Who should the Maple Leafs target in free agency? 8 sneaky-good fits

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Here’s the thing about free agency this summer that’s easily missed: While it absolutely lacks in non-Mitch Marner star power, it makes up for it in quality depth.

There are a lot of decent to good players who could be of use to the Maple Leafs next season (albeit not many centres; check out trade candidates here), not including headliners like Brad Marchand, Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Duchene, Sam Bennett and Patrick Kane.

We’re highlighting eight sneaky-good fits, along with a whole bunch more who cracked our long list.

Anthony Beauvillier

Fit: Top-nine winger

The Leafs need more malleable forwards like Beauvillier with a variety of tools in their toolbox. Beauvillier can be a pain in the butt to play against, for one thing. He isn’t a big guy (5-foot-11, 180 pounds), but there’s some bite to his game, especially when he’s hunting pucks down on the forecheck. He isn’t without skill and is pretty well a lock to score 15-20 goals, a mark he’s reached in six of the past eight seasons. He gets business done around the blue paint, ranking in the NHL’s 91st percentile last season in high-danger shots. That might explain why he’s chipped in a fair bit in the playoffs, with 18 goals in 65 games.

Anthony Beauvillier played up and down the lineup for the Capitals, including time next to Alex Ovechkin. (Hannah Foslien / Getty Images)

The Leafs didn’t have enough forwards who could move up and down the lineup last season. Beauvillier would give head coach Craig Berube some of that much-needed versatility. He began his stint with the Washington Capitals last spring — following a midseason trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins — on the fourth line but ended up on their No. 1 line with Alex Ovechkin in the playoffs. Beauvillier could be a complementary piece for the Leafs in the top six or contribute to an energy line in the bottom six.

Brent Burns

Fit: Right defence, anywhere!

The big elephant in the room? Burns was the second-oldest player in the NHL last season. He just turned 40 and the Leafs are, well, already an old bunch on the back end.

Yet he can still play (if not to his peak standard) and play a lot. He grabbed almost 21 minutes a night for the Carolina Hurricanes during the regular season and another 23 per game in the playoffs. That included a role on Carolina’s No. 1 pair at even strength and on a penalty kill that was the best in the NHL (yet again).

The Leafs wouldn’t have to ask him to do quite so much, what with Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo (presuming he isn’t moved this offseason) around on the right side. What they could really use is the extra bit of juice that Burns could offer offensively in a supporting role. While he’s no longer the rock star who won a Norris Trophy in 2017 with 29 goals and 76 points, Burns would still be more of a threat to shoot the puck and score than anyone the Leafs have back there — and it’s not even close. Burns finished last season with 461 shot attempts, ninth most among NHL defencemen and 158 more than the top Leaf (Morgan Rielly). That could be very helpful to a Berube team that prizes point shots and the disruption they create. It could be useful too on a power play that will likely have a very large hole to fill at the point position (previously occupied by Marner).

Another point in Burns’ favour is the flexibility he would offer the coaching staff beyond the roles he figures to fill on special teams. He might fit best on a “third” pairing with Oliver Ekman-Larsson (who moves back to the more comfortable left side), making for three pairs that could be used interchangeably:

McCabe — Tanev
Rielly — Carlo
Ekman-Larsson — Burns

Then again, Burns could also line up with Jake McCabe if the Leafs sought a different look or even (for offensive-zone faceoffs anyway) with Rielly. One of the best Canadian defencemen of his era, Burns has weirdly never played for a Canadian team. The Leafs make a good bit of sense if he has any interest in changing that.

Tanner Jeannot

Fit: Top-nine winger

The Leafs should be trying to Berube-ize the roster this summer with more size, bite and physicality. Enter — maybe? — Jeannot, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound hitting machine with double-digit goal potential. Jeannot’s stock was so high at one point that the Lightning traded five draft picks to get him in the not-so-distant aftermath of his thunderous 24-goal, 318-hit (!) rookie season. Jeannot didn’t stick in Tampa and has never come close to matching that one wild season, in part because his opportunity, both with the Lightning and the Kings, plummeted. And that would be the bet with Jeannot: That he just needs more playing time and better linemates to reclaim that early glory.

Jeannot was strictly a fourth-liner in L.A. last season, playing 11 minutes a night. He scored seven goals and registered 211 hits in 67 games — most frequently with Trevor Lewis. A year before that, he played primarily alongside Luke Glendening, who registered exactly one assist in 81 games. Improve the linemates, play him more and believe that he will pop. That belief part is important, since Jeannot will probably be seeking lengthy commitment and a cap hit around $3 million.

Andrew Mangiapane

Fit: Top-nine winger

First, the obvious connection: Mangiapane was drafted by the Flames in 2015 when Brad Treliving was early in his tenure as GM and proved to be a real steal — a sixth-round pick who popped at one point with a 35-goal season. And while that year proved to be an outlier, Mangiapane has proven he can be relied upon for 14-18 goals and maybe, if some of the earlier magic reappears (and his playing time increases), something more.

That kind of offence, plus some playmaking, energy, speed, tenacious forechecking and real feisty behaviour could be very useful for the Leafs.

Mangiapane’s production dipped in Washington last season (14 goals, 28 points), but he spent most of the year in the bottom six and most frequently alongside Lars Eller, who plays defence first, second and last. Play him a bit higher in the lineup with a bit more skill and more generous deployment (i.e. more offensive-zone faceoffs and a smidge more PP time) and there’s reason to think Mangiapane can deliver up to 20 goals and 40-ish points in the middle six. Oh, and one more connection: Mangiapane is a Toronto native.

