It’s well known that the Toronto Maple Leafs are now in the market for another top 6 forward. The question on everybody’s lips is who can that be and what do they even have to trade?
First, let’s take a look at what they have on the roster, what kind of flexibility is there and how much money will be left behind once all is said and done. As it stands, the current roster looks a little something like this:
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Matias Maccelli – John Tavares – Calle Jarnkrok
Max Domi – Nicholas Roy – Bobby McMann
Steve Lorentz – Scott Laughton – Ryan Reaves
Michael Pezzetta – David Kampf
Morgan Rielly – Chris Tanev
Jake McCabe – Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Philippe Myers
Joseph Woll – Anthony Stolarz
This lineup, according to puckpedia.com (big shoutout to them, as always), leaves $5,008,081 to spend on any addition, without having to send any money back to the team they’re trading with. However, there are some obvious options available to the team. The first is that Ryan Reaves can easily be sent to AHL Toronto Marlies, just as he was last season. This would open an additional $1.15M to spend. I’d also like to point out the fact that this roster is already at the 23 man limit, which means that unless they send a roster player back in any deal, they would have to waive somebody listed above and the obvious answer there is Reaves.
For the sake of argument, let’s just say that the team has $6,158,081 in cap space at this moment in time, because there is nothing keeping that from happening.
On top of that, the Leafs have two assets that are rumoured to be on the trade block. They are David Kampf ($2.4M) and Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1M). While it doesn’t sound like there’s much interest in either player right now, that could change in the case of Jarnkrok. He does carry a $2.1M caphit, but he is owed just $775K in salary this season and he’s worth every penny of that. He’s a Swiss army knife in the sense that he can slot in all over the roster, while drawing in on the penalty kill and second powerplay unit. The biggest knock on him is that we know he isn’t a powerplay contributor in any meaningful way at this point. He has produced just 5 goals and 23pts over 105 career playoff games and the Leafs simply need better than that.
As it pertains to David Kampf, he has simply just fallen out of favour in Toronto and is overpaid as a 4th line centre. I can’t really imagine any team trading for him at this point in time, but it is possible that he could be included in a deal in the situation where the Leafs are trading for a player that has some cap dump qualities. We’ll get to that later.
I think the point of this is simply to show that cap space isn’t a detriment to any deal. In fact, the Leafs can weaponize the space they have in certain ways.
Aside from cap space, the Leafs have a few prospects and roster players to offer in trade. One player that you may have noticed missing from the above roster is Nicholas Robertson. While some people don’t view Robertson as having much, or any value in a trade, he is still just 23 years old, scored 14 and 15 goals the past two seasons and should be fairly cheap to re-sign. I’m not saying that he will be worth a monstrous return, but there is value in that. Aside from that, you only need one GM that sees a player that’s on the verge of a breakout season to get a deal done. The only reason that he should be traded is that competitive teams don’t often have that many small wingers on their roster and the Leafs are at their limit.
In terms of prospects it’s really just Easton Cowan and Ben Danford that hold much in terms of real value, but I can’t see Brad Treliving moving either player unless the return is a high value asset with term or youth on their side. Examples of that are coming as well.
Lastly we have draft picks and the Leafs just don’t have anything there to trade. They currently own three selections in the 2026 draft (3rd, 5th, 6th), six selections in the 2027 draft, with five of those coming between rounds 4-7 and then their entire crop of picks in 2028. I do expect them to start trading from the 2028 draft soon, but if I were Treliving I’d be very hesitate to trade their 1st that year until I know what Auston Matthews is doing. His current contract ends at the end of the 2028 season, which means there’s a possibility that he’ll do what Mitch Marner wouldn’t and open the door to a trade before that year begins. If the Leafs continue to struggle in the playoffs over the next two seasons, just as they have since he arrived in Toronto, it wouldn’t surprise me and shouldn’t surprise anybody if he was interested in moving somewhere that has a legitimate chance to win. Simply put, if you’re going to move that 2028 1st round selection, make sure it’s top 10 protected, or else it could result in another Tyler Seguin situation.
On to the trade options:
Tyler Seguin
The Dallas Stars are in a bit of a situation in regards to fitting all of their pieces in under the cap ceiling. One player that I’m sure they’d be thrilled to move is Seguin. This option would stand as a pure cap dump scenario and would be nearly impossible to make happen. The first hurdle would be Seguin’s full NMC, which he would almost certainly refuse to waive for anybody, especially the Leafs. If, on the off chance that were to happen, the deal is a simple one from the Stars’ view. “Give us whatever you have” would be the likely ask. This is a situation where you could demand that they take David Kampf in return and maybe even Ryan Reaves as well. It’s a terrible option, but for a moment let’s consider the benefits.
