Should the Maple Leafs bring back Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi? Mailbag Part 1

The draft and free agency are fast approaching for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Before then, we thought we’d take a pause and answer some of your questions about the direction they may go this offseason. We’ll have Part 2 of the mailbag next week.

Questions have been edited and condensed for clarity.

If the Leafs are unable to trade Mitch Marner, what do you think of the idea of converting him into a centre. If not, how can they improve their centre depth with limited cap space? – Jon S.

I actually asked this question to Kyle Dubas a few summers ago, when he was still the Leafs’ GM. Marner had been named the top right winger in the league for two seasons in a row at that point. Dubas’ response essentially boiled down to: Why would the Leafs move him over in light of that?

There are a number of free agents who would address the Leafs’ need at centre – from Chandler Stephenson to Adam Henrique, Alex Wennberg, and Elias Lindholm. The question is, how much, if anything, are the Leafs prepared to spend (in years and dollars) to upgrade with one of those guys? Because this team doesn’t just have a need for a middle-six centre. They have multiple holes to fill on their top two defence pairs as well as another goaltender to play alongside and maybe in front of Joseph Woll – and absent a Marner trade, only about $20 million to spend for all of that.

Technically, the Leafs could do nothing at centre and come back with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Pontus Holmberg, and David Kämpf. That wasn’t good enough last season though and doesn’t figure to improve next season, not with Tavares entering his age-34 season and not with Holmberg and Kämpf being what they are offensively – limited.

I like the idea of nabbing one of those free agent centres if the term and price are right. All of them have drawbacks though. Stephenson is coming off a down year. Henrique is older. Wennberg tops out as a No. 3. Lindholm is almost 30 and will be expensive, if he even wants to play in Toronto.

If not free agency, is there a trade out there that brings back a centre, maybe even the one involving Marner?

Coming back with the status quo doesn’t feel tenable.

What are you hearing regarding the rest of Craig Berube’s coaching staff? – Tanner R.

From what I understand, Craig Berube and GM Brad Treliving are still evaluating the rest of the coaching staff and making determinations on whether Guy Boucher and Mike Van Ryn will return.

Do you think the Leafs should try and trade Timothy Liljegren? – Mike M.

I think it’s entirely possible they will.

Liljegren needs a new contract as an RFA this summer and I think there’s some question from his side of things about his role moving forward. The Leafs, conversely, are probably still wondering what they have in Liljegren.

They might just decide it’s time to get out of business with him entirely.

Liljegren never did gain the full trust of Sheldon Keefe and was scratched at one point in each of the last three postseasons. Will that change under Berube, who, like his GM, prefers big and heavy on the back end?

That’s another reason to believe a trade is coming here: Liljegren has struggled in the playoffs and doesn’t fit for the type of game the Leafs want to play.

I’ve never been the biggest Liljegren fan, but I still see two problems with dealing him now:

1. His value is probably low: While he’s made strides over three full seasons in the NHL, it remains to be seen if Liljegren can play regular top-four minutes for a good team. How much is someone like that really netting in a trade? It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but Travis Dermott, once upon a time, netted the Leafs only a third-round pick (albeit at the trade deadline). Rasmus Sandin, on the other hand, got the Leafs a late first. Sandin was only 23 at that point and his upside felt a little higher. So maybe it’s something in the middle for Liljegren. Is he worth giving up on now for a draft pick? I’m not so sure, especially because…
2. Liljegren may still grow into what the Leafs hoped he would become: It feels like he’s been around forever (because he has!), but Liljegren only turned 25 at the end of April. He still hasn’t cracked 200 regular-season games in the NHL. We know defencemen tend to require more time for development. If there’s still even a 20 percent chance of Liljegren blossoming into, if not something special, then a solid all-around top-four guy, shouldn’t the Leafs take that chance?

I wouldn’t blame the organization for moving on though.

At this point, Liljegren looks like only a third-pairing defenceman, someone with so-so abilities on offence and defence, along with so-so processing speed and competitiveness.

I’d lean toward being sure that there isn’t more there – for at least one more season, likely after a spin through arbitration – if the return is going to be marginal. If, on the other hand, Liljegren is part of a package that lands the Leafs net more ready-made help, whether it’s on defence, in goal, or at centre, I would be willing to turn the page.

Fraser Minten seems to have a lot of fans but is he really more than a B-level prospect? His numbers in junior last year don’t stand out and he isn’t a lock to make the team this year. He seems like a perfect sell-high prospect to use to acquire a bonafide NHL player who can help in 2025. – Jamie M.

I think you’re onto something and I think there are two factors at play.

One, the Leafs don’t have an especially deep pool of prospects who scream NHL player. So the ones that do sorta meet that qualification, in a market like Toronto, will inevitably end up becoming a little over-hyped (through no fault of their own). I also know that the Leafs adore Minten as a person. They view him as mature beyond his years. I mean, there was a reason Keefe put him on the team as a 19-year-old last fall. (For more on Minten read this if you haven’t already.)

I also know the organization believes he likely tops out as a third-line centre. Which means it’s just as likely that he’s only a fourth-line centre in the long run.

That kind of player can be useful, but shouldn’t be off-limits in trade discussions for a team that’s trying to win the Stanley Cup as soon as possible.

Is this season the last dance for Shanny if the team disappoints again? – John S.

Almost certainly yes.

It’s unclear what Brendan Shanahan’s contractual status actually is (he declined to address it at the end of last season), but from what’s been disclosed publicly, Shanahan is entering the last year of a six-year extension signed in the spring of 2019. If his team has yet another playoff disappointment in season No. 11, is MLSE president Keith Pelley really going to bring him back again? Seems very unlikely, but you never know!

