ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

The Leafs had a short wish list heading into free agency that included some of the top names on the board, led by Brad Marchand.

But when Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito secured all three of his Stanley Cup heroes in Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, the Leafs shifted focus to 30-goal scorer Brock Boeser, who quickly became the one that got away.

The word is that the Leafs may have offered a higher annual salary than the $7.25 million (U.S.) that he took to stay with the Vancouver Canucks, but on a much shorter-term deal than the seven years he agreed to.

Boeser ultimately chose the longer contract and familiarity with the West Coast over playing on a line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. If he hadn’t, would his arrival in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ have been enough to re-energize the Leafs and give fans some confidence as it enters the post-Marner era? It certainly couldn’t have hurt.

Beyond Boeser and Marchand, the likes of Andrew Mangiapane, who signed with Edmonton, Brandon Tanev, now with Utah, and Tanner Jeannot, off to Boston, were rumoured to be considered by the Leafs, but none of them came close to signing here. Nikolaj Ehlers, the biggest remaining free agent available, isn’t interested in signing with a Canadian team, I’m told.

The Leafs did add Michael Pezzetta, Travis Boyd and Vinni Lettieri but, to state the obvious, none of them are game-changers.

Perhaps anticipating that he would come up empty on the free-agent front, Treliving got some solid work done beforehand by adding Golden Knights centre Nicolas Roy in the sign-and-trade deal for Marner, re-signing John Tavares, extending Knies and trading a conditional third-round pick for Utah’s Matias Maccelli.

Collectively, the incoming Maccelli, Roy, Pezzetta, Lettieri and Boyd had 54 points last season, which is roughly half of Marner’s total. It’s safe to say the Leafs still have work to do; Treliving will have to be both creative and aggressive in finding ways to improve his team.

The biggest problem the Leafs had during the majority of the Core Four era was an inability to support their top players with reinforcements under a flat salary cap. Ironically, with Marner’s contract off the books and funds available, finding enough offence just to get to where the Leafs left off last season seems next to impossible. In today’s NHL, there aren’t enough impact players available. And if they are, the cost is far too steep.

There’s always a chance things will loosen up this summer and the Leafs make a big trade down the road, but there’s also a chance the roster we see today is roughly the same one we’ll see going into training camp in September.

If that’s the case, the pressure on Matthews, coming off the most disappointing season of his career, and William Nylander to carry the offence without Marner will be immense. The Leafs’ success next season may simply depend on whether Matthews can get back to being the most prolific scorer of his generation.

And by the way, with Marner gone and Nylander, Tavares and Knies signed, Matthews is the next Leafs star on the contract clock with just three years remaining on his contract. Beyond the idea that he signed just a four-year extension so he could make more money sooner, there must be another reason why Matthews hasn’t committed to an eight-year deal with the Leafs.

Is he keeping his options open? If next season doesn’t trend in the right direction for the captain and his team, will he want stick around?

Matthews got the benefit of the doubt for not being healthy when he scored a career-low 33 goals last season but, with Marner no longer around to take most of the heat, you have to wonder if he will take the brunt of criticism from fans if things don’t go well for the Leafs.

Nylander will join Matthews in the spotlight, regardless of coach Craig Berube’s claim that the Leafs’ leading goal scorer last season feels no pressure.

With no major acquisitions in sight, Knies still developing and Tavares settling into a more supportive role after taking a massive hometown discount, the Core Four has been cut down to two.

“You’re not necessarily going to find a player to replace Mitch,� Treliving told reporters Tuesday. “The market was limited in terms of those players. So now you have to look at other avenues.�

Treliving has two months to find some magic in those other avenues.

Kyper’s Korner

-With the free-agent market starting to dry up, all eyes are on Buffalo Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram, a restricted free agent who has multiple Western Conference teams considering an offer sheet. His agent, Darren Ferris, has a reputation for being aggressive when it comes to pursuing offer sheets for his clients. He orchestrated one from the Blues last summer for Philip Broberg, who ultimately left the Oilers for St. Louis last summer.

-Outside of winning a Stanley Cup, no owner can be more ecstatic than Daryl Katz in Edmonton. His club has hosted 22 home playoff dates the past two seasons, resulting in revenues some say is north of $400 million from ticket sales, merchandise, concessions and more. That begs the question: What do you think Connor McDavid would be worth to the Oilers without a salary cap?

-There’s a clause in the new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and union that bans teams from performing fitness tests on players during training camp and the regular season. Apparently just looking fit will be enough to gauge whether a player arrives in shape.

Changed my mind on …

Sidney Crosby retiring as a Pittsburgh Penguin. I don’t think he’s going anywhere for a while but all bets are off after the Olympic Games in February.