With the cuts and the trade announced today, we can calculate this season’s total cap hit of this 23-man roster.
2018-2019 Maple Leafs opening day roster with cap hits
| Name | # | Pos | Sh | Ht | Wt | Born | Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Brown | 28 | RW | R | 6'0" | 185 | 01/14/94 | $2,100,000 |
| Tyler Ennis | 63 | LW | L | 5'9" | 161 | 10/06/89 | $650,000 |
| Frederik Gauthier | 33 | C | L | 6'5" | 232 | 04/26/95 | $675,000 |
| Zach Hyman | 11 | C | R | 6'1" | 213 | 06/09/92 | $2,250,000 |
| Andreas Johnsson | 18 | LW | L | 5'10" | 180 | 11/21/94 | $787,500 |
| Nazem Kadri | 43 | C | L | 6'0" | 190 | 10/06/90 | $4,500,000 |
| Kasperi Kapanen | 24 | RW | R | 6'1" | 187 | 07/23/96 | $863,333 |
| Josh Leivo | 32 | LW | R | 6'2" | 210 | 05/26/93 | $925,000 |
| Par Lindholm | 26 | C | L | 5'11" | 187 | 10/05/91 | $925,000 |
| Patrick Marleau | 12 | C | L | 6'2" | 215 | 09/15/79 | $6,250,000 |
| Mitch Marner | 16 | C | R | 6'0" | 175 | 05/05/97 | $894,167 |
| Auston Matthews | 34 | C | L | 6'3" | 216 | 09/17/97 | $925,000 |
| John Tavares | 91 | C | L | 6'1" | 208 | 09/20/90 | $11,000,000 |
| Travis Dermott | 23 | D | L | 6'0" | 208 | 12/22/96 | $863,333 |
| Jake Gardiner | 51 | D | L | 6'2" | 200 | 07/04/90 | $4,050,000 |
| Ron Hainsey | 2 | D | L | 6'3" | 205 | 03/24/81 | $3,000,000 |
| Justin Holl | 54 | D | R | 6'3" | 205 | 01/30/92 | $675,000 |
| Martin Marincin | 52 | D | L | 6'5" | 212 | 02/18/92 | $800,000 |
| Igor Ozhiganov | 92 | D | R | 6'2" | 207 | 10/13/92 | $925,000 |
| Morgan Rielly | 44 | D | L | 6'1" | 217 | 03/09/94 | $5,000,000 |
| Nikita Zaitsev | 22 | D | R | 6'2" | 195 | 10/29/91 | $4,500,000 |
| Frederik Andersen | 31 | G | -- | 6'4" | 230 | 10/02/89 | $5,000,000 |
| Garret Sparks | 40 | G | -- | 6'2" | 195 | 06/28/93 | $675,000 |
| Total: | - | - | - | - | - | - | $58,233,333 |
| Nathan Horton | . | . | . | . | . | . | $5,300,000 |
| Retained - Kessel | . | . | . | . | . | . | $1,200,000 |
| Bonus Carryover | . | . | . | . | . | . | $2,550,000 |
| Total: | . | . | . | . | . | . | $67,283,333 |
| Cap Space | . | . | . | . | . | . | $12,216,667 |
The total space of $12,216,667 is with Nathan Horton not on LTIR. Out of that has to come William Nylander’s salary minus whoever is removed from the roster to make room for him, which it will do easily. What it might not be enough for is to absorb all the performance bonuses earned in the coming season. Those can be as high as $5,400,000, so there might be some carryover. LTIR space cannot be used to contain bonuses.
If the Leafs were to carry on all season with this roster (they won’t because of Nylander), they would have over $55 million in deadline cap space. Even with Nylander’s salary on the books all year, the Leafs could add an absurd amount of cap hit at the deadline.
More interestingly, the Leafs can add more expensive players in-season if they want to use the LTIR space available and are willing to let the bonuses all roll into next season. How is Rick Nash doing, anyway? At this point, it seems unlikely much will change beyond the addition of Nylander, but you never know what a hockey season will bring you.
Follow the Leafs cap situation at Cap Friendly.