Maple Leafs Linked to Reunion with 'Value' Free Agent Forward

Oct 26, 2024

Getty Michael Amadio could return to the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs could consider a reunion with Vegas Golden Knights forward and former Toronto winger Michael Amadio in free agency, according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic.

Amadio completed a two-year contract with a cap hit of $762,500 with the Golden Knights. Amadio became a Stanley Cup champion with Vegas in the 2023 season, defeating the reigning champions Florida Panthers.

Siegel identified Amadio as a potential target for the Leafs in a piece written on June 25, describing Amadio as a “middle-six/bottom-six type who might be able to outplay their contracts and provide some much-needed value under the cap.”

Toronto enters the offseason with $18.8 million of cap space but only 16 players under contract in their active roster.

“Three years ago, the Leafs signed Michael Amadio to a one-year, two-way deal in free agency. He played only three games before he was scooped up on waivers by Vegas where he found a home for three seasons as a useful bottom-six type,” Siegel wrote. “Amadio could bring the Leafs a sneaky, potentially, low-cost source of secondary scoring from lower in the lineup, likely a fourth-line gig on the wing of David Kampf.”

Siegel thinks Amadio could give the Leafs a physical presence crashing into the opposing net, and someone who would bring more to the table than Ryan Reaves did recently.

“The Leafs want more of that in their lineup. Amadio is 6-foot-1 and over 200 pounds; he can play all three forward positions; and he just turned 28. He’d be a real upgrade on Ryan Reaves at the bottom of the Leafs lineup,” Siegel wrote.

Amadio was signed by the Maple Leafs as a free agent three years ago but played only three games before being claimed off waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights.

During his time with Vegas, Amadio proved to be a valuable bottom-six forward, recording 41 goals over 193 regular season games across three seasons.

Despite the potential return, it’s fair to assume Amadio will initially seek to re-sign with the Golden Knights.

After finding a home in Vegas and winning the cup with the team just one year before entering free agency, it’d make sense for him to re-up with the Golden Knights.

Amadio’s career began with the Los Angeles Kings, who drafted him with the No. 90 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. After a few seasons with the Kings and a brief stint with the Ottawa Senators and the Leafs, Amadio found a home in Vegas in the summer of 2022.

Amadio transformed his game under the guidance of coach Bruce Cassidy and became a key role player for the Golden Knights on their way to the Stanley Cup Final.

“I think Amadio is that type of player who can complement good players,” Cassidy said of Amadio in December 2022, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. “I don’t know if he can stay up there over the course of 82 games. That’s something that will be determined down the road if it was necessary, but in a pinch he can go up there because that’s his game.”

During the 2023 regular season, Amadio contributed 14 goals and 13 assists for a total of 27 points in 73 games. In the playoffs, he added 1 goal and 1 assist, totaling 2 points in 4 games. He scored 10 points in 15 postseason games in 2023.

The NHL free agency will start on July 1 with Amadio becoming an unrestricted free agent and the Maple Leafs having several key players entering the market.

Toronto only has 10 forwards, five defensemen, and one goalie under contract a few days from that date.

Key unrestricted free agents for the Maple Leafs include forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, defensemen Joel Edmundson, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, and Ilya Lyubushkin, as well as goalies Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones.

Adding a player like Amadio could provide the Maple Leafs with a low-cost source of secondary scoring and depth in their lineup, providing much-needed value to the team as they enter a new era under head coach Craig Berube.

Antonio Losada covers the NHL for Heavy.com. A veteran sports writer, Antonio has covered the NBA, NFL and soccer for over 10 years, with bylines at SB Nation, FanSided, Yahoo Sports, FanGraphs, RotoBaller and more. He has also been nominated for multiple FSWA awards, including Fantasy Football Writer of the Year and DFS Writer of the Year. More about Antonio Losada