Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving planning to take advantage of a salary cap loophole

On Wednesday, the Leafs announced the signing of Jani Hakanpaa to a 1-year, $1.47M deal and Max Pacioretty to a PTO. Hakanpaa's deal put the Leafs $1.069M over the salary cap, meaning that a roster move is expected. Additionally, Pacioretty's agent, Allan Walsh, took to 'X' following the PTO announcement, noting that he expects a contract to be signed at or following training camp. Whether that is with the Leafs or not remains to be seen, but it could have significant cap implications when the Four Nations Face-off kicks off in February.

Avoiding LTIR is paramount for the Leafs and essentially any team approaching the Four Nations Face-off as noted by PuckPedia.

It doesn't seem like much, but $485K in additional, accrued cap space could be the difference between adding a fringe defenseman/forward or adding someone that could have an actual impact on the roster, which is something the Leafs have had to spend more draft capital on to have third parties retain salary in recent seasons. With Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz at camp on PTOs as well as having 8 defensemen signed that require waivers, GM Brad Treliving appears to be working on some sort of trade that will free up the necessary cap space to take advantage of this cap loophole later in the season.

Source: PuckPedia
Leafs Cap Situation