Report: Maple Leafs to Acquire Top-Six Forward

The Toronto Maple Leafs had a busy day as free agency opened on Wednesday. The team signed themselves some depth up front and on defense, and also found a running mate for starter Jack Campbell. Turns out they're not done and have their mind made up on how to use their remaining cap space.

TOR has indicated it is protecting its remaining cap space — approximately $3.5M — for a forward, likely a winger for the top six. Could be someone remaining in free agency, or from another team needing cap relief. We will see where this goes. Stay tuned.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 29, 2021

There's not a ton left on the market, so expect the Maple Leafs to either go the trade route now, or wait until closer to the deadline once they know exactly what the team needs. Last season we saw them add Nick Foligno at the deadline and a freak accident led to him being injured and trying to play through it.

Some names to consider if they do end up signing another forward this summer would be Tomas Tatar, Brandon Saad or Nick Ritchie. They would all bring a different element to the team and Ritchie may be the best suited as he also brings some much needed sandpaper. We should find out pretty soon what Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is thinking.