Few sports across North America have a more rigid salary cap structure than the NHL – and the Toronto Maple Leafs are butting up against the sport’s $83.5 million total in 2023-24. That situation got more complicated with Monday’s news that the Leafs had agreed to an eight-year, $92 million contract extension with veteran center William Nylander.
Fans and Ontario sports betting customers alike will wonder what the future holds for the franchise after that announcement.
Toronto Maple Leafs Salary Cap Situation
Toronto’s commitments to players under salary for next season are currently pegged at $66.028 million. Given that Toronto has only signed 11 players for the 2024-25 season (compared to 29 this season), the team won’t have a lot of money to spread around to other roster spots.
General manager Brad Treliving will need to find a way to assemble a Stanley Cup championship caliber roster on a knife’s edge budget even after an expected leaguewide salary cap increase kicks in for next season. Nylander’s adjusted cap hit for the 2024-25 season is $11.5 million, according to Spotrac.com. That gives Toronto four players with cap hits exceeding $10 million for next season, all forwards: Auston Matthews ($13.25 million), John Tavares ($11M) and Mitch Marner ($10.9M) are the others.
Ontario sportsbook apps have the Leafs with odds of anywhere between +1100 and +1300 to win the Stanley Cup this season. Complicating matters is the fact that wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Maxi Domi are both unrestricted free agents this offseason, with the pair making $8.5 million combined this season for Toronto.
Toronto is clearly in win-now mode. But there’s a question that’s more pertinent than ever on the heels of Nylander’s deal: Can Toronto field a championship roster in 2024 under the league’s salary cap? OntarioBets.com broke down the numbers on the free agents remaining on Toronto’s current roster to get a sense of where the club is headed. And stay with OntarioBets.com to track Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds all season.
Toronto 2024 Unrestricted Free Agents, By 2023-24 Cap Hit
- Matt Murray*: $6.250M
- Jacob Muzzin*: $5.625M
- Tyler Bertuzzi: $5.5M
- T.J. Brodie: $5M
- John Klingberg: $4.15M
- Max Domi: $3M
- Martin Jones: $875,000
- Mark Giordano: $800,000
- William Lagesson: $775,000
Total for 9 UFA Maple Leafs: $31.975M
*Currently on long-term injured reserve
Can Leafs Stay Under NHL Salary Cap Next Season?
To see who the current betting favorites are, check out leaguewide NHL Stanley Cup odds at OntarioBets.com, where we compare online bookmakers so you can make an informed decision.
The current NHL salary cap is $83.5 million after five consecutive years of small, incremental growth. Commissioner Gary Bettman said in December that the cap is projected to go up to $87.7M next season, according to nhl.com. The Leafs are one of 17 teams with no current cap space, according to Spotrac.
Assuming each of Toronto’s nine unrestricted free agents is paid the exact amount they received this season, the Leafs would have to pay the collective almost $32 million in 2024-25 — which would bring the team’s total salary cap figure to about $96 million. That would be well above the projected 2024-25 salary cap figure, but would rank below Toronto’s current $99,621,448 payroll (per Spotrac), speaking to the unique nature of the league’s cap. That figure includes waivers for two-way (AHL & NHL) players and other trade and salary retention sums. Still, Toronto will have its hands full keeping this year’s roster in town once the season wraps up.
For now, what we do know is that Leafs odds to win the Eastern Conference are +600 with NorthStar Bets Ontario Sportsbook. What we also know is that Toronto has Nylander is locked down long-term for the Maple Leafs, answering one lingering question for the franchise.