What is the likelihood Max Domi returns? Your article earlier suggested they target a top free-agent centre and defenceman, and pivot to a David Perron type if they don’t land a centre. Where does that leave Domi? Feels like they should prioritize trying to add two significant defencemen over spending $4 million on a forward who doesn’t really solve a need. – Tanner R.

Max Domi is eyeing a big payday in free agency. If the Leafs were offering that kind of deal, he would be signed already, right? Which tells you they’re not and that Domi will likely explore the market on July 1 and see if there’s a long-term deal out there for him.

Would I bring him back? On a 1-2-year deal, yeah, maybe. If Marner is dealt, I can see the case for keeping Domi and installing him more permanently as Matthews’ wingman.

Though I respect his playmaking and competitiveness, I’m admittedly not the biggest Domi fan and wouldn’t be enthused about signing him to a long-term deal. It’s unlikely he repeats last season’s five-on-five success, which saw him rank among the league leaders in assists: Domi had an on-ice shooting percentage of almost 12 percent, a career-high and the seventh highest mark of any NHL forward who logged at least 900 minutes.

Where does Max Domi fit with the Leafs? Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)

There are a lot of free agent forwards I like better for the Leafs, forwards who provide more all-around value, including David Perron. There’s also a case, as you mentioned, to allocate most of the offseason budget to defence and scrounge around the bargain bin for help at forward. Then again, if the Leafs trade Marner, that budget opens up, potentially.

Was Shannahan’s biggest mistake during his tenure handing the reins of a team with generational talent to an inexperienced, and it turns out, unsuccessful, GM? – James C.

You’re obviously referring to Shanahan’s decision to promote Dubas to GM back in 2018. And while there were some ways that choice, and Dubas’ inexperience in particular, backfired – notably, with the way that second contracts for Matthews, Marner, and William Nylander were handled – I’m not sure I’d call his time as GM unsuccessful or the biggest mistake of Shanahan’s decade in charge. That, I would counter, was his stubbornness with the generational talent you’re talking about. Again and again, the Leafs, under his watch, insisted on sticking with all of that talent despite lacklustre results in the postseason. Shanahan’s full belief burned him and the Leafs.

Why isn’t there more talk about trading Morgan Rielly? You could target a younger forward. Use his money to get 2 top D in free agency and he seems like a big part of the problem with the power play. – Kody M.

For one thing, Rielly has a full no-movement clause and six seasons left on his contract. He also loves it here. Could the Leafs try to move him this offseason? Sure. Would he accept a trade elsewhere? I find it unlikely.

As you noted, Rielly has real limitations on the power play, his inability to threaten as a shooter specifically. Is he the biggest reason that Matthews, Tavares, Nylander, and Marner all have struggled to score there in the playoffs? That feels like an oversimplification. Rielly doesn’t kill penalties regularly and isn’t a slam dunk to defend top lines. In short, he doesn’t check a lot of the boxes for a No. 1 defenceman.

Yet, he also does a lot well and a lot the Leafs would lack without him, his puck transportation skills especially. He also happens to have been, arguably, the Leafs most reliable playoff performer over the years. If the Leafs had better talent around him on the back end, mind you, his limitations wouldn’t be as glaring.

Is he overpaid? Maybe by a little, but not much. Rielly’s $7.5 million cap hit next season is tied for 26th at his position and will fall even further, potentially, as guys like Brady Skjei and Brandon Montour get new deals. That seems about right.

Trade him and the Leafs would suddenly need to replace him (and his unique skillset) somehow. They also wouldn’t be able to take his $7.5 million and turn that money into two top-four defencemen, just one with some change leftover. Are they really coming out ahead in that case? They need to add to Rielly on the back end.

Moving on from either Marner or Tavares, both of whom have only a year left on their contracts, makes a lot more sense at this point.

Which of the returning players do you think will be the most improved, and who do you think will regress the most? – Mark C.

Great question! I could go in a lot of different directions for the most improved candidate next season, from Bobby McMann to Joseph Woll. But I think the clear-cut choice is Matthew Knies. He was one of the Leafs best players in the playoffs, and I have to think, with a year under his belt in the NHL, he’ll make a leap. Knies was pretty inconsistent last year, just like a 21-year-old rookie should be. There was lots for him to adjust to: The 82-game schedule, the competition, the lack of sleep, living alone in an unfamiliar city, playing in the NHL, period. The second time through should be a lot smoother.

One early prediction: Knies scores 25 goals next season.

As for regression, I’m leaning toward Jake McCabe. After a bumpy start last fall, everything seemed to go right for him last season, including a career-best eight goals on career-best shooting (11 percent). McCabe will be 31 next season and playing, potentially, for a new contract under a new coach, perhaps with a new partner. Maybe he’ll thrive anyway, especially if the Leafs are able to ask him to do less. Or maybe the change in role, fewer minutes for instance, and a little less good fortune leads to a bumpier season

Are they really walking away from Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi? I thought they worked out well once they got used to the new team. Can’t they just build around them, or do you think they’ll be too expensive to sign? Didn’t you guys say they both want to stay? – Craig P.

Both guys do want to stay, for the right price. I think the Leafs would like to keep them, for the right price.

I’m not sure those two things will overlap as Domi and Bertuzzi both want long-term deals.

I touched on Domi already. What’s worrisome about a long-term commitment to Bertuzzi? He’s 29; he’s missed a lot of time over the years with injuries; and for most of the last two seasons, he’s not been consistently effective.

(Top photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)