Leafs plan trade as they cannot face projected flat salary cap next season

The NHL pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not only hard on fans and players, it will also have a tremendous blow on teams’ wallets for the next season. 

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox examined the effect of the salary cap remaining at $81.5 million could affect the Toronto Maple Leafs and he believes the team might be forced to plan a trade to make the numbers work. 

As the reporter points out, pending unrestricted free agent defensemen Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci aren’t expected to return to Toronto. While their spots on the blue line could be filled by affordable young players like Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, it would leave only Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin as established veterans on the back. This has prompted Fox to wonder if the Leafs could add via trade or free agency. 

While he does not believe the Leafs would be willing to pull a blockbuster deal to address their blue line needs in say trading a top forward like William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews or John Tavares, he thinks the Leafs could already be looking at the option to swap a middle-class forward such as Kasperi Kapanen, Alexander Kerfoot or Andreas Johnsson for a defenseman. 

It is no secret it will be hard for any club around the league to deal with a flat salary cap for 2020-21. However, the challenge seems even bigger for the Maple Leafs, who have over $76 millions invested in 16 players on the payroll.