With most of the six Toronto Maple Leafs players hitting unrestricted free agency this summer, a few new faces are likely to join the squad this season.
There will be plenty of free agents looking to add the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1st, but free agency comes with a high price tag.
Toronto GM Brad Treliving may make some trades to clear up salary cap space before free agency begins, so adding a free agent isn’t completely out of the question.
However, Treliving could use the trade market to upgrade Toronto’s bottom six rather than overpay UFA. If he does access the trade market, it will be interesting to see what type of players he targets. during his Press conferenceTreliving insisted on adding players with secondary scoring and few snarls.
With that in mind, there are two players Treliving could target with that offer. As an added bonus, both of these players are also hometown players from the Toronto area.
Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade For Tom Wilson
Tom Wilson only played in 33 games last season, so his numbers were low. During the 2021–22 season, Wilson had 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points in 78 games.
He also recorded 240 hits that season. Even though he only played in 33 games last season, he still scored 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points. The Washington Capitals forward also had 97 hits.
(data from hockey-reference.com,
Tom Wilson ain’t cheap. The rugged forward has a cap hit of $5.1 million for this season.
Treliving will have to evaluate the cost of acquiring Wilson in terms of cap space and what Washington will ask for in return.
Yes, there will be players available via trade or free agency that will cost less than Wilson, but they will not be able to give Toronto the 40-50 points that Wilson can or hit 200+. (from salary cap info) capFriendly.com,
Toronto Maple Leafs trade for Scott Laughton
The Philadelphia Flyers are in the midst of a roster overhaul.
Toronto could benefit from this by trading for 29-year-old forward Scott Laughton. Last season, Laughton recorded 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points in 78 games. Laughton recorded 156 hits last season for the snarl factor Treliving is looking for.
Laughton is under contract for three more seasons with a $3 million cap hit. He would be a better fit under Toronto’s cap structure as it stands now. As I said earlier, the cap structure in Toronto depends on how Treliving reshapes the team this off-season.
If I had to choose between these two players and only add one of them, I would trade for Scott Laughton. His lower cap hit and better tenure on his contract seal the deal for me.
Source: editorinleaf.com
