Toronto Maple Leafs and Free Agents Have Interest in Deals

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their brutal drought of advancing in the postseason. They were eliminated in the first round by the Boston Bruins, beginning their offseason earlier than they had hoped.

A major move was already made as the team fired coach Sheldon Keefe after the early exit. He has been replaced by Craig Berube, who has pressure to help the team advance. Now that the head coach situation is squared away, the team can focus on its roster.

According to CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs have a cap hit of $97.6 million for the 2024-25 season. The team has 15 contracts coming off the books that total $38.5 million, so there will be some wiggle room to make some moves. Also, rumors have swirled that Mitch Marner will be on the move, clearing even more space.

Two players to keep an eye on when it comes to the team’s free agents are Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, there is mutual interest between Toronto and both players to get deals done.

“There’s mutual interest in Bertuzzi returning to the Leafs, but the team is juggling a few things so it’s not clear if it gets done…

“There’s already been a conversation between the Leafs front office and (Max Domi’s) agent Judd Moldaver of Wasserman expressing mutual interest in getting a deal done. But no numbers exchanged yet,” LeBrun wrote.

If the Maple Leafs move on from Marner as expected, retaining Bertuzzi and Domi becomes imperative. They would see their roles with the team increase, as a spot on the first line would open up.

When Auston Matthews was sidelined during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it was Domi who Keefe tabbed as his replacement on the top line. In the 2023-24 regular season, Domi recorded 47 points, scoring nine goals in 80 games.

Bertuzzi scored 43 points in the regular season, with 21 goals. He also played in 80 games. In the postseason, he tied with Domi for the team lead in points with four, along with Matthews.

Both players are 28 years old and could be part of the Maple Leafs core for years to come. Losing either of them, along with trading Marner, would create a huge void to fill in their forward rotation.