I’ve confirmed with a strong source that the Maple Leafs have put Joffrey Lupul, Stephane Robidas and Nathan Horton on long-term injured reserve.



And that they actually did so very early on this season.



In theory, that means the Leafs have another $13.55-million in salary cap space to use, with the trade deadline less than two weeks away.



I say in theory because this is a complex situation.



Chris Johnston has a post on this over at Sportsnet that suggests the Leafs could use this space to take on bad deals in order to facilitate trades before the deadline.



The problem, however, is the Leafs’ seven rookies have been so good this season that they’re going to hit a lot of their bonuses. Auston Matthews will likely earn his $2.85-million in extra pay (most of which will be for finishing in the top 10 in the NHL in goal scoring). Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev have another...