No, he’s not a centre, but he did bring an energetic approach most nights in his first season as a Leaf. Of the 12 UFAs on last season’s Leafs roster, some players felt like long shots to return. Would taking one more run at the Stanley Cup at least partially interest Toews in some way? And if so, would Toews be inclined to take a step back from being a Blackhawks legend to a fourth-line centre in Toronto?īecause if he’s being signed at this point in the summer, it would be for a dramatically reduced cap hit and dramatically reduced role.īut we’ve seen veterans come to Toronto for serious pay cuts before, be it Jason Spezza or Joe Thornton.Ĭould Toews be the next in line? He might be worth waiting long into the summer for. Whatever Toews could contribute on the scoresheet would come on top of both his 200-foot game and the veteran leadership he has in spades. And that’s necessary for a Leafs fourth line that, as it stands, doesn’t seem capable of offering much in the production category.

With full respect to Toews’ health and mental state, it’s fair to believe he is still capable of producing some offence. Through a trying season physically and emotionally on a horrifically bad team, Toews still put up 15 goals and 31 points in 53 games. Does that mean the 35-year-old is still weighing offers, or weighing whether he even wants to keep playing? The three-time Stanley Cup champion and future Hall of Famer has yet to sign anywhere. Toews is the lone player on this list who cracked Jonas Siegel’s original list of free-agent fits in June. Later in the week we’ll consider how the Leafs can add to their goaltending depth with Matt Murray now on LTIR to start the season. Or perhaps the Leafs are considering adding an available player or two on a PTO come training camp? Remember, one of the worst-kept secrets in Toronto was Zach Aston-Reese’s inevitable signing with the Leafs just before training camp after joining on a PTO.Īssuming the Leafs are interested in adding another player on a cheap deal either in the quiet days of the summer or closer to training camp, let’s take a look at what kind of forwards and defencemen are still available. That’s where the need to do one more round of shopping comes in. The goals that headed out the door after the dust in free agency settled were identified by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn as an area of concern for the Leafs, yes, but more pressing were the defensive sacrifices made by adding Bertuzzi, Domi and Klingberg.Īnother defenceman to ensure Sheldon Keefe doesn’t have to rely so heavily on Mark Giordano and Conor Timmins wouldn’t hurt either.

Part of that might include sifting through the bargain bin to make one more addition as the season inches closer.Īfter scoring two goals a game in their second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers, a little more scoring wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Leafs to be shopping for, preferably at centre in their bottom six. But with Ilya Samsonov’s new deal and a salary-cap figure in the red, Leafs GM Brad Treliving still has tinkering to do.

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