The Maple Leafs have found themselves at the center of a strange little salary-cap argument, and it all starts with Darren Raddysh’s new deal. Toronto locked up the pending UFA defenseman, acquired in a sign-and-trade, for eight years at $8.5 million per season. Around the same time, Colorado handed Cale Makar an eight-year extension worth $20.4 million per season.
That gap is the whole story. If the dollars were identical, there’d be no real conversation - Makar is the obvious pick. But the money is very much not identical, and that has opened the door for Maple Leafs fans to argue that they’d rather have Raddysh at $8.5 million than Makar at $20.4 million.
It’s a bold stance, and plenty of people won’t buy it. Still, there’s a real cap-based case behind it.
The argument isn’t that Raddysh is anywhere close to Makar as a player. He isn’t.
The point is that Toronto may be able to get more total value by using that money in pieces rather than tying it all up in one superstar.
Raddysh brings offense, power-play ability, and enough defensive competence to make the contract interesting. At $8.5 million, the Leafs can build around that production in a way Colorado can’t with Makar’s number on the books. The difference between the two cap hits is $11.9 million, and that opens up a lot of possibilities.
That kind of space could mean another top-six forward, help for a shaky third pairing, or several depth additions that make the lineup deeper across the board. It’s not just one extra player, either. Toronto could realistically turn that gap into two or three useful pieces, while Colorado may have to move someone or let another player go to make room for Makar’s salary.
That’s why this debate keeps circling back to roster construction. Cap flexibility can be every bit as valuable as star power, and Toronto is clearly betting on flexibility.
Of course, the comparison has limits. Both contracts run eight years, but they do not line up the same way.
Raddysh signed his eight-year, $68 million extension in June 2026, and it runs through 2033-34. Makar’s eight-year, $163.2 million deal was agreed to this week, but it does not begin until 2027-28 and runs through 2034-35.
Raddysh’s cap hit is already in play, while Makar’s doesn’t hit the books for another season.
And then there’s the talent gap, which is still massive. Makar has the hardware to match the reputation: two Norris Trophies, a Calder Trophy, and a Conn Smythe from Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup run. He’s sitting at 507 points in 470 regular-season games and remains one of the most dominant defensemen in the game.
Raddysh is coming off the best season of his career, and it was a big one: 70 points and 22 goals in 73 games. Before that, he had 143 points in his first 249 NHL games combined. That’s a real breakout, but it also puts his profile in perspective.
If he slides back toward the 35-point range, the whole conversation changes fast. Right now, though, Toronto has a defenseman who looks like a power-play weapon and a contract that gives the team room to do more elsewhere.
That’s what makes the Leafs’ side of this debate interesting. Nobody is seriously claiming Raddysh is Makar. The real question is whether the $11.9 million difference is better spent across the roster than concentrated in one transcendent player.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs May Have Found A Prospect They Desperately Need
Tinus-Luc Koblar is starting to look like the kind of prospect the Maple Leafs have been hoping to uncover, and his first season with Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League is giving Toronto a useful early read on his game. At 19, he is already facing older professional competition, and that kind of assignment tends to tell you plenty about whether a player is simply filling a developmental slot or actually pushing forward faster than expected. For a late second-round pick, that kind of growth curve is especially encouraging.
What makes Koblar stand out inside the Leafs' prospect pool is the mix itself. Toronto does not have many young players who combine size and skill in one package, which is part of why the organization is keeping close tabs on him this season. He is still early in the process, of course, but the fact that he is producing while adapting to the pace and physical demands of pro hockey has put him on a more interesting track than most players his draft slot usually follow. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs May Be More Dangerous Up Front And From The Blue Line
NHL EDGE data is pointing to a Maple Leafs group that could look a little more dangerous in different ways this season, with the offense not just coming from the usual places up front. The numbers suggest Toronto may get more punch from the blue line, where Darren Raddysh has shown a knack for high-velocity shot attempts, while forwards such as Matthew Knies, Jack Roslovic and William Nylander bring the kind of traits that can tilt a game even before the puck drops on opening night.
What makes it interesting for Toronto is how those skill sets could feed the power play and make the team harder to defend across a full night, especially if the forward group builds on what it showed a year ago. The question now is how all of that translates once training camp begins, because the ingredients for more scoring are there, but the exact shape of the attack still has to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Fans Will Have Strong Feelings About Who Gavin McKenna Is Around
Gavin McKennas summer in Muskoka has already given Maple Leafs fans something to talk about, with the clubs top prospect spotted spending time alongside several NHL players, including former Leaf Mitch Marner. For a young player trying to map out his next steps, that kind of company can be meaningful. It also puts McKenna in a familiar Toronto conversation, since any link to Marner tends to come with both optimism and a little baggage.
On the ice, McKenna still has areas to sharpen, especially in his defensive game, which stands in contrast to the strengths Marner built his reputation on in Toronto. That is part of what makes the association interesting for Leafs observers: there is obvious upside in learning from a proven NHL talent, but there is also the lingering discomfort of seeing one of the franchises biggest recent departures around the organizations newest hope. For now, it is just a summer detail, but it is the kind that tends to stick with this fan base. [Read more 🡒]