Life after Mitch Marner: How I would fix the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason

First went Kyle Dubas.

A year later, Sheldon Keefe was shown the door.

As the Leafs head into a pivotal offseason this year, Brendan Shanahan has also left the organization.

The Shanaplan era is officially over.

There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the Leafs after yet another disappointing end to their season. Superstar Mitch Marner seems as good as gone, and the team is in a uniquely difficult situation.

Brad Treliving will have the challenge of providing a culture shock to a stagnant team. He finally has the boatload of cap space to make sweeping changes happen, but faces an extremely weak UFA class to work with. A class where one of his current stars is the best player available, and the other is probably in the top five.

He will also have to contend with players who have clearly fallen out of favour in the lineup (David Kampf and Nick Robertson), as well as others who are either awkward fits (Max Domi) or just not productive enough to justify their cap hit on this team (Calle Jarnkrok).

There needs to be a balance between continuity and making substantial changes to a bottom-six that just wasn’t good enough this year offensively by any measurement.

It’s a difficult task for the Leafs, but like any other good Armchair GM, I’m the next man up in a long list of fans ready to pitch their fix for this team.

What went wrong

Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares are all great players.

Unfortunately, at their combined cap hits, Toronto has been unable to find a supporting cast to help them deliver a team that can go deep in the playoffs.

There’s plenty of blame to go around. You can point to the obscene percentage of the cap Toronto spent on the “Core Four” and how crafting a strong supporting cast around them is nearly impossible with that limitation.

You can also point to the fact that, regardless of the depth, in Game 7 this year, Toronto’s worst players were arguably their four highest-paid.

Blaming management might be your choice, who overpaid to acquire Scott Laughton at the deadline and were willing to gamble that Bobby McMann, Max Domi, and the ghost of Max Pacioretty would be able to generate all the depth scoring this team needed come playoff time.

At the end of the day, Toronto needs to find a new balance in its top three lines. Having two lines that can score is not enough, not when teams like Florida and Dallas are running players like Brad Marchand and Wyatt Johnston on their third line.

Housekeeping

In my retool, I’ll be making the following decisions:

• Matthew Knies will be back and not on a bridge deal.

• John Tavares will be brought back on a steep discount.

• Mitch Marner will be walked to free agency for nothing.

I do believe that those outcomes are the most likely, and to ground my retool in realism, that is what I have opted for.

Matthew Knies is extended to $7,063,968 for eight years. It’s essentially a 7.5M x 8 extension for the breakout power forward, but I’m doing deferrals almost identical to the Seth Jarvis extension. I think it’s a fair offer and around what he’s worth, and the cap deferral is key to maximizing Toronto’s cap flexibility.

John Tavares signs a $4.25M x 4-year extension. Pagnotta reported $5M x 2, but I think Toronto will commit to a longer term to drag down the AAV further. He’s still a productive player who is capable of playing top-six minutes, but likely a guy who serves in a third-line role after the end of 2025–26.

Pontus Holmberg signs a $1.05M x 2-year extension. Berube loves Holmberg and has consistently elevated him in the lineup when he’s felt like they’ve needed to mix things up. It’s a cheap contract for a homegrown talent that’s competed hard this year, drawn a ton of penalties and can take a face-off in a pinch.

Clearing Cap

Calle Jarnkrok

As my notes suggest, Calle Jarnkrok has recently become a whipping boy for the Toronto Maple Leafs faithful. His lack of playoff production has played a huge part in forming that narrative, but he is still very much an NHL-level player who featured in an important role for the Leafs in the playoffs.

Nashville would likely run a forward group of:

Forsberg–Stamkos–Marchessault

Bunting–O’Reilly–Evangelista

Wood–Sissons–Jarnkrok

L’Heureux–McCarron–Svechkov

With Jarnkrok only on a one-year deal, he doesn’t stunt the long-term development of young players like L’Heureux and Svechkov, while also offering familiarity and a reliable depth piece for Nashville as they look to bounce back into a playoff spot next season.

