1 Roster Spot Maple Leafs Still Must Address

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a lot of changes from the team they assembled for last season's playoff run and what they expect to ice to start this season, but there are still questions and potential moves to be made.

The Maple Leafs have a couple of concerns that they can go about in very different ways. The first is the situation with William Nylander. It has been well documented that the two sides are not close on a deal as neither will budge. Nylander thinks he deserves $10 million+ AAV while the Maple Leafs aren't willing to go that high. With multiple players already under contract at very high AAVs, it doesn't make sense to add a fourth $10 million player as this core has only won them one playoff round. Depending on what happens with Nylander before the start of the season, there is a slight chance the team will need to add a top-six player, bring one back in a potential trade, or settle for the talent they already have on their roster.

The second and more pressing concern is goaltending. The Maple Leafs still haven't resolved the issue that is goaltending yet. The team came in low for Ilya Samsonov and he came in fairly reasonably considering the amount others around the league are signing for and the work he did in 2022-23. When a contract is decided, they will have a second buyout window to either part ways with Matt Murray or dump his contract before then. Then there is the case of Joseph Woll. He should arguably be the backup this season and is a cheap option for a cap crunched team, but someone has to go, preferably Murray. This goaltending situation should be cleared up fairly soon, but will cost Toronto one way or another.