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The Toronto Maple Leafs stepped backwards on the first day of free agency, with incumbent general manager Brad Treliving staking his debut season on the additions of forward Ryan Reaves and defenceman John Klingberg.
The Maple Leafs entered the offseason on a wave of contradictions after their second-round dismantling at the hands of the Florida Panthers and now face more questions than answers.
Toronto crashed out of the postseason because their stars – their core four comprised of Auston Mathews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander – couldn’t carry their teammates to victory.
In their final seven playoff contests, the Maple Leafs never scored more than twice – an unacceptable return for a franchise that stakes its chance of success on bulldozing opponents with a high-powered offence.
The Maple Leafs’ second-round exit – in combination with a rogue press conference – cost Kyle Dubas his job and opened a whole can of worms in the process. If it wasn’t already clear that Toronto is in a state of flux, the situation is a face-slapper on the second day of free agency.
Maple Leafs’ risky free agency moves raise questions about roster composition
The Maple Leafs allowed a handful of players to walk into unrestricted free agency, with Justin Holl joining the Detroit Red Wings, Noel Acciari reuniting with Kyle Dubas as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and popular trade deadline additions Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn putting pen to paper with the Nashville Predators.
In the way of major league talent, they made risky bets on Klingberg from the Minnesota Wild and Reaves from the New York Rangers.
Justifying the addition of Reaves on a three-year contract worth $1.35 million annually is tricky. The 36-year-old posted 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 73 regular-season appearances last term and boasts ten times more penalty minutes than points throughout his career.
In his first media availability as Toronto GM, Treliving told reporters that acquiring scoring depth was one of his top priorities for the summer. Why, then, did he add an offensive non-entity to his bottom-six forward group?
“There’s a presence to Ryan,” Treliving said after day one of free agency. “The one thing, talking with the staff and just looking at this group, it’s a quiet group.”
In other words, the Maple Leafs are back to signing veteran players for their intangible leadership credentials – which feels like a major miscalculation for a franchise in the middle of its Stanley Cup window.
Toronto has a reputation for being soft – but that has never been their fatal flaw in the playoffs.
If Joe Thornton, Jake Muzzin, Wayne Simmonds, Nick Foligno, and Ryan O’Reilly couldn’t turn the Maple Leafs into mentality monsters, expecting Reaves to be the player to flip the switch seems extremely optimistic.
The Maple Leafs have also been burned by their more experienced players in recent playoff series, with Jason Spezza the only experienced head to produce clutch postseason moments in the core four era.
Reaves was a healthy scratch in Minnesota and New York last season. At this point in his career, is he worth a roster spot in Toronto? Sheldon Keefe will be forced to make that determination in the fall.
Klingberg is an easier sell on a one-year deal worth $4.15 million.
The Gothenburg-born defender posted 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in 26 playoff appearances as the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 2020.
But that was three years ago and he has struggled immensely since.
The Maple Leafs have made two bold – or naïve – bets to kickstart the offseason. They may come to regret them. Quickly.
