Maple Leafs' 2025-26 Salary Cap Breakdown Reveals Key Decisions Ahead of Make-or-Break Season
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
We're here to break down the Toronto Maple Leafs salary situation for the 2025-26 NHL season, and what it means for Toronto going forward.
As it stands, the Toronto Maple Leafs currently have just over $1.9M in available cap space with 23 rostered players, according to PuckPedia.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have 14 contracted forwards in their roster, led by two forwards making over $10M+ in Auston Matthews and William Nylander, with the subtraction of Mitch Marner an ease on the Leafs salary situation.
63.7% of Toronto's salary cap is tied to their forwards, with Morgan Rielly the only non-forward making over $5M for this season.
For their high-priced top-six, the Leafs have what looks to be a largely cost effective bottom-six forward group with a few players who could even be solid bargains.
Locked into the Leafs top-six is Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, and Knies. With two holes at wing, the responsibility looked poised to come from their 5th and 6th highest paid forwards in Max Domi ($3.75M) and Matias Maccelli ($3.43M), which would make the highest bottom-six forward Dakota Joshua ($3.25M)
A lot of the Leafs bottom-six revolves around the potential of players rebounding.
The same goes for the top-six in the inconsistent Max Domi and a regression in Matias Maccelli, but below more is hoped of what should be a healthy Dakota Joshua, and a Scott Laughton that provides the offense that justified trading for him.
The Leafs have very lightly touched their defense, with the main move being the acquistion of Henry Thrun, an RFA who at $1M could challenge Simon Benoit for the #6 defenseman role.
How the Maple Leafs' Salary Cap Stacks Up Against Other NHL Teams
The Leafs are 22nd in available cap space with just under $2M able to spend. Toronto is still linked to top free agent forward Jack Roslovic, which may put them over the salary cap but would almost surely come with a transaction.
Roslovic is linked to a potential move in Russia, but is still skilled enough to gain an NHL roster spot, and would be another cheap depth option for Toronto on offense.
The Leafs technically have 15 forwards with Michael Pezzetta on an NHL contract, but it is believed according to sources that he will likely be waived before the regular season starts.
Despite having the third highest forward group salary at $60.84M, the Leafs are one of the lowest in cap room spent on defenders ($25.85M) and goaltending ($6.17M)
Notably the only two teams that have paid more for their forwards are the past two Stanley Cup winners, the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Biggest Contracts Impacting Toronto's Cap Space
The Toronto Maple Leafs have largely respectable contracts beyond their top-six, but there are very obvious areas in which they'd have to considering saving money.
At forward, two names that stand out as potentially moveable for Toronto's front office are Max Domi at $3.75M and David Kampf at $2.4M.
Domi is under contract until 2028, which is either a conversation stopper at a team not committed to paying what he's owed until then, or if he plays well could make for a valuable top-six contract for a team that needs a scrappy veteran presence on their roster.
One question that is unanswered is the potential of top prospect Easton Cowan making the team.
If Cowan were to make the big club in his first pro year, it would add a 15th forward to the roster, and the Leafs would either have to place someone on waivers or trade them.
Cowan making the team would also likely speed up the process of a trade for a forward in their group, much like the lack of room led the Leafs to quickly trade Timothy Liljegren last season to the San Jose Sharks.
Where the Leafs Have Flexibility to Make Moves
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren't likely to radically revitalize their roster despite at this point missing out on a top-six replacement for Mitch Marner as they had hoped for despite the acquistion of Matias Maccelli, but that won't change the potential of it in-season.
The Leafs could still leverage their bottom-six having some term to move out some salary in a deal that has them used as a return in a trade.
A player like Domi or Kampf, or even Calle Jarnkrok, could be an NHL body to put in a trade if they target a player in in order to make salary work.
If Cowan makes the roster, it will lead to more ease as trading a player to make room for him would put them higher above the cap floor, and open up the team to use one of their well-paid bottom-sixers as a trade target.
What This Cap Situation Means for the Team's Playoff Chances
The Toronto Maple Leafs are very similar to the Panthers and Knights in their roster construction being forward focused, closer so to Vegas who has their cap space tied up more in forwards led by Marner and Jack Eichel, but unlike the Leafs have a defined #1 with Sergei Bobrovsky for Florida and Adin Hill for Vegas.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will feel the pressure to get more out of their team with Marner's departure, but are hoping they've spent their money wisely in bargain options such as Maccelli, Joshua, and Roy, with the top-six able to keep up the offense in his place.
Going deep in the postseason has been an elusive task for the Leafs to go after. Last season was their closest to their promise and yet they still didn't reach it, although not at full health with Stolarz injured.
Next season is a make-or-break year for the Toronto Maple Leafs to prove they are going to be contenders, because such a drastic shift in their roster makeup cannot come without greater success.
| POLL | ||
15 HOURS AGO | 399 ANSWERS Maple Leafs' 2025-26 Salary Cap Breakdown Reveals Key Decisions Ahead of Make-or-Break Season Are the Toronto Maple Leafs stronger than they were last season? | ||
TRENDING NOW
