Toronto Maple Leafs To Gain Major Advantage Over Other Teams In The Coming Years
The Toronto Maple Leafs have missed out on adding some key pieces, but a new report shows they may be in a very good position in the coming years to make a splash.
A lot of talk recently has been over which pieces the Maple Leafs can bring in, although the number attached to those players always draws immense scrutiny by fans and critics. Does Toronto overpay for a potential win-now scenario, or build the team deeply and make a run in a year or two?
Well according to Elliotte Friedman, the team may be able to have their cake and eat it too.
The NHL Cap Situation Favors Toronto's Willingness To Spend
The Maple Leafs front office isn't shy about handing out luxurious contracts, and while it's been great in some aspects, it's failed spectacularly with others.
But Friedman mentioned on Saturday that teams are going to work with an internal cap more; leading to less money being dished out for those elite and above average players:
In two years, the cap is probably going to be over $100M and there are teams not comfortable with that.
We talked about the salary progression; there are teams saying we get a split of some teams going "We have no problem going $100M and above, but others going "We aren't comfortable going near or over that" and stick to an internal cap."
What we saw was a message from Colorado and as that cap rises, that some teams are not going to be comfortable, so I think it'll be interesting to see how it plays out over the next few years."
As not only the NHL's most popular, but profitable franchise, but one that is synonymous with hockey, there's no doubt Toronto is one of those teams willing to approach or potentially exceed that $100M potential salary cap.
With rumors that potentially Connor McDavid might entertain an offer when his deal is up coincides perfectly with the rising cap, and with a lot of teams hesitant to offer such a massive deal (even though it's McDavid), Toronto's chances increase exponentially.
It's also good news for the team because of their long contracts offered to the veteran defensemen.
Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe and potentially Morgan Rielly are all making a combined $20M+ for the next several seasons, but with a widening cap; making moves to add isn't as difficult financially.
The rising cap plays perfectly into Toronto's hands, as one of the wealthier and more prominent teams in the entire League, they will be able to offer more money and term to players come the next few seasons.
But you need to spend money to make money, and nothing makes more money than a Stanley Cup victory.
