The Toronto Maple Leafs work this offseason isn’t finished, but they have made some fairly notable moves so far.
By Michael Augello, Featurd
The Toronto Maple Leafs reached the 100-point mark for the second straight year and were one of the most entertaining and talented teams in the NHL last season, but in spite of making the big free-agent splash acquiring John Tavares, the club was unable to get out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing once again to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
Entering his second season as Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas faced one of the most difficult tasks in the league, opening enough cap space to re-sign forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnson and leading scorer Mitch Marner after signing Tavares and locking up William Nylander and Auston Matthews during the season, while at the same time upgrading a defense that was chiefly responsible for the club’s early post-season exits.