Giordano Has A Chance To Do The Maple Leafs A Huge Favor

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Tyler Ball
September 1, 2023 (1:35 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are right up against the Salary Cap for the upcoming season. This may cause them to have a smaller roster size than normal to stay compliant. One player could help the situation by pulling out an old trick another Leafs player used in the past.

Leafs Need To Stay Cap Compliant

Currently heading into the 2023-24 season the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be cap-compliant. According to CapFriendly, they will be around 2 million dollars over the cap with long-term IR players factored in.

Due to this cap conundrum, it is highly likely that the Leafs will have to carry only 20 players of a possible 23 on their everyday roster. However, some fans have found a way that the Leafs may be able to become compliant and have their full complement of players on board. It would take a big commitment and sacrifice from one of their most respected veterans though.

Giordano Could Follow In Spezza's Footsteps

Mark Giordano has reportedly taken on a leadership role for the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the upcoming season. Some are even drawing comparisons between him and former Leaf Jason Spezza.

This might be partially explained by the season the pair spent together. Both have a great understanding of how special it is to be a Toronto Maple Leaf.

One user on X pointed out that Giordano has a chance to follow in Spezza's footsteps and help the Leafs remain salary-cap compliant. The scenario is laid out in the post below.

If Gio would be willing to pull a Spezza and retire if claimed, then a lot of flexibility could be added in terms of being cap compliant and icing a full roster

For example, on nights where Gio needs a rest we can "send him down" with a waivers-exempt player and be cap compliant

Giordano could essentially threaten to retire if he is acquired by any other team that is not the Leafs. This would allow the Leafs to send him down on nights he is not played.

This would just be a paper transaction to allow for more cap space. But Giordano would have to go through waivers when this is done. By telling other teams he would retire it would discourage them from claiming him. This was something that Jason Spezza did during his tenure with the Leafs as well.

This would be a massive help to the Leafs and their ability to keep a full roster of players. If Giordano really is following in Jason Spezza's path this could be a likely outcome during the 2023-24 season.