Toronto Maple Leafs: Winning the smart way

It’s true the rebuilding phase of the Toronto Maple Leafs is over, but it takes smart signings and trades to become a consistent Stanley Cup contender.

The 2017-18 season will be uncharted territory for a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Instead of expecting to be a lottery team, or being cautiously optimistic about what can happen, there is hope. With a crop of young stars such as Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner, the expectation is the playoffs. Not just the first round, but a decent run.

So for those who are hesitant to say it, yes, the rebuild is over. The Toronto Maple Leafs are playoff contenders. It’s time to take the core of players and make this team into a Stanley Cup contender. However, just because the Leafs are in this position doesn’t mean they should start getting crazy.

With the Expansion Draft and other teams around the league trying to sort out their salary cap, trades are going to be a major thing to look out for. The Leafs will have a lot of cap space with some contracts coming off the books and the opportunity to put Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul on LTIR again. Like many winning teams do, you should never pass up the chance to improve. Trading first round picks, coveted prospects, and signing UFAs is something that will come in the near future, but only if it makes sense.

More from Tip of the Tower

• Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
• Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
• Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
• Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
• Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith

Trade a first round pick, if it makes sense. Sign a player to an offer sheet, if it makes sense. Sign a UFA, if it makes sense. This offseason’s free agency class has to be one of the weakest in recent memory. Others highlight Kevin Shattenkirk, Joe Thornton, or Cody Franson as options for Toronto. Those three players will be looking for term and money and one thing the Leafs wouldn’t want to do is sign a contract that burns them in the future. Teams always overpay on July 1st. Matthews, Marner, and Nylander should be the highest paid players on the team. That’s it.

The Leafs have to stay smart and patient. Patient in the sense of waiting for the right deal to come your way that doesn’t jeopardize your future. Bring in players that can add to your core at the right price. Although the Leafs are trying to win now, they also want to win for years to come. The future should always be on their minds.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins are prime examples. They’ll make their trades when they need to but leave enough in the organization to sustain themselves. Conor Sheary, Jake Guentzel, Ryan Hartman, and Nick Schmaltz. The young players in their organization stepped in for players that needed to be let go. The Leafs won’t be able to do the same if all their high-end prospects are traded.

Next: Looking at the Leafs' marketable players

The rebuild may be over, but you should never stop building. The Maple Leafs don’t just want one Stanley Cup, they want several. Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello, Mark Hunter, Mike Babcock, and Kyle Dubas have gotten the team this far. They know what it will take to get the Leafs to the next level and they know how to do it the smart way.