The Maple Leafs could steal the center they need with an offer sheet Colorado cannot match

The Toronto Maple Leafs could take advantage of a logjam in the middle in Colorado and steal Jack Drury away with an offer sheet the Avalanche can't match.

As the Maple Leafs continue to make moves to change their identity and philosophy ahead of the 2026-27, they've been working hard to make sure they leave no stone unturned. The team traded away Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to add some cap flexibility, traded for Darren Raddysh and locked him up, and there's still potential big moves to be made on the 26th during the draft.

But only a few short days after the NHL Draft finishes up do we have to deal with free agency and all the excitement and anxiety around who's going to sign and where. July 1 is going to be a huge day for the Maple Leafs as they could find themselves with a few new faces like Alex Tuch when all is said and done.

Colorado is facing a cap crunch and it makes Jack Drury a trade or offer sheet candidate

Though there's one player who isn't getting a ton of attention but is the perfect addition to help balance out the bottom-six: Jack Drury. And it seems like the Colorado Avalanche may have some difficulties keeping him around.

Right now, the Avalanche have a lot of premium players up the middle including Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, and former Maple Leaf Nic Roy. All of them are under contract and looking to be a focal point of the Avalanche offence, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for Drury.

Drury came over in the Mikko Rantanen deal and was expected to be a big part of the lineup and was giving the Avalanche a very solid defensive centre with great possession numbers and someone who can add offence to the bottom-six.

But there's little room for him especially with those names, and if the Avalanche are trying to forget their playoff mishaps this season, then they're going to make some changes as well, and if Drury's not in their plans - then the Maple Leafs should look to include him in theirs.

A cheap, face-off strong centre is the third line piece Toronto has been missing

They can afford it too, as the team can offer sheet him for up to $4.75-million which would handcuff the Avalanche into matching the deal and then leaving them with way less cap space than they already have. Colorado only has $6.9-million to work with and need to re-sign almost an entire blueline.

Or they could acquire his signing rights and then bring him in on a more favourable deal if they so choose to, but they could be giving up more assets than an offer sheet which would only cost them a draft pick.

He's not going to cost that much in the grand scheme of things, and even if the team signs him for the max on an offer sheet, that's going to appreciate with the rising cap so it might feel like only a $3 or $3.5-million cap hit which for a third line centre with great metrics is an absolute steal.

He would instantly slot into the 3C position and depending on his line, could have a lot of fun. If Nick Robertson sticks around then he would be the perfect scrappy winger to put with a defensive forward centre, and Dakota Joshua on the other flank will add lots of protection and open up space.

Toronto had their cheap 3C in Roy but traded him to Colorado at the deadline and while they are happy they got a first round pick for it, they may be kicking themselves over not having him in the lineup this year.

So why not go back to the well once again and take Drury from Colorado. They can't afford him and already have more than enough firepower up the middle and Toronto can give him a new home where he'll have no issues finding a comfortable place in the lineup.

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