Maple Leafs Lead NHL in Problematic Category, And It Could Bite Them

When John Chayka took over as Toronto’s general manager, he inherited a roster with relatively few long-term commitments outside a handful of core pieces. But the moves he made this offseason have created a different kind of problem — one that has nothing to do with term or cap hit, and everything to do with roster flexibility.

According to Daily Faceoff’s annual salary-cap rankings, the Maple Leafs now have more contracts with no-trade or no-move protection than any other team in the league. Of the seven unrestricted free agents Chayka signed this summer, four received no-trade clauses. Add in the acquisition of forward Nick Paul, who already carries his own clause, and Toronto’s list of players who can’t be moved without their approval has grown significantly longer than anyone else’s around the NHL.

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Why Is This A Big Concern for Toronto?

Chayka’s July additions — Teddy Blueger, Sergei Bobrovsky, Brandon Duhaime and Colton Sissons — were largely met with mixed reviews when it came to term and value. Chayka avoided lengthy deals, but the decision to attach no-trade protection to four of those seven signings adds a wrinkle to their value.

No-trade and no-move clauses don’t just affect a team’s ability to shed bad money — they impact moves that become available to the team down the road. If the Leafs can’t clear a contract to add someone else, that’s one thing. But if any of these deals age poorly, it becomes really problematic if he can’t be moved. For a Maple Leafs team that should be defined as one in flux, retooling on the fly, having a large chunk of the roster essentially locked in place removes tools to improve the roster if needed.

Of the new adds, only Jack Roslovic, Emil Andrae, and Teddy Blueger can be traded without first needing to ask permission. Only 9 players on the entire active roster are without protection. One is forward is Matthew Knies, which could be why his name keeps popping up in trade rumors.

This Could Get Even More Complicated

The Maple Leafs are currently one of just three teams operating above the salary cap, and their roster, as constructed, isn’t viewed as a legit threat to win the Stanley Cup. They’re at 50 out of 50 contracts and unless a miracle happens, they’ll likely need to add to this roster. Holding the league’s largest group of unmovable contracts doesn’t help matters. In fact, it creates a hole Chayka will have to dig himself out of if things don’t go as planned.

Auston Matthews‘ contract situation makes matters more complicated. He’s watching closely to see how this team fares. He’s bought in right now, but his contract runs out in two years, and if management blunders the offseason changes and builds a subpar roster around him over that window, it will heavily influence whether he stays long-term. If Toronto needs to pivot mid-season, can they?

None of this means the individual signings were bad decisions. We don’t know that yet. It could turn out that the Leafs show no desire to move any of the pieces they gave no-trade clauses to. And a no-trade clause doesn’t necessarily mean no trade. Players can waive to facilitate a move elsewhere, assuming they’re open to leaving. They simply have the choice.

For a team that finished outside the playoff picture a year ago and is now hoping a retooled roster can get them back into contention, the margin for error is already thin. Add in a payroll above the cap ceiling and a roster largely protected from being moved, and it becomes clear why Toronto’s cap situation was ranked among the more concerning in the league heading into the 2026-27 season.

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