The Toronto Maple Leafs spent a ridiculous amount of money on David Kampf, Max Domi, John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves.
But setting cap space on fire wasn’t incoming Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving’s only error.
He didn’t leave enough room for the team to squeeze value out of it’s AHL players and top prospects.
Of course, the Leafs will have some degree of flexibility, and whether someone struggles, gets injured or whatever, there will always be opportunities for deserving players to make the jump to the big leagues.
Where Treliving went wrong, in my opinion, is in filling up the roster ahead of time with players who are paid so much there is almost no way for a rookie to take their job.