Team: 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Nov. 1, 2018

Published: Nov. 1, 2018

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

1) On November 17th 2018, William Nylander will sign a 6 year, $40.5 million contract ($6.75M cap hit). Signing an RFA to a contract after the season starts changes the annual cap hit depending on a number of factors*. In this case, if we assume Nylander's actual salary in the first year of the contract is equal to the cap hit (for simplicity's sake), the cap hit for the 2018-19 season will increase to $8,598,214 million, and the cap hit in years 2-6 of the contract will decrease to $6,471,774 (An interesting note - the higher the 1st years actual salary, the lower the annual cap hit is for the entirety of the contract. The lower the 1st years actual salary, the higher the annual cap hit is for the entirety of the contract).

*Here's the link with the formulas if you'd like to do the math yourself: https://www.capfriendly.com/faq#rfa-caphit

2) In the 2019 off-season, Auston Matthews signs an 8 year, $96 million contract ($12.0M cap hit), and Mitch Marner signs an 8 year, $72 million contract ($9.0M cap hit).

3) The Leafs trade RFA Kasperi Kapanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Brett Pesce.

4) To clear cap space, the Leafs trade Connor Brown to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2019 3rd round pick and a 2020 6th round pick.

5a) Sign Garret Sparks to a 2-year bridge contract to back-up Freddy for the remainder of his contract.

5b) Sign RFA forwards Josh Leivo, Andreas Johnsson and Trevor Moore to 1-year "show me" deals. Likewise with RFA defenseman Calle Rosen.

5c) Sign UFA forwards Par Lindholm and Riley Sheahan to fill out bottom-6 depth roles.

6) Hope and pray that rookies Carl Grundstrom and Andrew Nielsen/Timothy Liljegren can progress and contribute in meaningful roles.

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