Maple Leafs Hit With Salary Cap Overage Penalty

The Toronto Maple Leafs won't be able to spend to the NHL's salary cap ceiling of $82.5 million for the 2022-23 season due to defenseman Timothy Liljegren receiving a (+/-) bonus on his contract from this season's stats. 

Liljegren who was a first-round pick from 2017 had a bonus structure in his contract, resulting in $212,500 going against the cap for next season.

A plus-minus bonus for Liljegren would mean the Leafs exceeded the cap and will have an extra charge next year. The perils of LTIR. https://t.co/poz0CJobxq

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) May 6, 2022

The Maple Leafs have very little cap space to work with this summer at just over $3 million so general manager Kyle Dubas is going to have to once again get creative as goaltender Jack Campbell needs a new contract, as does forward Ilya Mikheyev. 

As for Liljegren, he's sitting Game 3 on Friday night after suiting up for both Game 1 and 2 of the series. In 61 regular season games the 23-year-old posted five goals and 23 assists. Solid production for his first full season in the NHL.

Photo credit:   Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports