With the opening night just two days away and the Maple Leafs needing to clear some cap space, there’s potential for trades involving a few veteran players.

Following Sunday’s fast-paced reassignment period and the end of the preseason, teams must finalize their rosters for the 2024-2025 season by 5 p.m. on Monday. Toronto placed defenseman Marshall Rifai and Matt Murray on waivers as they continue trimming the roster for Wednesday night, but still have a few more adjustments to make before then.

There’s still the task of signing Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz from their PTOs to official contracts (expected to happen on Monday). Meanwhile, Nick Robertson’s impressive performance has prompted the Maple Leafs to reconsider a few things, including the possibility of trading one of their veteran forwards, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a few veteran players they could trade to clear space, with Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf being prime candidates. Together, they carry a combined salary of $4.5M. Kampf is considered overpaid given his limited production, while Jarnkrok has been struggling with injuries this preseason, making his $2.1M salary risky, especially with Lorentz potentially taking his spot. While Kampf might fit better under Craig Berube, he’s still viewed as overpaid when the Leafs have internal replacements like Roni Hirvonen or even veteran Kyle Clifford, who could bring the gritty presence the team might seek.
With the need to clear roughly $3M in cap space, the Maple Leafs could place Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar on LTIR to save some money, but that alone wouldn’t solve the problem. Another option is trading Timothy Liljegren, who has recently been demoted to an AHL-level pairing. Liljegren’s $3M salary makes him a potential trade candidate, especially given Toronto’s depth on defense. With just two days left before their season opener against Montreal, GM Brad Treliving and the Leafs still have important roster decisions to make, which could mean parting ways with one or more veteran players in blue and white.