The Maple Leafs have a much clearer idea of what it costs to add a top-six player after Anthony Mantha's new contract and prior decisions shine a new light.
As the NHL regular season approaches, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking for one piece to round out the top-six and ensure they have enough firepower ahead of a playoff push that could make or break Auston Matthews' future with the team.
There are still players on the market like Michael Bunting and Eeli Tolvanen who could make a difference though with the team over the cap and not finding much room, they need to make sure the price is right and thanks to Anthony Mantha's deal - they have a much clearer idea of what it'll take.
Anthony Mantha's near deal and subsequent contract establishes the top-six market price
Mantha signed a two-year, $9.5-million deal with the New Jersey Devils after a few weeks without a contract, and it took one of the top remaining names off the free agent market.
While paying under $5-million for a 30-goal scorer could be a steal, there's also 2024-25 where Mantha had only four goals and seven points in 13 games before an ACL surgery put him on the shelf for the season so injury concerns are always a risk.
Mantha, 31, had 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games with the Penguins in 2025-26 - both career highs. The former 20th overall pick in 2013 enjoyed his best career stretch with the Red Wings where he had 194 points in 302 games from 2015-2021.
In addition, Mantha reportedly had a deal to return to the Detroit Red Wings once again for one-year, $5-million but Steve Yzerman's departure put that on hold:
Steve Yzerman offered Anthony Mantha a one-year deal for $5 million; Mantha...nearly accepted. Then Yzerman was out two days later. - Ansar Khan, MLive, 07/24/26
With how the salary cap has risen and the types of deals that players are signing shows that paying $5-million is going to be the baseline. It isn't like Mantha took a huge dip away from that benchmark, and the Maple Leafs are going to put forth at least the same type of offer for their target.
Toronto needs to make a meaningful cap move before making their top-six signing
But again, it all circles back to the Maple Leafs not having the required cap space to make a move. They are $2.75-million over the cap and they need to move out money first, so a contract like Dakota Joshua's may be on the move, but that still won't be enough.
Knowing that Mantha had injury concerns didn't sway the Devils from paying for him, and Toronto will likely need to follow suit. His offensive skillset is similar to that of Bunting's or even Vladimir Tarasenko, so paying for a top-six scorer will cost you.
They could wait and see if any of these players would be willing to be signed to a PTO and earn a contract that way, one that may be a lot cheaper and more of a bridge-type deal to a longer deal next summer - but there are no guarantees that these players will be available in a month either.
Max Domi's LTIR relief could help in that regard but again that depends on how his health holds up and how his pre-camp evaluation goes. That gives Toronto $3.75-million extra to work with but it is also highly dependent on if Domi misses the entire year; if there's a chance he can return then that relief goes out the window.
In order to make a deal similar to Mantha's, the Maple Leafs have to clear roughly $8-million in space to not only get out of the negatives, but have enough room to sign a player. That's going to take some creativity on John Chayka's part, and may try and start to accelerate a Morgan Rielly deal to make room if he chooses to waive his trade protection.
But they're aware of what it'll cost to get that top-six forward they need to complete the lineup but it's a matter of being able to afford it before their options head elsewhere.
Will the Maple Leafs end up being able to sign a top-six forward?
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