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Leafs won't divulge offseason plans, nor deviate from five-year plan

The Toronto Maple Leafs are, in some ways, the envy of the hockey world.

They have a generational star pivot in Auston Matthews, two other supremely talented forwards coming off exceptional rookie seasons, an apparent No. 1 netminder who appears as though he can demonstrably outplay his long-term contract, and one of the best coaches in the game at the helm.

But in this salary-cap world, where great teams have no choice but to disband, the financial flexibility that Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock have to work with this summer is an immensely desired asset in itself.

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With castoffs Brooks Laich, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening coming off the payroll this summer, and Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul slated for another season on long-term injured reserved, the Maple Leafs can look to earmark around $16 million in cap space.

Now, they need to sign Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, and Nikita Zaitsev to new deals, make a decision on Brian Boyle, sign a backup netminder, and manage the performance bonuses which are to make the rookie contributions more costly, but the Leafs remain in position to make a considerable splash in either free agency or the trade market – if they so choose.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs should have the financial flexibility to be active this summer; do they intend to take advantage of that? (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

This was always the intention, to clear up the remnants of a rebuild at the precise moment the team was ready to turn the corner. But after a highly competitive six-game ouster at the hands of the Washington Capitals – a series that completely changed the perception around this club moving forward – the belief is that the window to contend for the Maple Leafs is wide open now, and perhaps a couple years ahead of schedule.

Cap economics would dictate that there might not be a better opportunity to make a legitimate run at a championship than the next two seasons while many of the impact players on the roster are still waiting to reach maximum earning potential.

So the question begs, will Lamoriello load up?

“We’ll handle it as it comes,” the general manager said during his exit availability on Tuesday.

“Things have a way of changing. I think that right now we’re in a good position for that, as to how we have our cap set. This is a five-year plan that changes every day, both on the personnel side and on the cap side, as far as knowing what you have to do.

“It’s our job to be prepared for that.”

And we’ll stay prepared to find out.

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