Maple Leafs Missed Out on Key Free Agent Who Could've Made a Major Impact

With the Maple Leafs firmly set to fight for a Stanley Cup, their current roster is probably as good as it has ever been in the Auston Matthews era, and with the right mix of goaltending, defense and offense, the team has a real shot at winning it all this year.

Their offense has been a bit of a touchy subject all season, and although their Core Four has really shown out this year, there was a concern about if the team had enough secondary scoring.

Sure, Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann were fantastic, but Max Domi and Nick Robertson were about as hot and cold as humanly possible. Which is why it's a shame the team didn't do their due diligence and try to sign one particular free agent.

Dylan Strome had quite the season for Washington, and while we can't guarantee that he would have had the same numbers; there's no denying just how good he's been.

He crushed his career high in points, goals, assists, penalty minutes, and face-off percentage. He's part of a very dangerous Washington team who might be the best team in East all things considered; imagine what he could have done alongside John Tavares and William Nylander, especially with how they produced.

To see the Maple Leafs not even field an offer is at least a bit strange, and while they signed Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz to their forward corps, it's a wonder why they couldn't bring them aboard alongside Strome as well; they're cheap options and it makes a Jani Hakanpaa signing even more regretful.

Imagine a top-six of Knies/Matthews/Marner and Strome/Tavares/Nylander. If he had joined the team and added the same production, that second line would have combined for 240 points this season, which is a mind-blowing number when you realize he costs $5M; the same price as Max Domi.

So while it's frustrating to see the Maple Leafs lose out on such a strong player like Strome, but they've done pretty well so far. Let's just hope he doesn't catch fire if the two teams face off and make Toronto truly regret not signing him.