Seguin is still a legitimate top 6 player in the NHL. He has produced 34 goals and 73pts over his past 88 games. He can play centre or wing, shoots right, can play with skilled players and brings a touch of size at 6’2″ 200lbs. The Brampton native, on paper, isn’t actually a bad option to have line up with Matthews Knies and Auston Matthews. The only reason the Stars would look to move him is that he still doesn’t live up to his $9.85M caphit for the next two seasons. It’s that caphit that would also require the Stars to provide at least a touch of cap retention. Even with all of the capspace the Leafs have and the Stars taking back Kampf in this imaginary deal, they still wouldn’t be able to fit Seguin in under the ceiling.
Jason Robertson
We’ll stick with the Stars and talk about Jason, the brother of Nicholas Robertson. With a caphit of $7.75M, the Leafs would need to send some salary back in any deal for Robertson, but again, Jarnkrok solves that issue quickly. Robertson is a very highly skilled player that has produced 80pts in each of the last two seasons. He’d be great on either of the top two lines and unlike his brother, he brings size to table (6’3″ 200lbs). This is a deal that would require the Leafs to give up Easton Cowan, there’s simply no debating that. In fact, it would take more than that, but just how much is uncertain. Robertson is constantly in the rumour mill but the Stars have said they’d rather not move him. I expect that he’ll stay in Dallas, but had to list him here for the simple fact that his name has been floating around, he holds no trade protection and the Stars are over the cap ceiling and need to move salary out.
Nazem Kadri
The name that just won’t go away. Some are saying that the rumours are completely fabricated and while I do see some appeal in bringing Kadri back to Toronto, it’s probably a good thing if he isn’t available. His caphit of $7M for four more years is less than ideal, as he’ll be 35 before the puck drops in October. He’d play behind a couple of great centres here in Toronto, which would likely result in less opportunity and a drop in his point production as well. The cost to acquire is vastly different depending on which fan base you ask. From the Flames side of things they see it as trading their #1C, a guy that just scored 35 goals and lead their team in points last year and that is worth a lot. From the Leafs side of things you see a #2/3C, a guy that has been here before and would end up in the same depth position on the roster that he left and a player that, while he isn’t a cap dump right now, could turn into one in short order. Without top prospects, high picks or valuable roster players (aka, Brandon Carlo) going the other way it’s something that needs to be considered, but if the Flames were willing to give him away for nothing he’d have already been dealt.
Update: Before I finished writing this it was reported that Kadri is not on the trade block at all.
Tyler Bertuzzi
It’s tough to keep talking about players that have been here before, but Bertuzzi was also linked to Toronto over the past few weeks. The rumour is that if he doesn’t improve quickly he’ll be bought out at the end of this coming season. Further to that, it appears that his presence in the dressing room is one that the Hawks would like to move on from as well. That appears to be an increasingly common theme in Chicago, for what it’s worth. On the bright side Bertuzzi worked well alongside Tavares and Nylander while he was here and he never wanted to leave. The team was tight against the cap and had to let him walk away, but both sides expressed disappointment while also stating that they understood the situation and it was nobodies fault for the parting of ways. In essence, we have a player that we know can contribute, one that wants to be here, one the team never wanted to let go and one that shouldn’t be overly expensive to acquire. The only question remaining is if the rumours of them wanting to part with Bertuzzi and the 3 year, $5.5M caphit left on his contract are true or not.
Bryan Rust
Something new in something blue would be nice. Bryan Rust doesn’t bring the same bite as Bertuzzi or Kadri, but he brings one hell of a lot of skill. With 31 goals and 65pts in 71 games last year, Rust showed that when he’s healthy he’s still a very productive player. He’d be a fantastic fit on the top line, due to his ability to play the game with pace and urgency. He’d also come with a fantastic contract that pays just $5.125M per year for 3 more years. On top of that his salary is dropping fast and he no longer possesses any trade protection. The negative side of that is that he’d be very expensive to acquire. Kyle Dubas knows that he’s holding a very valuable trade asset and will get top dollar in this market. If you want Rust you’ll have to send some mixture of Nicholas Robertson, Easton Cowan, Ben Danford or high picks the other way. It’s also possible that players that could be flipped by the Penguins for additional assets, such as Bobby McMann or Brandon Carlo, could be requested in the deal as well. Even with all of that on the table it’s more than possible that another team simply has better players, prospects and/or picks to offer. The question is just how much will Treliving be willing to spend and would Dubas, the former GM in Toronto, look to gouge his old team, or would be overvalue some of the players he had while he was here? If it’s the latter, a deal is much more likely.