David Kampf

David Kampf is a tougher player to move, given he has more term, is slightly more expensive, and was a healthy scratch for the Leafs this postseason outside of one game. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t be shocked if Toronto had to give him away or even add sweeteners to make him worth acquiring. If there is a team that I think would value Kampf, however, it is Minnesota.

Marco Rossi was their fourth-line centre in the playoffs, and Kampf fits the mould of the type of player that Wild GM Bill Guerin appreciates more.

Trenin–Kampf–Gaudreau 100% feels like what the Minnesota Wild’s ideal fourth line would look like. Toronto is sorely lacking picks in 2026, and Minnesota has an extra fifth-round pick that year.

While it does seem weird that Jarnkrok went for less, I do think Kampf’s stellar face-off record (career 51.7% with the Leafs) and his penalty kill value might make him more valuable to a team like Minnesota than a winger in Jarnkrok.

Max Domi

The unfortunate part of this trade is that I thought Max Domi was one of Toronto’s better depth players this year in the playoffs. He found ways to elevate his game in key elimination games and was a bright spot in an otherwise disastrous Game 7.

Unfortunately, he was a liability on the road defensively when Berube couldn’t use the last change to shelter his line, and simply wasn’t consistent enough offensively at the cap hit Toronto is allocating to him. By all intents and purposes, the Domi line was Toronto’s fourth line most of these playoffs.

Dallas is in a pickle, with many of its deadline acquisitions likely leaving for nothing this offseason. Bringing in Domi for cheap from Toronto (the Leafs would likely take whatever they can get for him at this point) and adding a third team to retain salary would allow Dallas more flexibility while adding a player they know plays well for them.

Finding a true third-line centre

Ross Colton

As the notes suggest, Colorado is in cap hell, especially now that Gabriel Landeskog’s cap hit is back on the books. With Charlie Coyle making $5.25M with a full no-movement clause, and Colorado looking to bring back Drouin while adding a true second-line calibre centre, I think they may view Ross Colton as a luxury player. With the exodus of top prospect Calum Ritchie as well as most of their draft picks, Colorado would do well to recoup some value back for Colton.

While Niemela and Moldenhauer have lost most of their shine compared to a few years ago, they are intriguing additions to an Avalanche system that currently showcases Mikhail Gulyayev and Sean Behrens as their two top prospects. I used the Florida pick from this year, but in theory, it could be any second-round pick the Leafs own in addition to a fifth-round pick in 2027.

For Toronto, Ross Colton provides them their best non-rental third-line centre since Nazem Kadri. A 40-point pace player in back-to-back seasons for Colorado, Colton is a perfect Craig Berube third-line centre. He was 95th percentile in the NHL in skating speed, which is perfect for a Leafs team that has often been criticized for being too slow. He graded out at the 60th percentile in forecheck involvement and 87th percentile in hits, which are two critically important factors in a Berube system.

Colton has also been money in the bank for at least 16 goals in each of his last four seasons, and is 51.3% from the face-off dot for his career. The fact that he only makes $4M against the cap and is signed for both 2025–26 and 2026–27 makes him a perfect trade target for Toronto.

Finding Budget Marner

Matias Maccelli

With Utah looking to take that next step and go big fish hunting this year in free agency, clearing out Maccelli’s $3.4M cap hit would be enticing. Toronto needs to find another option for play driving and creative playmaking now that Marner is gone, and few players can offer that for a cheaper acquisition cost than Matias Maccelli.

Before last season, Maccelli was a 60-point winger who played predominantly alongside Lawson Crouse and Nick Bjugstad. His role for Utah has taken a nose dive with the emergence of Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, and he found himself scratched for almost the entirety of Utah’s games post-trade deadline.

Maccelli would slot instantly into a top-six role for Toronto now that Marner is gone. Additionally, he only has one year left and remains an RFA, meaning he’s cost-controlled and doesn’t bar Toronto from becoming an active member in free agency in 2026.

Toronto gets a skilled playmaker who’s not a disaster defensively to play with Matthews, and Utah gets off a sizeable cap hit for a player they no longer see as part of their future.

A Change in Scenery

Nick Robertson for Noah Philp

I’ve liked Nick Robertson this year a lot, and I think Berube allowed him to play for once without the fear of being scratched at any moment. Unfortunately, the playoffs came, and once again, the diminutive worker bee found himself on the outside looking in.

