Insider Names 2 Players as Likely Cap Casualties for Maple Leafs In Deadline Adds

The Toronto Maple Leafs have some work to do over the next 24+ hours. After watching Florida and Tampa Bay make some big moves already, they'll be feeling the pressure to do something to keep pace. The Leafs will look to add a middle-six center, a forward, and a depth defenseman.

But with no cap space, it'll mean some players currently on the roster will have to be moved out. According to insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, there are two players in particular that will likely be on the outs.

"Forwards Nick Robertson and David Kampf have been floating around the rumor mill as possible casualties of the cap", he notes.

Robertson is on an expiring $875,000 contract, while Kampf, who has a 10-team no-trade list, still has two more years on a $2.4 million cap hit.

*Update: We can now add Ryan Reaves' $1.35 million cap hit as a certain casualty, as he was placed on waivers by the Leafs on Thursday.*

And if GM Brad Treliving hopes to make a big splash and bring in a 'significant' piece or two (they have interest in Mikko Rantanen, and Brock Nelson, for example), it'll cost the organization much more than that. They're bound to have to surrender one of their top two prospects, Easton Cowan and/or Fraser Minten, and/or possibly Ben Danford, possibly Topi Niemala and one of their first-rounders in 2026 or '27. They're all in the mix, and some of them will likely go, depending on what they can come up with on the market.

As insider Darren Dreger noted on TSN, it's almost certain that the Maple Leafs roster "will look different" by 3pm Eastern time on Friday.