Toronto Maple Leafs have themselves in a roster conundrum

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has already made some big moves this season, but there's one thing preventing him from making another anytime soon: how close the Maple Leafs already are to next year's offseason salary cap.

On Tuesday, NHL insider Chris Johnston of The Athletic joined TSN's Insider Trading to shed light on and break down a financial roadblock currently facing the Leafs.

"There has been a lot of discussion in the Toronto market about ways this team can upgrade. The biggest issue is that they are close to the projected offseason cap — the money the NHL calculates is due to players next season," Johnston said.

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"Leafs have just $647,000 in cap space beyond this year, meaning they can't acquire a player via waivers or trade who is signed beyond this season without first removing a player."

In other words, Toronto has very little salary cap space heading into next season given the current money that is owed to players on their roster. While the team can still explore making trades, bringing in a player with an existing contract that runs into next season would require the Leafs to clear salary first.

Johnston made a point that Toronto's cap situation hasn't prevented them from making moves so far, but the recent six-year, $75-million extension for Kirill Marchenko has complicated things.

With Toronto having less than $700,000 in cap space for next season, it explains the rumours surrounding some players on the roster who carry larger pieces of the team's salary structure.

Toronto Maple Leafs backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been one player involved in early-season trade rumours. (John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images)

Given Chayka's track record in Arizona and short time here in Toronto, he's shown he isn't afraid to make a big move, especially if it can make his team better.

The challenge for him, though, might not be finding the right fit elsewhere, but more so figuring out which current player will have to go to make room.