I like Edmonton as a fit for Robertson. He’s small but fast and feisty, and he has one of the best releases in the NHL. He would be everything Edmonton had hoped Skinner was going to be, and I think he has the chops to play with Draisaitl and really flourish.

He’s just not the right fit here in Toronto and in this current system. In exchange, Toronto acquires Noah Philp, who’s been on the precipice of cracking the Oilers lineup for a year now. With Edmonton likely hoping to bring back most of Frederic, Perry, Kapanen and Brown, I don’t see Philp having a real opportunity to earn that fourth-line role.

At 6’3”, Philp fits Treliving’s and Berube’s vision much better, and he’s also a fast player. While Robertson is three years younger than Philp and has a much higher offensive upside, I think Toronto would love the potential fit that Philp can offer in a fourth-line role. More importantly, he’s still waiver exempt, meaning Toronto can stash him in the AHL and not worry about being forced to sit him in the press box.

Free Agency

Nikolaj Ehlers is the big-name free agent I’m bringing to Toronto. At $8.5M over seven years, I think Ehlers would give Toronto that offensive punch to help replace the void Marner would leave behind. Ehler’s is an analytical darling and a career 63-point pace player, who offers a ton of speed to Toronto’s lineup. While Ehlers and Maccelli don’t offer the forechecking that Berube might covet, their skill is undeniable, and neither player has a negative impact defensively.

Ehlers would be the best left winger Tavares and Nylander have played with in their entire Leafs tenure. While much has been made about his playoff performances, I feel a lot of that has to do with his deployment and linemates. Alongside an offensive dynamo like Nylander, and coming off his best-ever playoff performance, I think Ehlers would be a great addition to the Leafs’ top-six.

Yanni Gourde completes my Leafs offseason. As a 34-year-old, Toronto signs the veteran to a $5M x 1-year deal. While the AAV may seem way too high, it’s the only way to lure the player in on a short-term deal away from other contenders like Tampa Bay. An energetic, feisty player who’s been a member of one of the best third lines in recent NHL playoff memory, Gourde would pack that extra level of depth scoring the Leafs have sorely missed.

Another money in the bank 35–40-point player in the regular season, Gourde’s career playoff point pace over 82 games would be 40 points. Signing him to a 1-year deal allows Toronto to maintain its flexibility for 2026, where big names like Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov and Jack Eichel could be available.

Final Lines and Special Teams Units

I didn’t end up touching the Leafs’ blueline. While the team’s puck movement from the back end is still a concern, the only players Toronto could consider trading are Rielly and Ekman-Larsson. Rielly has a No-movement clause, which makes his departure a zero percent possibility. While I could see a world where the Leafs move on from Ekman-Larsson, I thought he was perfectly fine in his role, and it’s hard to envision Toronto finding an improvement without having to pay more.

Jacob Quillan is a placeholder, which I just wanted to highlight. I’m a big fan of the Quinnipiac Alum, who I genuinely believe has a real shot to make the big club out of camp next year.

Regardless, I think it’s important for Toronto to enter training camp with one roster spot open to competition. Between Cowan, Quillan, Haymes, and any PTOs, having a spot in the lineup open for those guys to fight for is good for the development of the younger players.

While I highly doubt Cowan starts the year with the Leafs, if he really impresses, a line of:

Cowan–Colton–Gourde

It would be extremely interesting, allowing Toronto to form a formidable fourth line of:

Holmberg–Laughton–McMann.

Change is coming

With a long offseason ahead of us, these are the moves I would make if I were the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Maccelli and Ehlers offer creativity and creation in the top-six to offset the loss of Marner, while Colton and Gourde form up as what could be the best iteration of a Leafs third line in years.

The main focus of my retool has been speed, speed, and more speed. Ehlers, Colton, Gourde, and Philp all offer speed and pace to their games, which will be crucial for a Berube system that emphasizes getting in on opposing defencemen quickly. It’s also a more balanced team, with skill and offence up and down the line-up instead of just in the top-six.

What do you guys think of my retool? What would you have done differently? Let me know in the comments below!