While in essence, the hard salary cap system of the NHL is simple enough, the truth of the matter is that it is anything but. In fact, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not alone in having a designated capologist, Brandon Pridham, charged with cooking the books down to the very last dollar. There are a number of mechanisms and loopholes, of which the NHL’s 32 teams are often pushing the boundaries in order to take advantage. From the outside, we might only see a slight cross-section of the possibilities truly available to Pridham and the Leafs.
With that said, there does seem to be a pressure point on the horizon. With Calle Jarnkrok slated to return off of injured reserve in the near future the Leafs might be forced into a move to remain cap-compliant. To add to the discussion, more than $5M was in the press box during a lacklustre Tuesday loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets, as Timothy Liljegren and David Kampf were healthy scratches.
While a trade is not the only way the Leafs can rectify the situation, it is often the most tantalizing to ponder. For now, Liljegren, Kampf, and even Jarnkrok find themselves in trade rumours most often. Let’s take a look at some ideas that fans around the league have come up with as potential fixes for the Leafs apparent cap issues.
Liljegren is the obvious choice
In his mid-20s, the former first round pick Liljegren finds his wheels spinning. Though Liljegren authored some of his finest NHL moments last season, he once again found himself out of the lineup come playoff time. Despite this, there was some hope that a new coach might give Liljegren new life, a hunch that seemed to be supported by a new contract and a sizable raise. Of course, things have not gone well for Liljegren so far.
A healthy Conor Timmins, who is younger, at least as gifted offensively, and on a cheaper cap hit, has also started to assert himself as a penalty killer. With at least two capable power play options in front of them, namely Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a penalty killing role is paramount to the battle between Timmins and Liljegren. Given that the Leafs signed Jani Hakanpaa and Philippe Myers, it is likely that the focus was finding a right-handed penalty killer behind Chris Tanev. Even with Timmins out of the lineup, there is no guarantee that Liljegren would be the Leafs next choice. To some extent, there might be enough confidence in Topi Niemela or Nicholas Mattinen to backfill some of Liljegren’s aptitudes as well.
Trading Liljegren makes a lot of sense. Right-shot defencemen are often scarce on the trade market, meaning that there should be interest in Liljegren from around the league. What the Leafs choose to get back in return is another question. Without any glaring holes in the roster, an outright upgrade might only come from a subsequent trade. The Leafs might need to take some salary back, but in truth, the team might decide it best to keep returns liquid. The Leafs 2025 draft capital is lacking, missing their first, third, and fourth round picks. It might be necessary to rebuild the reserves for any shopping closer to the deadline. If draft capital is the return, the best the Leafs could or for is likely some bouquet of mid to late-round picks.
There are teams who might be keen on a right-shot, puck-moving defenceman. The team acquiring him will receive a prime-aged right shot, under team control, and on a reasonable cap hit. Liljegren does have some impressive features in his portfolio, but a team might think that there is more upside in a role more suited to his skill set.
Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers as fits
The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars would both see Liljegren as an upgrade to their right sides, and might be willing to part with some picks or prospects. Liljegren is an outright upgrade on Nils Lundkvist, who has often found himself out of the Stars lineup. It should be noted that Leafs head of amateur scouting Mark Leach was part of the Stars organization until this offseason, and he might have some favourites among the depths of their prospect pool. Meanwhile, Liljegren could be a great partner for Darnell Nurse, as the two cover each other’s weaknesses.
Utah Hockey Club
Meanwhile, it might be a team with fewer expectations that targets Liljegren, hoping that he can grow into a bigger role. The Utah Hockey Club has some major long-term injuries on the right side of their defence, with Sean Durzi and John Marino out. Utah is pushing for a playoff spot, at least in their own mind, but the long-term fit of a fourth right shot is inelegant. Utah will have to balance the present and the future, but with a ton of futures in their system, they would have no trouble putting together the package to pry Liljegren from the Leafs.
San Jose Sharks
Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks are a team that makes sense. With a glut of great young forwards in their system, the Sharks blueline is not as developed. The Sharks do have some less heralded options performing well, but a puck moving right shot would be a boon. For now, Jack Thompson finds himself impressing and with a power play role, essentially filling the spot that would be ideal for Liljegren. Trading for Liljegren might block Thompson to an extent, so how Thompson performs might be key to the Sharks appetite. The Sharks do offer a potential UFA target, as centre Nico Sturm has size and physicality that help during in-zone play on both sides of the puck in a depth role.
Unlikely
Finally, there might be some in-division trade partners for the Leafs. Given their long playoff droughts the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres might be willing to be aggressive. Other than that there might not be a natural fit for Liljegren across these teams unless he can become a legitimate contributor on the penalty kill. The Sabres are shortest on right defencemen, and most likely of the three to make dramatic moves, but their need is for defensive options. On the Red Wings, Liljegren’s theoretical spot is being filled nicely by Erik Gustafsson. The Sens might have an interesting potential partner in Tyler Kleven, but again the need for a penalty killer and lack of power play opportunities make for a poor fit.
Kampf could also go
Another hot name in trade rumours is recent scratch David Kampf. With his penalty killing role being challenged by coach Craig Berube his fit on the team is in doubt. Currently, that role is being filled by Pontus Holmberg nicely. Connor Dewar is likely to get a look here when he returns from injury as well. So long as Auston Matthews is continuing to build his Selke Trophy bid by becoming a regular penalty killer, Kampf is in danger of becoming obsolete in this lineup.
It is true that an argument can be made that the Leafs top trade target is a true option at middle-six centre, but the team clearly does not see Kampf as that player. For his part, Jarnkrok is even a far better option in this role. Even before considering his viability on the wings, Jarnkrok should not be traded over Kampf. Still, a team trading for Kampf might have a different lineup context, one in which his skill set would be quite useful. The returns would not be as high as they would from a Liljegren trade, and a mid to late-round pick is probably the ticket. Again, this liquid capital might help the Leafs afford some deadline shopping.
Ottawa Senators
The best fit might be the Ottawa Senators, currently with Adam Gaudette as their fourth-line centre. At least on paper, the Sens bottom six forwards are a bit thin, and their journey to playoff relevance is tied to better defensive performance as a team. This was a big motivator behind some of the team’s moves this offseason, targeting defenceman Nick Jensen and hiring Travis Green as head coach. An excellent checking centre during his playing career, Green surely appreciates the effect that Kampf can have on the Sens roster. There is a chance that Kampf completely lives up to his contract as a Senator throughout his current deal.
New Jersey Devils
The other spot to consider is with Kampf’s old coach, with Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils. With Curtis Lazar currently in the fourth-line centre role, it is possible that the Devils think Kampf can help bring more stability to the team. There are certainly fewer spots where Kampf seems a natural fit, as most teams in the centre market have their sights set higher. Injury might create a need in the future.
A rebuilding team with ample cap space may or may not feel the need to add Kampf depending on if their team needs centre support to stay respectable or give other younger forwards a fighting chance. With three more years left on the deal, taking on Kampf’s contract does require some thought, and with some trade protection, the Leafs might be without much leverage.