Nick Perbix

Fit: Third-pair right defence

The Leafs ended up, shockingly, getting eight goals from their defence in the playoffs after a 21-goal regular season. It’s not the most dynamic group in terms of the ability to create offence save for Rielly, nor is it a group with much in the way of upside — what with Rielly, Tanev and McCabe all over 30 and Carlo due to turn 29 in November.

Which is where Perbix comes in. He’s a 27-year-old right-shooting defenceman, drafted and developed by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who might have some upside. Stuck on the third pair of the Tampa defence last season, Perbix averaged less than 15 minutes a game. He still scored six times, a mark bested by only Rielly among Leafs defencemen, and put up 19 points. And that was with zero power-play time.

The Leafs could stick him on their second power-play unit and play him, for now, on the right side of an offence-leaning third pairing with Ekman-Larsson. In time, perhaps Perbix can move into the top four. As with Burns, this team could use another defenceman who can make the odd play and score a goal, especially on the right side. Unlike Burns, Perbix would be a bet on upside. He has the size/length element, at 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds, that Treliving covets — and he isn’t afraid to use it.

Eric Robinson

Fit: Middle-six winger

A big, speedy, physical straight-lines winger who’s going to score 10-15 goals, without a ton of opportunity, from the middle six. Nine of his 14 goals for the Hurricanes last season were from high-danger zones.

Like some of the other wingers mentioned, Robinson can slide up and down the lineup, and he’s most definitely a fit for Berube hockey. Robinson is 6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds, and he’s quick, with speed bursts above 32 kilometres an hour that ranked in the NHL’s 83rd percentile. Oh, and he killed penalties for the league’s premier penalty-killing unit, which is to say he can help the Leafs there, too. There are Steven Lorentz vibes, but with a bit more offensive upside and likely a lesser cost than someone like Jeannot.

Jeff Skinner

Fit: Top-nine winger

It’s hard to point to many contracts (Matthew Knies’ entry-level deal excluded) that gave the Leafs great value last season. Finding discounts won’t be easy this summer, not with the cap going up and plenty of teams with money to spend. Which makes it worthwhile to seek out a player like Skinner, someone who may be looking to rebuild his value next season.

Skinner’s decision to join the Oilers over the Leafs last summer hasn’t really worked out. He’s been a frequent scratch in the playoffs and saw sparse minutes during the regular season. So why should the Leafs bet on him? Simply for the goal-scoring upside. Even this past season, when he played only 13 minutes a night, Skinner scored 16 goals, mostly in the bottom six. That would have been good for seventh among Leafs. In the three previous seasons, Skinner scored 33, 35 and 24 goals, albeit in Buffalo with more opportunity, including a regular gig alongside Tage Thompson. Second-line left wing in Toronto makes some sense, depending on who the Leafs get to play centre.

Some caveats: Skinner is 33 and not the quickest or biggest player around, and again, he’s barely played in these playoffs, his first in the NHL. Maybe that makes him a questionable fit for a Berube team. The Leafs can’t just be big and physical and low on skill, though. Skinner could add another dimension and maybe even outperform his contract.

Reilly Smith

Fit: Top-nine winger

Smith falls into the category of smart veteran who can be trusted to do a little bit of everything. He defends. He can support more skilled linemates. He scores a bit. He can play anywhere — top six, bottom six, power play, penalty kill. And he has loads of playoff experience (117 games) in which he has performed excellently (83 points).

Winning teams seem to always have a player or two like Smith. He was an instrumental cog during the Vegas Golden Knights’ deep playoff runs, including the Stanley Cup win in 2023. Smith, who hails from Toronto, has had a $5 million cap in each of the last eight seasons. Something similar, on a short-term deal, would make a ton of sense for the Leafs.

Honourable mentions

Mason Appleton: If the Leafs want to build a more purpose-driven third line, one that duels with top lines every night, they might start with Appleton, a Winnipeg Jets favourite for most of the past seven seasons.

Connor Brown: A dependable, feisty winger capable of playing on all four lines and helping the penalty kill.

Justin Brazeau: A gigantic (6-foot-6, 227 pounds) former Marlie who scored 15 goals in 76 games over two seasons with the Bruins.

Nick Bjugstad: It feels like the Leafs have enough Bjugstad types in terms of centres who are best suited to fourth-line duty. They might be tempted to add the 32-year-old on the relative cheap for his size (6-foot-5), right-handedness and mild offensive upside — he’s scored 15 goals or more in six seasons.

Nick Cousins: A familiar foe, Cousins could be helpful as a pesky 12th-13th forward.

Sean Kuraly: The Leafs need more attitude and bite in their lineup. Kuraly would bring that. He’s competitive, physical and hard to play against. He’s also somewhat redundant with Scott Laughton already around.

Oliver Kylington: A mobile defender who was drafted and developed by Treliving’s Calgary Flames.

Trevor Lewis: He’s 38 but still might have some use as a physical, no-nonsense fourth-line forward. Treliving signed him once upon a time in Calgary.

Victor Olofsson: The Leafs have holes to fill in the top six. Olofsson (15 goals in 56 games last season) brings goal-scoring potential.

Corey Perry: An obvious fit for any team looking to go deep in the playoffs, Perry somehow still hasn’t run out of gas at age 40. The Leafs could use his attitude as well as his ability to support star players, play across all four lines and be a pain around the net on the power play.

Brandon Tanev: Chris’ brother is a physical pest who can kill penalties, block shots and kick in some offence from the bottom six.

(Top photo of Brent Burns: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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