The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the teams most often linked to impending UFA Connor McDavid. That will continue to be the case until the Edmonton Oilers captain inks a contract extension.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of room to speculate about what the Maple Leafs can do to sign the future Hall of Famer. Now, let’s assume for a moment McDavid is willing to sign in Toronto. Based on that assumption, the Maple Leafs would need to figure out how to fit McDavid’s new contract under the cap.
The good news is that the Maple Leafs wouldn’t need any cap voodoo to fit McDavid’s new contract under the cap. According to PuckPedia, the Leafs have nearly $25 million in projected cap space for the 2026-27 season.
Much of the cap space will come from expiring contracts. Notably, Calle Jarnkrok’s contract will come off the books this summer. Matias Maccelli’s deal also expires this year. Bobby McMann is set to become a UFA, while Nick Robertson and Henry Thrun are slated to be RFAs. There’s also Anthony Stolarz, whom the club with presumably keep.
Additionally, the salary cap will jump from $95.5 million this season to $104 million next year. That’s nearly a $10 million jump. That’s something the Maple Leafs could play with. As such, the Leafs could, theoretically, have ample cap space to sign McDavid.
The only question would be: What price tag would Connor McDavid come with?
Connor McDavid Unlikely to Give Maple Leafs a Discount
If the Maple Leafs were to sway Connor McDavid to come to Toronto, the club would have to pay full price. There’s no reason why McDavid would give the Leafs a break. Perhaps if the Leafs won the Stanley Cup this season, McDavid might consider a discount just to get a shot at one of his own.
Barring a Cup in Toronto, the Maple Leafs would be on the hook for full price. Based on some estimates, McDavid could command around $16 million AAV. That would leave Toronto with about $8 million or so to round out the roster after signing McDavid.
But then again, it would be worth it. The cap will again jump by nearly $10 million for the 2027-28 season. As such, the Leafs would have to pinch pennies one season before getting additional funds.
Moreover, if the Maple Leafs could dump the final two years of David Kampf’s contract and potentially ship out someone like Max Domi, the Leafs would have even more cap space to round out the roster after adding Connor McDavid.
Adding McDavid Risky Move that Could Pay Off for Toronto
Adding McDavid is not a risk in itself. The risk lies in depleting precious cap space to round out the roster. But then again, would any team pass up the opportunity to add a player of McDavid’s stature?
Again, assuming McDavid would be willing to join the Maple Leafs, having two centers like McDavid and Auston Matthews could be enough to end the nearly six-decade championship drought in Toronto.
But the Maple Leafs should heed a warning from the Oilers. Edmonton has two all-world centers in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Still, that hasn’t been enough to land a Cup in Edmonton.
That’s why adding McDavid, at the expense of the team’s depth, could be a risky proposition.
Maple Leafs Wouldn’t Need Cap Dump to Sign Superstar UFA