Toronto Maple Leafs stock up, stock down
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally got over the first-round hump in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs but were ousted by the Florida Panthers on their way to the Cup Final.
Despite a successful regular season and the slaying of the first-round beast, changes were made to the front office and subsequently the on-ice product. The Leafs will look different when they take the ice to start the 2023-24 season and attempt to win the first Stanley Cup for Toronto since 1967.
Here are the Maple Leafs whose stock is rising and falling:
Stock Up
William Nylander, center: In the Core 4 era, William Nylander has often been fourth billing but this season was a breakout for the 27-year-old.
Nylander set career-highs in goals, assists and points while playing all 82 games for only the second time in his eight seasons. His 40 goals were tied with Auston Matthews for most on the team, while his 47 assists and 87 points only trailed Mitch Marner (69 assists and 99 points).
He is only signed for one more season at a cap hit of just over $6.96M AAV and had the lowest cost per point of any of Toronto’s Core 4 in 2022-23. He is due for an extension but it’s likely that his play and self-worth have priced him out of Toronto.
Toughness: Following the dismissal of Kyle Dubas, Brad Treliving was brought in as Toronto’s new general manager and immediately made his mark on a roster that had been accused of being too soft.
Treliving brought in Ryan Reaves on the first day of free agency and soon after added Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi.
The Reaves signing is clearly a grit move but Domi and Bertuzzi seem to fill a hybrid role, combining sandpaper and scoring. Between Chicago and Dallas last season, Domi put up 56 points and 82 penalty minutes, while Bertuzzi registered 30 points and 29 penalty minutes in 50 regular season games with Detroit and Boston.
Both also shined in the playoffs, with Bertuzzi scoring 10 points in 7 games with the Bruins and Domi picking up 13 points and 52 penalty minutes in 19 games for the Stars.
Stock Down
Matt Murray, goaltender: On July 26, the Leafs announced that Matt Murray would be out indefinitely and be placed on long-term injured reserve.
The move paves the way for Toronto to be cap-compliant come opening night of the 2023-24 season but leaves question marks for Murray and the rest of his career.
Murray was brought in by Dubas prior to last season as a reclamation project but it fell a bit flat. Murray’s save percentage finished just above .900 and his goals-against average was over three. Injuries kept him from playing in more than 26 games in 2022-23 and even when he was cleared to play in the postseason, Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll got the nod over him.
Now, his health seems to be more of an issue and the future of both his time with the Maple Leafs and his career are in question.
Sheldon Keefe, head coach: When Treliving was hired, there were lots of questions about the status of head coach Sheldon Keefe. With one year left on his deal and a new general manager, many speculated that he could be ousted in Toronto.
But ahead of the NHL Draft, Treliving confirmed that Keefe would be back behind the Maple Leafs bench.
There was no extension as part of Treliving’s announcement, so Keefe could go into the 2023-24 season on the last year of his contract. Combine that with the fact that Keefe was hired by and has a long history with Dubas and it could create a very hot seat for Keefe if the team does not get out of the gate quickly.
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