Rickard Rakell
35 goals and 70pts in 81 games played over the 2024-25 season is what Rakell produced. That represents career highs in goals, assists and points. For that to come during his 11th NHL season is pretty impressive, it appears that Rakell is aging like a fine wine. If the Penguins opted to sell now it would likely mean selling at his very highest value. If the Leafs were to buy Rakell it would be something of a Seguin situation as well, in terms of righting a wrong that resulted from a Brian Burke trade. This time, instead of buying Phil Kessel and the 1st round selection turning out to be the 2nd overall pick, Burke traded two picks to move up in the draft to select Tyler Biggs. We all know that Biggs never played a game in the NHL, while the two picks Burke traded were used to select goaltender John Gibson, who is still in the league, as well as Rickard Rakell, who is entering his 12th NHL season.
Even if Rakell came back to earth, which is very likely, he’d still be a player that is very capable of lining up alongside players in the Leafs’ top 6. The right shot winger is good defensively, can set up plays and, evidenced by this being the third time in his career that he scored over 30 goals, he can shoot. What’s not known at this point is just how good he can be in the playoffs. While he was with the Ducks he produced well, but he has skated in just 2 playoff games since the 2017-18 season ended and produced no points in those games. As he ages he may jump at the opportunity to join a perennial playoff team again, the only thing stopping that may be him. Rakell holds an 8 team no-trade clause and as we know, it’s very often that the first 7 teams on any players no-trade list are the ones north of the border. If he is willing to move to Toronto his $5M caphit for the next 3 season is an easy one to fit in. While the cost to acquire his services would be lower than that of his teammate, Bryan Rust, he still wouldn’t come cheap, but this deal shouldn’t require Easton Cowan going the other way.
Dawson Mercer
I keep hearing the name Mercer in the rumour mill and I honestly can’t make out why the Devils would trade him. With 13 forwards, 7 defenders, 2 goalies and only Luke Hughes to sign, while also possessing $6.9M in capspace, it appears that the devils are in a good spot at this point in their offseason. However, if they want to move on from Mercer the Leafs should absolutely be interested in the Bay Roberts, Newfoundland native. Mercer has an engine that never quits, he’s sound defensively, can play centre or the wing, shoots right and has shown in the past that he has the ability to produce at the NHL level. The issue is that he showed that potential early in his career, with 42 and 56pt seasons, but followed that up with 33 and 36pt seasons. He played 82 games in all 4 of those years, which means he hasn’t missed a game since his NHL debut. Lastly, he has 5 goals and 9pts in 17 playoff games, which is promising given that he is still young at the age of 23. My question is simple; why are they moving him? With depth at every position what would they want back and can the Leafs satisfy whatever needs they believe they have?
One of the Florida Panthers
The current situation in Florida is that they are almost $3M over the cap, while they have 13 forwards, 7 defenders and 2 goalies signed, which accounts for a full roster. The problem is that they don’t have a clear cut way to get below the cap ceiling without dealing somebody.
On top of that, their 6 highest paid forwards and 3 highest paid defenders all have full no-move clauses, save for Sam Reinhart, who isn’t going anywhere. They do have a few middling players that could likely play in another teams top 6, with three in particular carrying the required caphits of $3M or more. Those players are Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues.
Each player carries benefits and issues.
Anton Lundell is signed to a contract that will pay him $5M per season for the next 5 years and is more than living up to that deal. He’s productive in the regular season and playoffs, draws in on the powerplay, is tied with Luostarinen as their most used forward on the penalty kill and is among their top faceoff men. He’s an all around player and is just 23 years old. It’s extremely unlikely that they will deal him and if they did it would cost a fortune. Further to that, if they were to move him to a divisional rival (they won’t), he’d cost even more. This is an impossible deal for the Leafs to make.
Eetu Luostarinen isn’t a player that you can picture sliding into your top 6 quite as easily, but he’d be an interesting experiment nonetheless. At 6’3″ 190lbs, it’s possible the Finnish winger would fit in well alongside Tavares and Nylander on the 2nd line. He registered 183 hits and 60 blocked shots last season, which would have placed 2nd among Toronto’s forward group in both categories. He played over 2 minutes a night short handed as well, which shows Paul Maurice’s trust in him defensively. Nylander and Tavares have fared better when they have had somebody on their wing that can retrieve pucks and help defensively (aka, a power forward), Luostarinen checks the required boxes there. With 17 goals and 43pts during the 2022-23 season, there is a little hope that he can contribute on the scoresheet, but that was the only time he surpassed 27 regular season points in his career. However, he did just drop 5 goals and 19pts in 23 games on route to winning the Stanley Cup for the second straight year, so maybe with the right linemates he’d be a diamond in the rough. As far as cost to acquire vs potential goes, I’d be very high on acquiring Luostarinen. Worst case scenario is they end up with a physical, checking 3rd line winger that lines up alongside Nicholas Roy and that sounds like a great thing, honestly.
