The Maple Leafs’ new cap picture is already more complicated than the trade itself.
After Monday’s six-player deal with Columbus brought Kirill Marchenko, Miles Wood and Elvis Merzlikins to Toronto in exchange for Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrae and a conditional 2027 second-rounder, the Leafs are expected to open with a 22-player roster. That puts the club about $3.94 million over the cap on paper, but the key is that Toronto can still file a compliant roster by using Merzlikins on regular long-term injured reserve and squeezing out LTIR relief within $37,000 of the ideal amount.
That’s only the first layer, though. The real flexibility comes after the 5 p.m.
ET deadline on Monday, when the Leafs can go deeper into the LTIR pool. Merzlikins, 32, is in the final year of a $5.4 million contract with 18 percent retained by Columbus and is already out indefinitely after late-August shoulder surgery.
Max Domi, meanwhile, failed his physical at the start of camp and remains out indefinitely after complications from offseason back surgery. Once Toronto is compliant, the team can place Domi on long-term IR at $3.75 million and, if it wants, convert Merzlikins from regular LTIR to season-ending LTIR.
That extra step would open roughly $4.20 million more in usable space.
Even the $3.75 million from Domi alone gives Toronto enough room to add a 23rd player after the initial roster filing. The most straightforward call-up is Marshall Rifai, who was waived last week for assignment to the Marlies.
He checks a lot of boxes: cheap, left-shot and available without triggering another waiver process once the roster is set. That makes him the cleanest option as an eighth defenceman.
There’s also a forward-side wrinkle. Marchenko, a 26-year-old Russian winger, was still in Columbus on Monday and is expected to join the Leafs once his paperwork clears.
If his visa isn’t ready in time for Tuesday’s opener against Montreal at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto may lean toward carrying a second extra forward rather than an eighth defenceman. With Dakota Joshua dealing with a core ailment, that would open the door for Bo Groulx, a 26-year-old center-wing hybrid who impressed in camp, can kill penalties and was already in the mix to begin the season if Joshua’s issue lingered.
In a 22-man filing that accounts for the visa uncertainty, Groulx would land on the opening-night roster, with an extra forward serving as insurance until Marchenko is cleared to play.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Just Found A New Way To Buy Cap Flexibility
The Maple Leafs have spent plenty of time looking for cleaner paths to salary-cap breathing room, and the deal they completed with Columbus gives them one more lever to work with. The trade sent Matthew Knies to the Blue Jackets while bringing back the contracts of Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood, a swap that changes the books in a meaningful way and adds another layer to how Toronto can manage its roster now and beyond.
What makes this one stand out is the way long-term injured reserve can help soften the immediate cap hit for Toronto, turning the move into more than a simple player-for-player transaction. There are also contract extensions tied into the deal that affect future seasons without changing the current one, which is exactly the kind of structure front offices use when they want flexibility without giving up the ability to reshape the roster later. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Suddenly Face A Season Opener Lineup Question
The Maple Leafs may be dealing with a familiar kind of early-season inconvenience, only this one comes with a roster wrinkle they did not expect. Kirill Marchenko, recently acquired in a trade, could be unavailable for the upcoming game against the Montreal Canadiens while the club waits on the Canadian work visa process to clear up.
For a team trying to get settled heading into the opener, the uncertainty leaves at least one spot in limbo. Toronto is still awaiting further updates on Marchenkos status, and until there is word on the visa, the Leafs have to prepare as if they may be without a player they had planned to have available right away. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs GM Finally Explained The Logic Behind Torontos Knies Shocker
John Chayka took the microphone to explain one of the more eye-catching moves in Torontos recent roster reshuffle, the deal that sent Matthew Knies to the Columbus Blue Jackets and brought Kirill Marchenko and two other players back the other way. The Maple Leafs general manager framed the move around Marchenkos skill set, his contract extension, and the way his game is supposed to fit with the group, while also making clear that Toronto still valued what Knies and Steven Lorentz had brought to the organization.
What made the explanation linger was the financial side of it, since Marchenkos contract was part of the logic Chayka leaned on as he talked through the teams next steps. For a club that is always balancing top-end talent with long-term flexibility, the trade feels like the kind of bet that only makes sense when the roster plan is viewed through a wider lens, and Chayka left enough of that blueprint on the table to keep the move under scrutiny. [Read more 🡒]