Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs Consider Utilizing LTIR Loophole to Shed Troublesome Contract

Brad Treliving, the relatively new manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, faced significant challenges in team rebuilding due to constraints in time and budget. He prioritized strengthening the forward lineup over defense during the free agency period. Historically, Treliving has favored strong, puck-moving defenders, but the free agency market offered limited choices in this regard. Consequently, the Leafs signed John Klingberg to a one-year contract. However, Klingberg's performance has been disappointing, with consistent defensive lapses leading to reduced playtime and even benching.

Sheldon Keefe, the team's coach, recently revealed that Klingberg has been dealing with an injury, which was aggravated by a long flight to Sweden. Klingberg himself acknowledged the injury as a long-standing issue that worsened recently. This disclosure of Klingberg's chronic injury presents a potential advantage for the Maple Leafs. Instead of having to create salary cap space, they might place Klingberg on long-term injured reserve, which would exempt his salary from the cap calculation. This possibility has not gone unnoticed by the fans.

The situation raises suspicions among some observers about the Leafs' approach to player injuries and cap management. The unfolding developments regarding Klingberg's injury and its impact on the team's strategy and salary cap will be closely watched.