The Toronto Maple Leafs placed Max Domi and Dakota Joshua on long-term injured reserve Wednesday, opening $7,000,000 in current cap space.
The timing is ugly. Toronto dropped a 3-2 decision to the Canadiens last night and turns right around for a back-to-back against the Islanders tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Neither forward dressed for the opener. Now both are officially parked, and Jim Hiller has two fewer bodies to shuffle through his forward group before puck drop.
Domi carries a $3,750,000 cap hit through 2027-28. Joshua checks in at $3,250,000 on a contract with the exact same end date.
Last season didn't help either case. Domi posted 36 points in 80 games in 2025-26, and he went minus-29, a number that hung over him all year.
Joshua's year was quieter. He scored 10 goals over 55 games with 49 penalty minutes, a heavy body who brought more sandpaper than scoring.
Maple Leafs still project over the cap for 2026-27
The relief looks clean on paper. It isn't. Toronto's projected 2026-27 cap hit sits at $108,692,882, and projected cap space still reads minus $4,692,882.
LTIR works a bit like borrowing a neighbor's driveway during a snowstorm. You get the space right now, but it was never really yours to keep.
The heavy money sits up top. Auston Matthews carries $13,250,000 and William Nylander sits at $11,500,000, which leaves very little margin for mistakes further down the depth chart.
Nylander did his part Tuesday. He scored both Toronto goals against Montreal, while Matthews was held scoreless and finished minus-1.
So who picks up the slack? Easton Cowan, 21, chipped in an assist in the opener, and 18-year-old Gavin McKenna went minus-2 in his first game of the season.
Sergei Bobrovsky didn't bail anyone out either. The veteran finished the opener with an .875 save percentage.
Montreal owns the only meeting between the rivals so far. The rematch doesn't come until November 7, back at home.
Here's the blunt version. Losing Domi and Joshua won't sink this team, because their contracts were always the bigger problem, and parking them buys Toronto flexibility it badly needed.
The schedule won't wait. After the Islanders tonight, Ottawa visits Saturday and Nashville follows on October 6 before a road trip through Vegas, Colorado and Utah.
The open question is whether management spends that room now or sits on it. With this cap sheet, waiting carries its own price.
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Are the Maple Leafs better off without Max Domi and Dakota Joshua in the lineup?
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