Report: Leafs preparing to say goodbye to veteran
It looks like his time with the franchise is over.
The offseason once again arrived early for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they bowed out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a heartbreaking Round 1 seven game series against the rival Boston Bruins. And for the 4th time since 2013, they lost the deciding Game 7 on the road at Boston's TD Garden.
The Leafs have already made a major change, electing to terminate head coach Sheldon Keefe despite the fact that he's the only coach since Pat Quinn in 2004 to have guided them past Round 1 of the postseason. And while the search is now officially on for the next bench boss, GM Brad Treliving will have plenty more decisions to make when it comes to player personnel.
While the bulk of the focus is on the likes of Mitch Marner and John Tavares, who are two of the underperforming players that represent the "Core 4" along with William Nylander and Auston Matthews, a handful of other players are up for new contracts this summer. Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and T.J. Brodie are all pending free agents when the calendar turns to July.
And based on a recent report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Leafs have expressed interest in a new deals for Bertuzzi and Domi, but are likely preparing to bid goodbye to Brodie after four years with the team.
"Though not yet confirmed, the Leafs are also speculated to have expressed the same interest in keeping forward Max Domi, while the same cannot currently be said for defenceman T.J. Brodie, who has not been given that indication from Treliving, as of this date, and is expected to test the free agent waters this summer."
The Ontario native spent the first eight years of his NHL career playing with the Calgary Flames before signing a four-year deal with the Leafs prior to the 2020-21 NHL season. In 78 games played in 2023-24, he scored one goal to go with 25 assists.
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