he first wave of the NHL free-agency period is over and with it, most top-dollar and elite free agents are already off the board. That doesn’t mean all teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, have filled their rosters and addressed all their needs.
In the eyes of Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs have their “biggest unaddressed need” at the center position, namely, adding a third- or fourth-line player at the position.
“The Leafs got nothing out of their third- and fourth-line centers—Pontus Holmberg and David Kampf—in the playoffs and haven’t upgraded the position at all this summer,” Siegel wrote on July 8. “Max Domi was re-signed in part because of his ability to play center and could slide back into the middle next season. He played his best last season on Auston Matthews’ right wing, though, and wasn’t their first, second, or third option to play center before that. The Leafs also figure to have John Tavares remaining at center at age 34 and entering his 16th NHL season. There’s nothing left in free agency, so barring a trade, this is what the Leafs have for now.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs were busy. After re-signing Liljegren and Domi on Sunday, they added Chris Tanev (6 x $4.5M), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4 x $3.5M), Jani Hakanpää (2 x $1.5M) and Anthony Stolarz (2 x $2.5M). A look at their depth chart after Day 1 of Free Agency:
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According to PuckPedia, the Leafs have 22 of 23 players under contract in their active roster. Toronto, however, only has $180,333 in cap space entering the second week of July with one roster hole to fill.
Looking at Daily Faceoff’s projected depth chart, the Leafs have Matthews, Tavares, Domi, and Kampf slotted as their first-through-fourth-line centers at this point in the offseason.
Maple Leafs Could ‘Cut Bait’ With Bottom-Line Center
One of the centers still on the Leafs’ roster and expected to earn playing time next season if nothing changes is David Kampf. That, however, might not be the case for much longer.
According to Toronto Star’s Nick Kypreos, reporting on July 4, the Leafs need to address their bottom-six forward corps and they are looking to “cut bait” with the center.
This Maple Leafs off-season is off to a nice start. There’s a long way to go to conquer the Atlantic
From thestar.com
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“The bottom-six forwards need some attention as well. Is David Kampf still in the plans to lead the Leafs’ checking line?” Kypreos wondered. “There’s a good chance they cut bait there as well. Can he be replaced by prospect Fraser Minton or is it time to look for an NHL-ready player elsewhere?”
Kampf, 29 years old, is entering the second year of a four-year, $9.6 million contract signed in June 2023. The deal carries a cap hit of $2.4 million per season for the next three years, including the 2024-25 campaign.
The center is coming off a season in which he played 78 games for the Leafs but could only score 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) for an average of 0.24 points per game.
