The Leafs may have a lot of cap space opening up in short order
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been a cap team for a number of years, but this year, things have been unusually tight. The Leafs began the season with a 20-man roster, but with the injury to Timothy Liljegren, they have been able to carry a 22-man roster for the last couple of weeks. This won't last forever, though, as Conor Timmins and his $1.1M contract are set to return, with Liljegren, I'm sure, only weeks away from doing the same.
From the very beginning of the year, it appeared likely that the Leafs were eventually going to have to make a move to become salary cap compliant once everyone was healthy. We still haven't arrived at a moment where all hands are on deck, it appears as though there's a chance that we might not get to that point at all.
This morning, we had reported that John Klingberg left practice after just a few minutes on the ice in Stockholm. This was a bad sign to begin with, so when Sheldon Keefe spoke with the media after practice, nobody was surprised to hear him confirm that Klingberg would not be in the lineup on Sunday. However, it was another comment that Keefe made that provided some real insight as to the significance of Klingberg's injury. When asked about whether Klingberg's injury is potentially a longer-term issue, Keefe had this to say:
There have been a lot of "Robidas Island" jokes floating around this week, but today is the first time that the possibility seems like a real one. Now, I'm not necessarily suggesting that Klingberg will remain out for the season, but if his injury is, as he revealed, something he's dealt with through his entire career and is something that is getting worse with time, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he does ride out the remainder of his 1-year, $4.15M contract on LTIR. If that happens, the Leafs are going to have a lot of money to spend.
Obviously, the Leafs have been linked pretty firmly to both Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev this week. If the Leafs are serious about both defensemen, they combine for more than $8M against the cap. If Klingberg does ride out the season on LTIR, then the Leafs could likely work out a deal to be able to fit both guys in with very minimal salary retention - though it would still require them to free up some additional cap space.
Conversely, if the Leafs wanted to add only Tanev or only Zadorov, then Klingberg winding up on LTIR would allow them to do so with relative ease. Tanev and Zadorov are both on expiring deals, with Tanev coming in at $4.5M, while Zadorov carries a $3.75M cap hit.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 18 | 390 ANSWERS The Leafs may have a lot of cap space opening up in short order Will John Klingberg wind up on LTIR in the coming weeks? | ||
| Yes | 240 | 61.5 % |
| No | 42 | 10.8 % |
| Off to Robidas Island with him!! | 108 | 27.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
