The Maple Leafs Are Rebuilding Without Calling It a Rebuild

There is something I find interesting about the Maple Leafs signing Brendan Brisson to a one-year contract. On the surface, it's not exactly the kind of move that gets anybody excited. He's 24 years old, has played just 27 NHL games and spent most of last season in the AHL. But that's precisely why I like it.

Toronto isn't signing Brisson because it needs him to save the season. The Maple Leafs aren't handing him a big contract or promising him a spot in the lineup. They're giving themselves a chance to find out if there's more there than another organization could find. And that tells us something about how the Maple Leafs are being built.

Sometimes the Small Bets Matter Most.

Brisson was a first-round pick of Vegas back in 2020. He has shown he can score in the AHL, putting up 19 goals and 37 points with Hartford last season. He's also played at the international level and has some NHL experience. None of that guarantees any success at all. He could go to training camp, lose out to another player and start the season with the Marlies. That's entirely possible. But what has Toronto really lost if that happens? Not much.

That's the part of this signing I like. The Maple Leafs can afford to take a small swing on a player like Brisson. If he doesn't work out, another player will compete for that job. If he does, Toronto may have found an NHL forward without spending much money or giving up an asset to acquire him. That's how organizations find value. It doesn't always come from the big trade. Sometimes it comes from giving one more player a chance.

You Don't Have to Call What the Maple Leafs Are Doing a Rebuild.

The Maple Leafs aren't rebuilding in the traditional sense. Auston Matthews is still here. William Nylander is signed long-term. Toronto expects to compete. But there is a rebuilding element to what they're doing.

The organization is looking at its depth differently. There is more emphasis on competition and finding players who can fill specific roles. Young players such as Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan are part of the future, while players like Brisson are being given an opportunity to show they might belong somewhere in the present. That's not tearing everything down. It's rebuilding the pieces around the core.

And maybe that's what makes these little signings worth watching. Toronto doesn't need Brisson to become a star. It doesn't even need him to become a regular NHL player right away. The Leafs simply need to give him a legitimate opportunity and see whether he can make himself difficult to leave out of the lineup.

The Maple Leafs Are Running a Pretty Inexpensive Experiment.

I've come to believe that rebuilding a hockey team is a little like putting together a puzzle. You don't necessarily know which piece will complete the picture until you try it. Brisson is another piece Toronto gets to put on the table.

Maybe it fits. Maybe it doesn't. But the Leafs are finally giving themselves more chances to find out.