Leafs still in on Tanev, but are also high on a pending UFA in Los Angeles

The first round of the NHL Entry Draft is only 2 days away and the start of the free agent frenzy is fast approaching as well. NHL teams are expected to be overly aggressive this off-season with the salary cap increasing and more and more players and high draft picks are being made available than in previous years.

For the Maple Leafs, it's going to be another summer where they are rumoured to be interested in almost every big name on the market. However, this time around they might actually snag a few of those names with a far more aggressive and competent front office. After striking out on goaltender Jacob Markstrom, expect Toronto to continue perusing the market for a netminder but they are a little more preoccupied with bolstering their defence.

Jonas Siegel and James Mirtle took to The Athletic and mentioned that defensemen Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov "are two leading candidates" but they could very well re-sign with the respective clubs. If that is the case then Plan B will be looking to Brady Skjei, Brandon Montour, and Matt Roy as top-4 options.

Out of the aforementioned 5, they specifically mention Tanev as the one holding the most appeal for the Maple Leafs. The 34-year-old veteran was brought over to Calgary during the 2020 off-season by Brad Treliving and he brings about all the intangibles that the Leafs are coveting.

They mention that one way they can stick out above the rest is by offering him more term than he is originally asking for. If Tanev is looking for a 4-year deal, then the Leafs can add a few more years, all the while bringing down the cap hit ever so slightly to make it more appealing. It's more of a short-term gain, long-term pain situation when you factor in that they know he wouldn't likely last to the end of a 6-year deal, and would end his contract on "Robidas Island" for example.

Roy, on the other hand, is a very under the radar acquisition just because you don't hear his name as often as a Montour, a Tanev, or a Zadorov. The 29-year-old just finished his 6th season with the Los Angeles Kings where he played 81 games, accumulated 25 points, and logged 20:54 ATOI to go along with 197 blocked shots and 152 hits. The biggest hurdle will be his asking price as it is believed to be around 6 million dollars on a long-term deal.

The market for defensemen is generally inflated but this year more than ever, we are going to see some outrageous deals for both term and AAV. With the salary cap expected to increase to a projected 92 million in 2025, teams are focusing more on the "now" than the future.

Toronto is currently in a good situation cap-wise as they hold nearly 20 million dollars in projected cap space. However, there are other teams who are expected to be very involved this year with upwards of 30 million in cap space that could destroy the market by offering short term deals with much larger cap hits to secure the services of their preferred targets. In other words, expect a lot of bidding wars.

Signing players to 5-6-7 year deals with the understanding that you want to capitalize on the first 3-4 years might be the mantra this summer. If the Maple Leafs can do just that by adding Tanev and potentially another stud like Matt Roy to round out the top-4, Treliving and company will be entering the 2024-25 regular season in a better spot than they were in a year ago, when they were forced to sign the of-injured John Klingberg for more than $4M.

Source: The Athletic
What we're hearing about the Maple Leafs' plans for free agency, Mitch Marner

Source for Matt Roy's 2023-24 statistics: Hockey-Reference
Matt Roy