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The 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.”
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.
“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.
Maple Leafs Might Have Run Out of Free-Agent Options
As Siegel pointed out in his blurb about the Leafs’ biggest need, the free-agent market has dried up quickly.
According to PuckPedia, at the time of this writing on July 8, there are only two free-agent centers available in the market who are coming off scoring more than 19 goals last season.
One of them, Joe Pavelski, is planning to retire this offseason. The other one is former Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson, who earned $5 million in the 2023-24 season and is out of Toronto’s spending range.
Outside of those two centers, the options aren’t much better, on a production basis, than current Maple Leafs’ bottom-line center Kampf.
Only Michael McLeod and Andrew Cogliano are unrestricted free agents with more than 15 points scored in the 2023-24 season, with 19 points each for the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche respectively.
The Leafs could also decide to look for options within their system and to promote a prospect. Among those is center/winger Easton Cowan, who ranks atop the organizational depth chart in total points (97) according to Elite Prospects and played for the OHL’s London Knights in the 2024 season.
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