NHL's New Rules Could Revolutionize the Maple Leafs

As the 2025-26 season approaches, there is going to be a bit of a different look at times, give the NHL is implementing some of its new CBA rules early as a way to help GMs and teams segue into things a little easier.

A playoff cap, LTIR restrictions and the lack of deferred money are just some of the new additions that GMs will need to navigate as they deal with their day to day operations hoping that injuries and struggles don't become commonplace.

Looking a bit deeper into what teams can expect this season, let's break it down and see what changes everyone will see heading into the 25-26 campaign.

The elephant in the room was the usage of LTIR to circumvent the cap in time for the playoffs. Teams would put injured players on a long-term reserve in order to add more acquisitions in-season, then bring in their healthy players for the postseason and stock up.

Now, that's a no-no. In the new rules, teams can only get relief for the average player salary ($3.82M) if the player is set to return that year at ANY point. If they miss the entire season (both regular and post) then only then will teams get full cap relief.

All dead cap sits as a hit against teams, and any in-season trades will be subject to a full salary hit regardless of retention from other teams.

This means that you can't really load up anymore last minute, and teams are going to need to balance whether it's worth acquiring a body at the deadline if it means they can't bring back one of their injured.

Plus, couple that with the new contract rules where six years in the maximum length, and no deferred money being allowed; teams are going to really have to stress what is important; and with the season moving up it gives them less time to work with.

For a team like the Maple Leafs, who are looking to make a big splash next summer with the likes of Connor McDavid, it means they need to make sure that they can not only afford him, but that whoever they bring in this year doesn't hinder those hopes.

For instance, if Toronto wanted to add a top-six forward they would likely bring in someone on an expiring deal like Anders Lee, who could help in the postseason but wouldn't require a commitment.

But someone like a Bryan Rust, Jared McCann or Nazem Kadri would eat into their salary and if they run into injury issues again with Auston Matthews or another one of their stars; if they are on the LTIR come the playoff race; who gets in?

Luckily for them, they added a ton of bodies to fill any gaps and don't have too many free agents of their own to worry about next season (minus Anthony Stolarz) so it might be easier to deal with any injuries with a band-aid solution until people get healthy, and still allow them to make a McDavid offer.

So while it's great that teams like Vegas and Florida can't game the system anymore, Toronto also has to be careful about how they approach things this season and beyond.

It could end up costing them big time.