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Over the past two weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed two players to two-year contracts. One was veteran forward Wayne Simmonds and the other was young defenseman Travis Dermott. Forgetting about the expansion draft and the needed signings the organization must make to fill out its roster, which will surely change things, in this post I’d like to take a minute to see where the team is right now.
The Maple Leafs’ 20-Man Roster – as it Stands Currently
As the 2021-22 regular season approaches – albeit slowly, because there’s a lot of time left to make changes and things won’t get really interesting until after the Seattle Kraken expansion draft on July 21, where does the team stand. Who’s on the roster? What are their salaries? How much space is left to add players?
Roster Forwards Currently Under Contract
The following forwards are on the Maple Leafs’ roster, listed in terms of salary-cap hit from highest to lowest.
| Player | Salary-Cap Hit |
| Auston Matthews | $11.634 million |
| John Tavares | $11.000 million |
| Mitch Marner | $10.893 million |
| William Nylander | $ 6.962 million |
| Alex Kerfoot | $3.5 million |
| Ilya Mikheyev | $1.645 million |
| Pierre Engvall | $1.25 million |
| Wayne Simmonds | $900,000 |
| Josh Anderson | $750,000 |
| Nick Robertson | $822,000 |
| Jason Spezza | $750,000 |
| Adam Brooks | $725,000 |
| Total for 12 forwards | $50.831 million |
The following forwards are on the Maple Leafs’ roster, listed in terms of salary-cap hit from highest to lowest.
Roster Defenseman Currently Under Contract
| Player | Salary-Cap Hit |
| Jake Muzzin | $5.625 million |
| Morgan Rielly | $5 million |
| T.J. Brodie | $5 million |
| Justin Holl | $2 million |
| Travis Dermott | $1.5 million |
| Rasmus Sandin | $894,000 |
| Total for 6 Defensemen | $20.019 million |
Roster Goalies Currently Under Contract
| Player | Salary-Cap Hit |
| Jack Campbell | $1.650 |
| Michael Hutchinson | $725,000 |
| Total for 2 Goalies | $20.019 million |
Retained Salary
| Player | Salary-Cap Hit |
| Phil Kessel | $1.2 million |
| Total Retained | $1.2 million |
Other Important Notes:
(a) Total Salary Cap $81.5 million
(b) Salary Cap Space Remaining $7.075
If the Season Started Now
Possible Line Combinations
In collaboration with my hockey friend Stan Smith, who’s a long-time Maple Leafs fan, we think these might be great line combinations for the Maple Leafs – if the season started now.
| Line | Left-Wing | Center | Right-Wing |
| First Line | Nick Robertson | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner |
| Second Line | Alex Kerfoot | John Tavares | William Nylander |
| Third Line | Ilya Mikheyev | Pierre Engvall | Wayne Simmonds |
| Fourth Line | Joey Anderson | Adam Brooks | Jason Spezza |
Possible Defensive Pairings
| Line | Left-Wing | Center |
| First Pairing | Morgan Rielly | T.J. Brodie |
| Second Pairing | Jake Muzzin | Justin Holl |
| Third Pairing | Rasmus Sandin | Travis Dermott |
Goalies
Starting Goalie: Jack Campbell
Back-up Goalie: Michael Hutchinson
Summary
Obviously, the season isn’t starting now and there are more changes to be made. However, during the middle of the summer with still so many changes to be made, here are our suggestions about who might play for the team.
It will be fun to see how much this organization changes as the team makes changes in the next month.
More must-reads:
- Time for Connor McDavid to step it up for the Oilers
- Watch: Chris Kreider's natural third-period hat trick shatters Hurricanes' comeback hopes
- The 'Most triple-doubles in the postseason' quiz
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