The target roster is technically cap‑compliant and within the roster limit, but it assumes a huge amount of prior movement with no proposed transactions listed. High‑end pieces like Sergei Bobrovsky at a $7M AAV, Darren Raddysh at $8.5M for eight years, and a deep group of useful forwards (Paul, Joshua, Sissons, Blueger, Roslovic, Duhaime) all landing in Toronto at once would have required multiple significant trades and UFA wins that are not described. Given Toronto’s recent 28th‑place finish, attracting that many established veterans on reasonable terms without overpaying or surrendering major futures is unlikely. Individually, some contracts are plausible (e.g., Bobrovsky at a slight discount late in his career, depth forwards in the $2.5–4M range, Knies on a big second deal), but Raddysh at $8.5M x 8 is a major stretch for a defenseman who has never been valued in that range, and the cumulative acquisition cost for this many external players would be steep. With no trades, signings, or offer sheets specified to explain how this roster was assembled, the scenario is more theoretical than something a real front office could reasonably execute.
Upfront I think Matthews probably is paired with either Knies + Cowan, or Roslovic + McKenna, just not sure how plausible it is that he isn't played with any true playmaker. On the backend I'd switch Reilly and McCabe, Andrae is another undersized guy that doesn't bring a ton of defense, so pairing him with Reilly is just asking for disaster IMO.
I think McKenna's on the top line. He needs lots of ice time and reps with Matthews