Maple Leafs' free agents O’Reilly, Schenn, Bunting on whether they’ll return

TORONTO — Fresh off a roller-coaster post-season that brought a bit of long-awaited triumph and a lot of all-too-familiar misery for the Maple Leafs faithful, all eyes in Toronto now turn to the future.

For a club that’s long seemed to be at a crossroads, deciding whether to plow ahead with this current core or relent to the doubters who’ve said major surgery is needed to bring a championship to Toronto, this group now finds itself with the door wide open to reshape its roster.

A hefty number of regulars from the team’s recent playoff run are set to become free agents. Half of the Core Four up front — Auston Matthews and William Nylander — enter the final years of their deals next season and are soon eligible to sign extensions. The ones guiding those conversations are just as in flux, with decisions still to be made on whether Kyle Dubas will be brought back as the club’s GM, and whether Sheldon Keefe will remain the head coach.

Speaking to the media from the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., on Monday, over the course of the team’s final day together as a group this season, the Maple Leafs' core made clear their desire to run it back and go again.

But whoever is running the front office come July will have plenty of decisions to make regarding what the rest of the roster looks like going into 2023-24, with question marks hovering over key names at every position.

THE FORWARDS

The most notable name among the crop of Maple Leafs forwards entering unrestricted free agency is no doubt Ryan O’Reilly, who joined the club via trade in February.

Fresh off a seven-year, $7.5 million AAV deal he signed back in 2015 with the Buffalo Sabres, the 2019 Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner with the St. Louis Blues will now get a chance to pick his next spot after trades determined his past two destinations.

While the 33-year-old heaped praise on the Maple Leafs and the experience he had with his boyhood club Monday, he stopped short of any concrete declarations about his future.

“I’m still reflecting on the loss. You know, going forward here, I have a lot to think about, what I’m going to do. But this organization is incredible,” said O’Reilly, who added that he’d “absolutely” consider a return to the blue and white. “Obviously, you guys see the players that they have and such, but the people in the organization, every facet that’s looked after — the strength training, the nutrition, everyone on the staff is just incredible and the best at what they do. It’s such an amazing place — I’m so thankful that I was brought into it. 

“Obviously, I’m sorry I couldn’t get the result that we wanted but just to be part of this organization is an amazing thing. But I’ll have some decisions to make going forward now.”

Surely factoring into that decision will be his experience of the scrutiny that comes with playing in Toronto’s fishbowl. Asked if he was surprised by what that immense pressure feels like, after 13 years in American markets, the veteran admitted it wasn’t nothing.

“Yeah. I guess not surprised — you don’t really know it until you’re in it, to see it,” he said. “But it’s part of it. It’s part of what makes this the Mecca of hockey, the way people care. And when you do win, it’s going to be something that’s that much more special.”

O’Reilly emerged as an important voice for the Maple Leafs as they claimed their first playoff series win in 19 years, making a significant impact on the ice and in the locker room in Round 1 before the offence dried up for the team as a whole in Round 2. With the Maple Leafs already slim on centre depth behind Matthews and John Tavares — and with additional conversations still to be had on the captain potentially moving to the wing full-time — there’s no doubt O’Reilly would be a needed re-signing should the club convince him to stay.

That said, the Clinton, Ont., native did seem well-aware Monday there’s a chance he might have played his last game in a Maple Leafs sweater.

“It’s been so amazing,” he said of his time in Toronto. “The organization, my family, the support that I’ve had from everyone — you know, I just can’t thank the organization enough for bringing me in, to have a run like this and be part of this group. It’s something I’ll always cherish.”

Another hometown Leaf finds himself in the same position with Michael Bunting’s two-year, $950,000 AAV deal having now concluded, too.

“This is the unfortunate part of this business when contracts are up and decisions have to be made,” the winger said Monday, adding that he’s unsure what the future holds for him and this club. “I’m going to be honest, I haven’t even really thought about it, it’s only been a couple days. I’ll kind of let my agent handle that stuff going on, and just be ready to make a decision when the time comes. But I’m not really sure. 

“That being said, coming home, playing in Toronto, it’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to play for this team and put the jersey over my head. It’s been pretty special to play here and it’s been even more special meeting this group of guys. I’m sure you’ve heard many guys say that we’re very close, and this is definitely the closest team I’ve ever been on. So, it’s been special every day, and I definitely haven’t taken it for granted.”

