The Toronto Maple Leafs are often criticized for having placed themselves in a salary cap predicament, but this is false.
While it’s true space is limited, the vast majority of competitive NHL teams are up against the cap. Additionally, most of those other teams have far less flexibility than the Leafs do.
This is because the Leafs have no long-term contracts that are bad – indeed, all their long term contracts are to superstar players whose deals will become team-friendly as the years go on and the cap rises.
The Leafs – should they desire to add to their roster – can do so without touching any of their core players.