Maple Leafs considering Brandon Pridham for the top chair perfectly weaponizes the salary cap

Pridham has been involved with Toronto for the better part of a decade and has been hailed as someone who is a magician behind the scenes when it comes to the salary cap.

He's managed to give the Maple Leafs a group of star players under contract for a long time, and while certain players like Mitch Marner have left town; he managed to keep a powerhouse afloat even when contract demands started to peak.

And that's why he makes perfect sense as a guy to run things around Toronto.

Pridham has been named as one of the top candidates interviewed by the Maple Leafs, and with their focus on data-driven and analytical minds — he makes a lot of sense.

Toronto has interviewed Mike Gillis, and there was a lot of interest in Sunny Mehta before he was hired back to the New Jersey Devils to run things as their GM. It's clear they have a goal in mind, but they have someone there already who can do exactly what they need.

The Maple Leafs need someone unafraid to make the hard choice when it comes to stripping the roster and leave it to a numbers guy to do just that. Looking at the contracts that may be cut — it saves Toronto a lot of money:

- Morgan Rielly ($7.5-million AAV, 4 years left)
- Max Domi ($3.75-million AAV, 2 years left)
- Steven Lorentz ($1.35-million AAV, 2 years left)
- Brandon Carlo ($3.485-million AAV, 1 year left)
- Chris Tanev ($4.5-million AAV, 4 years left)
- Simon Benoit ($1.35-million AAV, 1 year left)
- Philippe Myers ($850,000 AAV, 1 year left)

Right there is a combined total of $22,785,000 saved just from getting rid of some frankly; pretty bad deals. That doubles their cap situation and the team can use that money to sign or trade for an elite defender, a better forward corps, and someone who can help Matthews thrive again.

Plus, that extra money means the team can bypass having to add more assets and can take on contracts instead. Dougie Hamilton comes to mind as someone the Devils could move easier if the Maple Leafs were open to absorbing all of his money.

If you're getting paid but not paying the team back? You're going to be gone if Pridham is in charge.

Toronto has never really had a ton of cap space when it comes to making a splash. When they do, they often overspend on names like Domi, or make some pretty ridiculous signings like Ryan Reaves.

The time for needless spending is over, and Pridham has done an admirable job at balancing the books as best he can given the names brought aboard. But with him at the helm, things would be a lot different.

It's maximizing production on a bargain and spending where you need. Where Brad Treliving signed Reaves and Lorentz to fill the bottom-six, that money can be spent on a better defenceman; you have a dozen bodies in the AHL who can step up.

Now it's less about making big purchases but deciding on which ones make sense. Adding a 36-year old Reaves to be an enforcer is highly illogical, but targeting a mid-20's two-way analytical darling is a much better investment even on a slight overpayment.

If the numbers back up the price, then that's who you target. It's not about filling defined roles; it's about producing the best on-ice product that gets you closer to winning.

The cash flow Toronto has now makes things very interesting as it gives them a leg up when they have absolutely nothing to lose. It can't get any worse than this year, and we can't rely on the old way of thinking.

Brandon Pridham is currently helping run things for the Maple Leafs, but instead of rewarding his dedication with the status quo — break the mould and let him run wild.

It's not like he could be any worse than Brad Treliving.

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