Leafs weighing their options, $12M over the cap looking to become compliant; Muzzin trade chatter?

The Leafs may not be able to solve all of their issues with just one move, so it's likely that we see multiple moves in the coming days, including a potential buyout of Matt Murray, who has one year left on his current deal at $4.687M. The Leafs, I'm sure, would prefer to trade Murray to avoid any cap penalties this year and next, but Murray's $8M actual salary is prohibitive for teams, unless the Leafs are willing to include a significant sweetener in the deal.

Beyond the potential Murray buyout, there are a number of other names that have been thrown around in potential trades, including that of T.J. Brodie, Calle Jarnkrok and now, even Jake Muzzin. On Monday, Leafs writer Mike Augello suggested that the Leafs could end up moving the final year of Muzzin's deal, which carries a $5.625M cap hit.

I know what you're thinking; "why would the Leafs want to move Muzzin when they can just keep him on LTIR and have access to his cap space anyway?" Well, it's simple, really. If the Leafs can manage to come into next season without having anyone on LTIR, they can accrue cap space throughout the year to give themselves some added financial flexibility at the trade deadline.

For those who may be unaware, when a team ices a roster that is below the salary cap, a percentage of the money they play under the cap is banked for use later on in the season. When a team is utilizing LTIR, they lose the ability to bank additional cap space.

I'm not sure if Leafs GM Brad Treliving intends to move Muzzin or not. The reality is that nobody knows, except for Treliving and perhaps a small contingent of people within the Leafs' front office. But, there's no arguing that the Leafs could benefit from some added cap flexibility at the deadline.