Insider Throws Leafs Nation For a Loop, Revealing Potentially Puzzling Offseason Plan

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers both hold the keys for how the free agent market will unfold. The Panthers' trio of Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, alongside Leafs forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares are going to be the most coveted free agents, should they reach the open market.

Outside of the aforementioned quintet, the free agent pool is pretty shallow, leaving the way for over-bidding and underwhelming contract negotiations for the middle of the pack.

For once, the Maple Leafs have a lot of cap space to work with and while a lot of that will undoubtedly go to Matthew Knies, they should still have a healthy amount leftover as they hope to address several weak points across their lineup.

However, Sportsnet's Chris Johnston believes the Leafs' off-season might look a little different than we're all anticipating. The NHL insider dropped a nugget that their plans might be more drawn out and they could be looking at making their deals in August and leading into training camp.

That would suggest that Brad Trleiving and company aren't looking to improve the team primarily through free agency because most of the coveted names will be gone within the first few days of July. Moves in August and September would trend towards low-risk free agent signings, trades, and training camp invites.

The trade market is robust with potential star players being available as we head into the draft. Teams could possibly wait things out for as long as possible to get the best possible return, but it seems like you have to strike while the iron is hot, which could put the Leafs at a disadvantage.

There could also be RFA market implications, which would hit home for the Leafs with negotiations over Knies having hit a snag recently with issues relating to contract length and AAV.

Toronto would love to have it done before July 1st to avoid any potential offer sheets, but that seems unlikely to happen at this moment. Offer sheets can be discussed league-wide as of June 30th.

Nevertheless, it sounds like Treliving has something up his sleeve if his off-season plan is completely different than what most among Leafs Nation expects.