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Toronto Maple Leafs: Rookie bonuses’ impact on the cap

By Omar L

Apr 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates his third period goal with left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) against the Washington Capitals in game six of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Capitals beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates his third period goal with left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) against the Washington Capitals in game six of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Capitals beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have less cap space to work with, as the value of the overage via rookie bonuses has been released.

This year’s crop of rookies will go down as the greatest in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Just saying they were good is an understatement, as the majority of them were main contributors for the team.

Unfortunately, that success is going to come with a price. CapFriendly tweeted out the Leafs cap overage for next season, because of the number of rookie bonuses hit.

Again via CapFriendly, this was the highest cap overage in the NHL. The team with the second highest was the Edmonton Oilers at $5.25 million in bonuses from two players, whereas the Leafs’ is from five.

The five earning bonuses are: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev. Having rookies reach milestones in both points and goals will do that for a team.

Sportsnet‘s Chris Johnston tweeted in April the bonuses the Leafs had to pay at the end of the season:

  • Matthews – $2.85 million
  • Marner – $850,000
  • Nylander -$850,000
  • Brown – $182,500
  • Zaitsev – $637,500

Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Zaitsev’s bonuses were similar in that they came down to points and ice time. Additionally, Matthews was the only one to have a Schedule B bonus, which would be obtained by finishing top 10 in the NHL in goals. Brown’s bonuses were different in that they were obtained for how many games he played.

There are some concerns about the overage, as the Leafs now have a little north of $8.5 million in cap space. However, there are many fans and most likely many in management who believe it was well worth it.

Keep in mind the Leafs can still free up an addition $10.5 million by placing Joffrey Lupul and Nathan Horton on LTIR if they need to. Of course it isn’t good that the penalty is that much, but it is just a bittersweet reminder the Leafs have young players that are ridiculously good.

Next: More invites to Leafs' development camp

What do you think about the overage the Leafs will have? Does this negate the success of the rookies in your eyes? Or is this just further insurance that the team had a phenomenal season? Let us know what you think down below! 

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