Perhaps the only NHL team that correctly uses the money allotted to them under the NHL’s salary cap, the Toronto Maple Leafs have spent most of their money on star players, while filling out the roster with cheaper deals.
In the NHL, if you measure by WAR / 60 (Wins Above Replacement per 60 minutes of ice time) you can see that roughly 90% of the league has a smaller range of impact than the top 10%.
This means that star players drive team success, but it also means that mid-range players don’t have enough of an impact over replacement players to warrant their salaries.