The 27-year-old Scarborough, Ont., native’s tenure with the team was a tale of two seasons. In Year 1, the former Arizona Coyote worked his way into a shot on the first line, put up 23 goals and 63 points, and earned a Calder Trophy nomination. Year 2 saw another 23-goal season, but a growing level of scrutiny over his relationship with the on-ice officials — a conversation that reached its boiling point after Bunting earned a three-game suspension in Game 1 of this year’s playoff run.

Eventually returning and proving his worth once again, the decision on whether to bring the winger back will be a complicated one. To this point, conversations about an extension haven’t been had.

“No, not really,” Bunting said when asked if any contract talks took place during the season. “I was just playing hockey, that’s all I was really focused on, was playing hockey and helping this team win. And just kind of enjoying the moment. So I wasn’t really worried about the next stuff.

“Like I said, I haven’t even thought about my future at all. It’s been 72 hours. I’m more focused on enjoying time with my teammates before everyone goes home.”

The other piece of the blockbuster deal that brought O’Reilly to Toronto, hard-nosed winger Noel Acciari, is in need of a new deal as well. And after a two-round run that had him looking like the type of piece these Maple Leafs have long craved — a north-south forward who can flash glimpses of skill but also throw the body without fear — he seems a lock to get an offer to return.

“Everyone here was so great to me and my family, made everything so easy,” Acciari said. “Playing in Canada, you want to be a Maple Leaf, and it was very special. I was very fortunate to get traded here and experience this all. I would love to [return].”

The 31-year-old from Johnston, R.I., is coming off a one-year deal that paid him $1.25 million. As of Monday, he still holds the post-season lead in hits, having doled out 78 through 11 games — 20 more than anyone else in the playoffs.

“I haven’t really thought too much into it,” Acciari said, asked what his priorities are going into this free-agency period. “You know, just to get a contract. … I think we’ll just let this kind of die down, this loss, we’ll just regroup and there will be plenty of talks in the future.”

Past that trio, the Maple Leafs have a few other key names up front to make decisions on. Tops among them is Alexander Kerfoot, the versatile but somewhat polarizing winger originally acquired in the deal that sent Nazem Kadri to Colorado in 2019.

The Vancouver native’s endured an up-and-down tenure in Toronto since that trade, at times seeming an immensely valuable Swiss Army knife — a skilled skater who can find his way on any of the club’s four lines — at others looking out of sorts, and enduring lengthy scoring droughts. He’s coming off a four-year deal that carried a $3.5-million AAV, and a signature playoff moment to hold onto having deflected home the overtime goal that capped Toronto’s Game 4 comeback in Tampa Bay.

Also in need of a new contract is David Kampf — who’s just finished up a two-year pact at $1.5 million per year, during which time he emerged as a valuable depth centreman for the club — and fellow fourth-liners Wayne Simmonds and Zach Aston-Reese.

As Toronto’s front office evaluates where it all went wrong for their group against Florida, and what of the team’s approach must be tweaked, central to the discussions will be whether to bring back the likes of Kerfoot and Kampf, or whether those depth pieces can be a means of altering this team’s identity.

THE DEFENCE

There’s no question the most impactful player Dubas added to the Maple Leafs roster at the deadline was defenceman Luke Schenn, unexpected as that may have been when the deal was made. 

Initially brought in to bolster the lower pairings after refining his game over the past few years and hanging a couple championship banners in Tampa Bay, the now-veteran Schenn emerged as a pivotal post-season piece for the Maple Leafs and arguably their most important defenceman not named Morgan Rielly.

But after trudging through a string of club-friendly deals as he worked to re-establish himself as a steady defender over the past half-decade — a run that saw him ink four straight one- or two-year deals, all at $850,000 or less, with three different organizations — this off-season presents Schenn with an important opportunity to find some greater security.

“Some guys have the best experience ever on July 1, and have a lot of options, and some guys don’t. You know, in the past I’ve been on the side of things where you’re looking for a job and just an opportunity. We’ll see how things shake out this year,” he said. “Obviously, I feel confident and comfortable with my play — not just in the last couple weeks but in the last couple years. So, I feel good about it.

"Free agency, it’s a crazy thing. It’s kind of unpredictable. It just depends on circumstance — teams are going to have cap space that don’t have cap space now, and teams are going to make trades, and all those sorts of things. So, a lot shakes out between now and then.”

