The Toronto Maple Leafs had a relatively busy first day of free agency. General manager (GM) Brad Treliving prioritized his team’s blue line and goaltending before focusing on his forward group.
Related: 2024 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Now, keep in mind that just because the first day is over doesn’t mean that the Maple Leafs won’t still make a splash with a mid-tier player. However, for now, it seems that there is nothing major in the hopper for Treliving and his hockey club. With that, let’s recap what he and the Maple Leafs did on Day 1 of free agency.
Stabilizing the Blue Line
As mentioned before, the Maple Leafs worked at building their blue line this offseason rather than going all out on the forward group and having to scrap together a six-man defence core like the organization has done in the past. It started late on June 30 when the team announced the extension of Timothy Liljegren to a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $3 million. It was the kickstart of what the team had planned for July 1, and they started that off with a bang. Within minutes of the free agency coverage starting in Canada, Toronto announced the deal between them and Chris Tanev.
Tanev’s new deal with his hometown club is a six-year contract with an AAV of $4.5 million and he will slot in on the top pairing alongside Morgan Rielly. The reason for the extended term was to help bring down the AAV, which it did. He could have gotten $6 million for three years on the open market, but this contract structure helped bring down the AAV to $4.5 million to help bring in another defenceman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson agreed to a four-year deal with an AAV of $3.5 million and similar to Tanev, his contract structure is drawn out over four years rather than the two years he could have gotten on the open market. He and fellow countryman Liljegren could be a very good mobile two-way pairing.
Related: Maple Leafs Have Bargain Bin Options In Free Agency
Lastly, Treliving secured himself more defensive depth with the signing of Jani Hakanpaa, who plays a similar game to Ilya Lyubushkin but is a bit more physical. His deal with the organization is a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.5 million. This signing could raise some questions about who sits out now that the team has seven NHL-calibre defencemen signed. Hakanpaa is a Treliving-type player through and through; at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, he is a right-handed shooting defenceman. He is exactly what the Maple Leafs GM has shown that he loves on his blue line.
New Goalie Tandem
Next up, between the pipes. It had been rumoured over the last week or so that the Maple Leafs and Joseph Woll had something in the works regarding a contract extension. However, it wasn’t announced until July 1, and the deal is significant for the future of the team’s goaltending. Woll’s new deal is a three-year contract with an AAV of $3.6 million, and it won’t take effect until 2025-26 when he will be 26 years old. The Maple Leafs also brought in a new tandem goalie to play alongside Woll, the Stanley Cup winner with the Florida Panthers, Anthony Stolarz, to a two-year contract with an AAV of $2.5 million.
Stolarz has been a career backup goalie with the Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and most recently, the aforementioned Panthers. However, given Woll’s injury history and his lack of NHL experience as a starter, the Maple Leafs felt that signing a veteran goalie, who could step in and take the reins was needed. Stolarz is also a monster of a man, standing at 6-foot-6, 234 pounds, so it’ll be hard for teams to beat him. Toronto also re-signed Matt Murray to a one-year deal with an AAV of $875,000. He missed almost all of last season due to a hip injury, but appears to be healthy and will take on the role as the team’s third goalie.
Players That Departed
This time of year can also be tough for friends and families of NHL players who find new homes across the country or in a completely different country. With that said, just like every offseason, some players depart from their former club and find work elsewhere. The Maple Leafs had a decent amount of pending free agents that signed with other teams yesterday. The biggest name was Tyler Bertuzzi, who signed a five-year deal with an AAV of $5.5 million with the Chicago Blackhawks. It seemed that the Maple Leafs wanted to find a way to re-sign him, but with that cap hit, it made sense as to why they didn’t.
Joel Edmundson also signed with the Los Angeles Kings on a four-year deal with an AAV of $3.8 million. The Maple Leafs acquired him at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline but went in a completely different direction on the back end. Another blueliner that found a new home is the aforementioned Lyubushkin. Acquired for the second time by the Maple Leafs, he played hard and turned it into a new contract with the Dallas Stars. His new deal is a two-year contract with an AAV of $3.25 million. Noah Gregor, who was left unqualified by the Maple Leafs, also found a new home with the Ottawa Senators with a one-year deal worth $850,000. The other two pending UFAs that got signed were T.J. Brodie, who inked a deal with the Blackhawks, for two years with an AAV of $3.75 million. Ilya Samsonov also found a new home with the Vegas Golden Knights, on a one-year, $1.8 million deal.
Again, there will be more news coming in the next few days. However, the Maple Leafs were busy early on July 1 and now find themselves in a situation cap-wise where they will need to make some type of move to become compliant before the start of the 2024-25 NHL season.
