and perhaps even a familiar face, such as Connor Brown. The problem is that all of these players are going to have lofty contract demands, so having young players on inexpensive deals coming in and actually making an impact could be paramount to the success of the team this year.
In the end, as we know, none of this will matter if the star players don't show up in the big moments in the playoffs, but as Treliving said - as long as the team can keep knocking on the door and knocking on the door and knocking on the door, eventually they'll get through that door and do some damage in the postseason. We've already seen the Leafs' first series win in almost 20 years this season, and we know they've been knocking on the door for awhile. Now it's just a matter of getting hot when it matters most.
For Knies, Robertson, Liljegren and Woll - if all 4 of these guys can grab ahold of a roster spot and make the most of their opportunities, I like the Leafs' chances of changing their fate in 2023-24.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 4 | 1975 ANSWERS 4 Leafs, aside from the core, who need to make huge strides this year to allow the team to flourish Who is the most vital piece to the Leafs' success next season among younger players? | ||
| Nick Robertson | 82 | 4.2 % |
| Joseph Woll | 717 | 36.3 % |
| Matthew Knies | 1075 | 54.4 % |
| Timothy Liljegren | 101 | 5.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