The veteran’s ties to Toronto go back more than a decade, to his first stint with the club at the onset of his NHL career, but it remains to be seen whether that bond will be enough to convince him to re-sign. Or whether the Maple Leafs will look to carry out a more significant retooling of their blue line.

“I’ve loved playing in Toronto all along,” Schenn said. “You know, obviously you have to have discussions with family and all that sort of thing, but this has always been a place that I’ve really enjoyed playing. Those discussions haven’t taken place yet, from an organizational standpoint and from a personal standpoint. But in saying that, I love the group in here — I think that’s part of it too, is getting the opportunity to win, and being a part of a great group. 

“And a group that has high expectations is part of it too — obviously I’ve been on the other side of things, where expectations maybe aren’t the highest heading into a season. So at this point in your career, that’s one of the top things for sure, is continuing to get that opportunity to get that chance to win.”

Like O’Reilly — the fellow Cup winner who joined this group at the deadline — Schenn waxed poetic about his appreciation for this chance at a run with the Maple Leafs, even if it doesn’t continue next season.

“Toronto’s always felt like home in a lot of ways,” he said. “Obviously I got the chance to get started here, pretty naive coming here the first time, on what it means to wear this jersey and the expectations. At that time, you’re just trying to make the NHL it felt like and figure out what your role would be and be comfortable. This time around, obviously I loved it, every minute of it. 

“Coming back all these years later kind of felt surreal a lot of times, that I got this opportunity and chance again. To play playoffs here was obviously a dream come true to get the opportunity to do that. … I obviously love it here, and I’m grateful for that opportunity.”

Elsewhere on the blue line, one decision that’s sure to drum up a frenzy among Maple Leafs fans is the future of defender Justin Holl.

The oft-maligned blue-liner endured a tumultuous post-season that saw him on the ice for an outsized number of goals-against for his club, prompting Keefe to remove him from the lineup for a stretch. He showed at other times why he’s been valuable to this group, particularly on the penalty kill, but a fresh start in another market might be the best path as the 31-year-old seeks a raise on his recently completed three-year, $2-million AAV pact.

Deadline acquisition Erik Gustafsson is the other semi-regular who becomes a UFA, with the rest of the Leafs’ blue line regulars (Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake McCabe, Timothy Liljegren, Mark Giordano and Conor Timmins all under contract for 2023-24).

THE GOALIES

The most crucial decision to be settled, though, is in the net.

The Maple Leafs moved on from the Jack Campbell era last off-season, turning the keys to the cage over to Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. It was the latter who — through health and performance — emerged as the No. 1 for the club over the course of the regular season. And it was Samsonov who got the call to hold down the net in the post-season until a neck injury ended his strong run.

Now a restricted free agent, looking for a new deal too, the 26-year-old Samsonov made clear he wants to run it back.

“I want to stay here. That’s no surprise for everybody,” he said Monday. “We’ll see — that’s not my work anymore, it’s my agent’s. … Right now I want to be a good husband and a good daddy for my kid, you know? This is my focus right now.

“I just want to say thank you to everybody — I love my teammates, I like the coach, everybody who’s been in this locker room. Tough season, these results [are] not what we wanted. But we look to the future.”

More complicated is what happens with Murray.

Brought in to try and replicate the form that won him two Stanley Cups during his Pittsburgh days, Murray’s Maple Leafs tenure wound up looking more like his time in Ottawa, as injuries hampered his potential impact.

It would be no surprise if Murray played his last game for Toronto. However, with one more year left on the four-year, $25-million contract he inked with Ottawa back in 2020, moving on from Murray would require a creative solution. A key factor in whether the Maple Leafs seek that out is the emergence of Joseph Woll — who seems a lock to spend 2023-24 with the big club — after the 24-year-old was given the net instead of Murray once Samsonov was sidelined.

Murray, who praised the promise Woll showed against Florida, confirmed he was healthy and available to play those final games of Toronto’s post-season.

“Tough for sure. You know, that’s when you want to be playing,” he said, adding he was pleased with his progress leading up to that final stretch of the second round. “I felt great. I was using the practice time at the end of the year as games almost — my practices were very focused, felt great in practice. I was ready to go if called upon.

“But my role was to do whatever was asked of me to help the team win, and that’s what I did.”