Contract dispute could cause some headaches for the Maple Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a move to get rid of their captain in Dion Phaneuf prior to the trade deadline last season, but that move may now be causing the organization some headaches.

This summer during the buyout window, the Leafs exercised the option to buyout the contract of one of the players acquired in that deal, Jared Cowen, freeing up significant cap space, and saving roughly $3 million on the deal in the process.

Now however Cowen is disputing that buyout, claiming the Leafs used the buyout illegally on an injured player, this despite the fact that he  opted to undergo the surgery after the buyout had been completed and approved by the National Hockey League.

The case will now be reviewed by a neutral arbitrator, and according to a report from General Fanager, should Cowen win his case it would push the Leafs over the NHL's salary cap by just under $700,000. The Leafs are unlikely to act prior to the decision being announced, but it could cause some unexpected headaches for the Leafs who currently benefit from $2.1 million in free cap space with things as they currently stand.

[pub]