Inside look at Toronto Maple Leafs

Matthews leads familiar cast looking to build on playoff series victory

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a familiar look on their top line this season, if not in their management suite.

The top questions facing the team heading into the offseason revolved around Auston Matthews, the face of the franchise. 

With one season remaining on his contract, could the Maple Leafs get the 25-year-old center re-signed to a long-term contract, thereby quashing the opportunity for him to walk away next summer as a free agent?

Moreover, would the departure of general manager Kyle Dubas, who had a good relationship with Matthews and his agent, Judd Muldover, affect the odds of getting a deal done?

Those questions were answered Wednesday when incoming GM Brad Treliving helped spearhead the effort that led to Matthews signing a four-year, $53 million contract with Toronto (average annual value of $13.25 million). It begins next season and runs through 2027-28 when Matthews will be 30, meaning the Maple Leafs will retain him through the prime years of his NHL career.

In what was a whirlwind introduction to his new gig, Treliving accomplished his self-proclaimed No. 1 goal of retaining one of the top scorers in the game, who has 299 goals before his 26th birthday.

"I feel fortunate to continue this journey as a Maple Leaf in front of the best fans in hockey! I will do everything I can to help get us to the top of the mountain," Matthews tweeted.

Matthews, the 2022 Hart Trophy winner, voted as NHL MVP, will once again be joined up front by the so-called "Core Four," a group that also includes forwards Mitchell Marner and William Nylander and center John Tavares.

The team as a whole, however, will have a different vibe and look to it, starting in the front office.

Dubas and Toronto parted ways on May 19, ending his five-year stint as GM in which the Maple Leafs went 221-109-42. Blemishing that record was the team's postseason struggles; Toronto's six-game elimination of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round last season was its first playoff series victory in 19 years.

Enter Treliving, who became the 18th GM in franchise history on May 31. In the process, he set out to change the personality of the team, wanting to see more sandpaper, more edge, more snarl, and addressed that with the free agent signings of forwards Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi and fourth-liner Ryan Reaves.

"We need a little bit more snot to our game, and I think [Bertuzzi and Domi] both bring a little more of that," Treliving said. "As much as the game's changed, some things have never changed. At the most important times, the rink shrinks." 

For Domi, who signed a one-year, $3 million contract July 3, it is a homecoming. The 28-year-old, who had 56 points (20 goals, 36 assists) with the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars last season, grew up around Maple Leafs greats like Mats Sundin and Curtis Joseph during the time his dad, Tie Domi, played with Toronto from 1995-2006.

"This has been a dream of mine my whole life," Max Domi said.

One day before the Domi signing, the Maple Leafs and Bertuzzi agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract. The 28-year-old had 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) with the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins last season and has a penchant for going into the dirty areas in front of the opposing net where greasy goals are produced, especially at playoff time.

"If I was going to do a one-year deal I wanted to go to a team that I thought would have a great chance to win," Bertuzzi said, "and Toronto is at the top of the list."

On the blue line, smooth-skating defenseman John Klingberg should help the power play, although his defensive struggles are a concern. The puck-moving defenseman, who signed a one-year deal on July 1, had 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 67 regular-season games with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild last season.

"Playing against the Leafs the past two years, playing with the puck, it's a team with a lot of offense," the 32-year-old said. "It's a great team. Being a Toronto Maple Leaf, it's a huge thing and it's obviously going to be a lot of fun."

In goal, Martin Jones was brought in for goaltending depth behind Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll, another change in an offseason full of them.

Except for Matthews, of course. He's staying put, a key cog in Treliving's goal of bringing postseason success to Toronto.

"I'm thrilled to join an Original Six team and recognize how much the Maple Leafs mean to this community," Treliving said.

It'll mean even more if Toronto's offseason changes result in a deep playoff run.