Day one of NHL free agency is over, and while there still may be some signings around the edges, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving made multiple impact signings to bolster the roster heading into the 2024–25 season.
By far the biggest need heading into the offseason was defence. Treliving said it, and wasn’t lying based on the signings made yesterday. The Leafs will have two or three new blueliners playing regularly next year, as T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Joel Edmundson will all be playing somewhere else.
Because of the focus on the blueline, the forward group is going to be worse next season, or at least that’s how it looks right now. Re-signing Max Domi helps, but Tyler Bertuzzi is a Chicago Blackhawk now without a real replacement. Treliving said yesterday he still wants to add a forward, but with no cap space left that signing won’t be a very impact guy.
And in net, the Leafs look poised to be better in 2024–25. Ilya Samsonov is gone after an absolutely wild up-and-down season, and Joseph Woll will be used as a starter after signing an extension. Newly signed Anthony Stolarz has played well enough recently that he’ll have a shot to steal the job, so they should be better than last year, but the two aren’t exactly experienced when it comes to starting in the NHL.
With all that said, let’s take a look at every new Maple Leaf, their contracts, and how they’ll fit within the roster.
RHD Chris Tanev, 6x$4.5M
Chris Tanev is easily Treliving’s biggest get, and instantly becomes one of Toronto’s best defenceman (especially right-handed) in recent memory.
He’s one of, if not the best, defensive players in the NHL. Tanev is an absolute warrior, sacrificing his body to block shots, playing through injuries, and preventing scoring chances like no one else in the league.
The Leafs went in a similar direction when they signed Brodie, but Tanev is Brodie on steroids. Better defensively, and also a better puck mover who can start a breakout with ease and support in transition. It’s an underrated part of his game, but Tanev is more than just a defensive anchor. He won’t put up points, but Tanev will help the Leafs leave the defensive zone, something they’ve struggled at.
The contract is interesting, the AAV is a bit under market value, but giving a 34-year-old six years of term is a gamble from Treliving. Tanev has been more reliable for the last three seasons, but has a pretty extensive injury history and is not afraid of putting himself in harm’s way.
The idea is obvious, lower the AAV to give the team a better chance of winning now and hope Tanev either continues playing well in his late 30’s or hits LTIR, but at 34 Tanev could fall off fast.
But Treliving clearly had Tanev as target number one, trading for his rights before free agency opened, and he wouldn’t be a Leaf if they tried to sign him for two or three years at an AAV around $6M.
Contract aside, Tanev makes the Maple Leafs a lot better. He’s a top pairing blueliner who fixes a lot of the Leaf’s biggest issues. He’ll be a ton of fun to watch next year.
LHD Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 4x$3.5m
This one’s a bit of a head-scratcher, especially the four-year term, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson again makes the Leafs a better team.
OEL is an offensive-minded defenceman, an archetype the Leafs haven’t had enough of, but is a definite third-pair guy who will need to be sheltered to be effective. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him challenge Morgan Rielly on the top power play unit, which would make OEL a lot more valuable to the Leafs.
Treliving seems to have no problem adding extra years to contracts to get players to sign, but doing it this much is worrisome. That’s now three guys, Tanev, OEL, and Ryan Reaves, who have been given too much term.
The other concerning part is that he shoots left-handed, essentially forcing Jake McCabe back to the right side next year. Rielly, McCabe, and Simon Benoit don’t have experience playing RD, and while McCabe does, moving him from his strong side to fit a third-pair LD might backfire.
Maybe Benoit is the odd man out and the left side looks like Rielly, McCabe, OEL, but then the right side becomes weak. We’ll see what Craig Berube ends up trying, but it feels like the Leafs needed a right-handed defenceman more than another lefty.
RHD Jani Hakanpaa, 2x$1.5M
Jani Hakanpaa seems like a sneaky good signing who could end up playing big minutes for the Leafs if he can hop over Liljegren on the depth chart.
He fits Treliving’s mould for defencemen, standing 6’7”, 200 lbs and playing a physical game, and is a great penalty killer. If Toronto’s PK starts the year as bad as they ended it last season, Hakanpaa is a good bet to be inserted in the lineup to try and help out.
After Liljegren signed a two-year, $6M contract, it’s hard to see him being used as the seventh defenceman again, but there’s no doubt Treliving has grown a bit impatient with him. Liljegren could be moved, or benched, setting up a much bigger role for Hakanpaa.
His signing also means Conor Timmins’ days are probably numbered.
G Anthony Stolarz, 2x$2.5M
One of the league’s best backups last season, Stolarz will be asked to play much more in 2024–25, but has put up numbers that inspire a lot of confidence.
He owns a career .914 SV%, and is coming off a .927 season.
Stolarz will start the year behind Woll on the depth chart, but with Woll’s injury history and overall inexperience, he’ll have a decent shot of becoming the starter at some point.
No doubt part of what brought him to Toronto, Stolarz will be given much more playing time than ever before. He’s never played more 28 games in a NHL season, but if he stays healthy, he’s guaranteed to play more than that this season.
There weren’t many options in net for Treliving, but getting one of the best backups in the league, and a hopeful tandem 1B, for just $2.5M against the cap is tidy work. His biggest comparable, Laurent Brossoit, got two years and $6.6M.
Are the Maple Leafs better?
It’s hard to tell if the Leafs are in a better spot now, but they are definitely different.
The forwards undoubtedly got worse, and for a team that has struggled to score in the postseason for what seems like forever, that’s a scary thought.
But they also scored the second most goals in the league during the regular season in 2023–24, so sacrificing some offence for defence could work.
The defence should improve, especially in the defensive zone. With Tanev and OEL, and the departures of guys like Lyubushkin and Edmundon, breakouts are going to be a lot smoother.
The pairings will be fascinating, but Tanev is such a massive add that will create a top-pair we haven’t seen in a while. Right-handed defencemen like him are so hard to come by, landing him is great news for the organization.
And hopefully, the goaltending is a lot more stable than it was last season. The injury risk with Woll is high, and neither tandem mate has ever started many games, but the important part is both guys are good.
Woll will get his chance to prove himself, and might just well do it. He has the skill to do so. But if he falters, Stolarz is a lot more consistent than Samsonov and will help right the ship if it comes to it.
So, are the Leafs better? The answer is probably yes, a little bit, but we’ll have to see. The core four will have to carry the offence, for sure, but that’s what they are paid to do.
