It seems like a huge understatement to say that new Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager (GM) Brad Treleving has a lot of work ahead of him. Nothing is set in stone with this team, and it looks like we could see a revolving door of players coming and going in the off-season. Between unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and restricted free agents (RFAs), the team has a total of 21 unsigned free agents in their system.
Related: Who Was the Best Complete Correct Scorer in NHL History?
Latest news and highlights
Some of the players who have played big roles with the team over the past few seasons are on their way out. Reports abound that Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, and Justin Hall haven’t even been in serious contract talks with the Maple Leafs. Treliving’s job will be to not only replace those players but try to find better players to fill their roles if this team wants to improve.
Maple leaves have indoor options
The Maple Leafs have some internal options for doing this. In games played in both the regular season and playoff games, rookie Matthew Kniss has shown he can fill Bunting’s role. Calle Janrkrok, who was signed to a four-year deal Last season by departing GM Kyle Dubas not only showed he could fill Kerfoot’s shoes, it may have been a step up from him. Finally Dubas too Signed right defender Connor Timmins to a two-year deal for half the money Hall earned. All three of these can step in for those who leave.
The big word there is “could”. There are no guarantees. Janrkrok had a career high last season. Can he redo it? Knies looked great, but only played 10 games before losing due to a concussion. This is the smallest sample size. In a position that supposedly requires over 200 games to become skilled at, Timmins has only played 78 games.
All three players have a lot of question marks. Relying solely on the ability of these players to fill those roles is a huge gamble that could go either way. Ideally, you would like to have options.
Kerfoot replaced with Ex-Maple Leaf Connor Brown
When it comes to Kerfoot, one of those options might be to bring a hometown boy, a former Maple Leafs draft pick, back into the fold. It just so happens that Connor Brown is UFA this summer. It can be a perfect replacement for Kraft.
Related: Connor Brown of the Toronto Maple Leafs: Formerly Gamble, Now Best Six
Looking at their career stats, it’s amazing how close the two players are to each other.
Statistic | carefoot | brown |
age | 28 years, 310 days | 29 years and 154 days |
measuring | 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds | 6-foot-0 and 181 pounds |
formulated | 2012, No. 150 | 2012, 156 |
Games played | 448 | 442 |
Objectives | 74 | 90 |
helps | 145 | 126 |
points | 219 | 216 |
Don’t get too close to it.
Kerfoot and Brown are both solid defensively
Both players are seen as sound defensively, and both kill penalties. In the last three full seasons, the Browns have played 150 more minutes in penalty kicks than Kerfoot (Brown 513 minutes, Kerfoot 357 minutes). The reason we write “the last three seasons” is because Brown missed all but four games of the 2022-23 season after surgery to repair a torn ACL.
With an eye test, both players play a similar style of the game. Brown is a bit more tenacious at the forehand than Kerfoot despite the fact that Kerfoot has more strikeouts in his career (282 Kerfoot hits, Brown 190 hits).
Related: Was Lou Lamoriello As Good As Maple Leafs Fans Remember?
Brown was a fan favorite in his first round with the Maple Leafs. As a junior, he scored 20 goals in Toronto and had another 20 in the 2020-21 season with the Ottawa Senators when he tallied 21. Kerfoot’s best season was his rookie year with the Colorado Avalanche when he scored 19 goals. With the Maple Leafs, Kerfoot never scored more than 13 goals.
The biggest hurdle is Brown’s contract size
The biggest hurdle to the Maple Leafs being able to sign Brown is hitting him in the hat. His final contract saw him earn $100,000 a season more than Kerfoot’s $3.5 million. Likely to see a similar deal for any Carefoot brands. The only thing that might negatively affect his next contract is that he missed the entirety of last season.
The deciding factor in whether Brown signs with the Maple Leafs may be Brown himself. If he wished to return to his hometown, he might be able to strike a deal with them. He might also relish the opportunity to play alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. However, at the same time, after experiencing what it’s like to play in Toronto, and a pressure cooker, Brown can decide he’d rather play elsewhere.
Related: Current NHL Player of the Year from each Canadian province
We’re sure there are a lot of fans out there who would love to see Brown back in a Maple Leafs uniform.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]