The Toronto Maple Leafs are staring at a familiar kind of problem: too many bodies, not enough room, and a late-summer free-agent market that still has a few names worth circling. With 49 of 50 contracts already signed, Toronto doesn’t have much flexibility left if it wants to dip back in.
The cap picture is just as tight. The Leafs would need to clear $2.75M just to break even, and then find additional space to add a player while staying compliant before the regular season begins. That makes even a bargain signing tricky, especially with the roster already built out around specific depth roles.
Toronto spent the summer strengthening its defence and penalty killing, but it didn’t do much to add another scoring threat beyond Jack Roslovic, who has been streaky over the course of his career. That leaves the Leafs with a possible opening up front - but no clean path to get there.
A few unsigned forwards still stand out. Patrik Laine, Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting, and Eeli Tolvanen are all still available as of Aug.
- Each would bring something different, but each comes with a wrinkle, because Toronto would still have to make room even if the contract itself was modest.
Laine and Tarasenko are the obvious pure scorers in that group. Laine has 224 career goals, while Tarasenko has 327.
Tarasenko also brings a track record that stretches into the postseason, with 51 goals in 132 playoff games, plus a Stanley Cup ring from his time with St. Louis in 2019.
Bunting is the most familiar face of the bunch. He already knows Auston Matthews from his time with the Maple Leafs between 2021 and 2023, when he posted the best scoring stretch of his career with back-to-back 23-goal seasons on Matthews’ wing.
Tolvanen is a different kind of fit. At 27, he’s the youngest of the group and has become a steadier scoring presence since landing in Seattle, where he has 67 goals in 288 games. He also brings some bite - 123 hits per season on average over his career - and has chipped in on the power play with 12 PP goals in four years with the Kraken despite standing just 5-foot-10.
There is at least one way Toronto could test the waters without fully committing right away. A PTO would let the Leafs bring a player into camp, see whether the fit works, and then decide whether to offer a contract later. But even that only works if they clear space, stay cap compliant, and avoid needing a waiver claim, since they don’t have the room for that either.
Of course, adding another veteran scorer wouldn’t come without consequences. It would squeeze the lineup and make life harder for some of the younger names the Leafs would like to keep developing.
Easton Cowan, for one, could end up pushed out of the top-six and into a bottom-six role. He could still succeed there with the right support around him, but that would be a step down from where Toronto would ideally like to see him.
The power-play picture is crowded too. The projected first unit already includes Matthews, Tavares, Knies, Nylander, and Raddysh, which means there may not be a natural path for Cowan to get those chances. If Toronto added someone like Tarasenko or Bunting, they would likely slide into the second line, where Jack Roslovic and Gavin McKenna are projected to skate.
McKenna is in the same squeeze. He’d still get opportunities, but if Toronto gives a veteran the same kind of runway, that creates competition rather than a clean development lane.
Even the fourth line isn’t exactly wide open. Dakota Joshua, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime, and Steven Lorentz already make that area of the roster crowded. That’s why Tolvanen would make the most sense there if Toronto were looking for a checking-line option, while the others feel harder to fit in that spot.
The practical case, then, is pretty simple: if Toronto is going to take a swing, it probably has to be on someone like Tolvanen or Bunting. Tolvanen offers prime-age scoring upside and the kind of physical edge the Leafs could use to help drive play. Bunting brings a known fit with Matthews and a history of producing there.
But the cost is real. The Leafs would be using their final contract slot, likely spending money they don’t have much of, and potentially blocking players like Easton Cowan and Gavin McKenna from the chances they’re hoping to earn.
In the end, any late addition has to clear a basic test: he needs to be better than what Toronto already has.
In Other News...
Matthew Knies Deal Already Looks Better For The Leafs
Matthew Knies long-term deal with the Maple Leafs was signed with the usual mix of hope and risk that comes with paying for upside before it has fully matured. Toronto committed six years at a $7.75 million average annual value in 2025, betting that Knies would keep trending into a key top-six piece and that the price would look sensible as the salary cap and comparable contracts kept moving. At the time, it was a notable investment in a player still building his full resume.
Now the market around other young forwards is starting to make that number look even more reasonable. Cutter Gauthier, a restricted free agent with the Anaheim Ducks, is reportedly in negotiations that could land in the $15-17 million AAV range, with Leo Carlssons recent $18 million AAV extension hanging over those talks as a reference point. Knies and Gauthier are different players in different situations, but the broader takeaway for Toronto is hard to miss: a contract that once looked ambitious can start to feel sharp if the next wave of comparables keeps climbing. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Projected Lineup Puts Familiar Faces In A Tough Spot
The Maple Leafs projected 2026-27 lineup offers a snapshot of how much the roster could change after a round of organizational adjustments, with new acquisitions and coaching tweaks reshaping the teams balance up front and on the back end. The exercise is less about where Toronto is today and more about how the club might try to blend scoring punch with more reliable two-way play if the right pieces settle into place.
What makes the projection interesting for Leafs followers is the way it creates pressure points for familiar faces while opening the door for newcomers to carve out meaningful roles. Health and consistency remain part of the conversation, especially in goal, where the team is still trying to sort out how much trust to place in Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz as the position gets redefined around them. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Camp Could Get Complicated Thanks To Two Overlooked Names
Training camp usually starts with the obvious names, the players everyone assumes are already locked in or fighting for the last few spots, but Bo Groulx and Marshall Rifai are the kinds of depth pieces who can quietly make things interesting for the Maple Leafs. Groulx brought good energy and solid play with the Marlies, and he even got a brief look with Toronto last season, which at least puts him on the radar when camp opens.
Rifai is the other name worth tracking because his game is built around physicality and defense, the sort of profile that can stand out if the new coaching staff wants a different look from its bottom-end options. Neither player is a favorite to break through, and neither comes with any guarantee, but both have enough going for them to keep this camp from being as straightforward as it first appears. [Read more 🡒]