Those bold moves were not as expensive as they could have been. The Toronto Maple Leafs paid a low first rounder to get out of Patrick Marleau’s contract, and they accepted Codi Ceci as the cost to get out of Brown and Zaitsev’s deals.
They continued on their path to a “studs and duds” salary cap structure by picking up value laden league minimum players like Spezza, Shore, Agostino and Wilson.
Finally, they traded Nazem Kadri to the Avalanche for Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie, who, along with fellow pending UFA, they most likely have no intention of re-signing.