Evan Rodrigues was part of the Toronto organization for a very short amount of time. He was acquired by Kyle Dubas as a pending free agent from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Kasperi Kapanen trade. He and the Leafs never came to terms on a contract and the rumour was that it had an awful lot to do with Rodrigues, who asked for a high price on his new contract because he simply had no interest in playing for the Leafs in the first place. The Toronto, Ontario native now has a pair of Stanley Cup rings and he has been a solid contributor to those teams, so it’s certainly worked out for him, but it’s also somebody that I would steer clear of for personal reasons… **mumbles something about being disgusted with Toronto born players not wanting to play for their hometown team**
One of the Anaheim Ducks
The situation in Anaheim is much different than the one in Florida. Whereas the Panthers are in the market to get under the cap floor, the Ducks are in the market because some players are simply not happy with their situation, the continued losing and/or for reasons unknown.
Mason MacTavish is reportedly not thrilled by the idea that the new additions to the team could see his role diminish and to me that smells a little fishy. The 3rd overall selection from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft just posted a career high 22 goals and 52pts, while being one of the teams top faceoff men and most used forwards last year. The addition of Chris Kreider or Ryan Poehling certainly won’t change that, while the addition of Mikael Granlund should simply offset the loss of Trevor Zegras. From where I’m sitting his situation hasn’t changed but if he isn’t happy in Anaheim then the Leafs should be willing to spend whatever it takes to land the 6’1″ 215lb, future 1st line centre in a trade. The obvious issue here is that 3rd overall selections that still haven’t hit their prime are generally very expensive to acquire. If you’d like you can forget the 3rd overall part as well, productive players at that age are very difficult to obtain and MacTavish’s scoring is comparable to Matthew Knies, who was drafted by the Leafs in the same year. Imagine if the Leafs were to trade Knies and just how much they would want in return, that will be similar to what the Ducks want for MacTavish. A mix of Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, future high draft picks and/or valuable roster players will be the ask and would have to be considered. However, once again, I’ll circle back to my belief that this one doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s always been said that the Ducks love MacTavish, he’s a guy that can come up with big plays at big moments and that’s very difficult to find.
Troy Terry is another name that has floated around the rumour mill out of Anaheim. Is it possible that Pat Verbeek is simply doing such a poor job as GM that players are asking to move on? If you believe parts of their fan base that could very well be the case. Either way, Terry would be a solid addition to the Leafs top line. The bruising… oh wait, 7 hits last season, total… okay, the skilled right winger is generally good for 60pts a season, give or take and leans more towards the playmaker side of things. He’s been 1st or 2nd on the Ducks in scoring the past 4 seasons and if they don’t start improving and challenging for a playoff spot then I wouldn’t be surprised if he did want a fresh start somewhere else. I’d expect his point totals to climb if he were playing alongside countrymen Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, which would quickly make his $7M per season deal a steal for the next five years. The biggest issue I see is his 10-team no-trade clause that kicked in on July 1st. Once again, those lists often begin with the 7 teams north of the border, which means any trade could be dead on the ice before it even starts.
Ryan Strome, unlike Troy Terry, doesn’t have any trade protection, but he does have some similarities. Like Terry he isn’t exactly a bruising forward, they both shoot right which is something the Leafs need more of and they both tend to play the role of playmaker. This is especially true for Strome, whose stat line the last three years is hilariously similar.
2022-23: 82GP, 15G, 26A, 41pts
2023-24: 79GP, 11G, 30A, 41pts
2024-25: 82GP, 10G, 31A, 41pts
It would appear that Strome is a 41pt player but once again, you have to wonder if lining up alongside Matthews and Knies would increase those totals, being the pure goal scorers that they are. With two seasons left on a contract that pays him $5M per season, the Mississauga, Ontario native brings the added bonus of being able to line up at centre or on the wing. The cost to acquire wouldn’t be incredibly high, but it wouldn’t be low either. The biggest issue might be that the Ducks want to start climbing the standings, so the Leafs would likely have to trade at least one useful roster player in any deal that lands Strome. One more possible benefit for the Leafs is that the Ducks’ top PK centre, Isac Lundestrom, left via free agency this season and that void was never filled. While Kampf wouldn’t fulfil the trade value of “useful roster player” they could be sold on taking him as part of this, or another trade, to fill out their roster.
If you believe half of what you hear there are plenty of valuable players available at the moment. As one GM said, there is lots of capspace available at the moment, but nobody to spend it on. The free agent market is bare, there are lots of teams in the same situation as the Leafs in terms of being able to take on salary and there are very few that are willing to sell. There are a ton of teams, such as the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings that are itching to climb the standings and/or break into the playoffs, while rebuilding teams like San Jose are just above the cap floor and simply don’t have a lot in terms of valuable players to sell.
What I will say is that this would be a great time if your team was just entering a rebuild. With more buyers than sellers and no free agents to speak of, a team could sell high on their assets while tanking for Gavin McKenna, the projected #1 selection in next years draft and possible generational talent. For a team like the Leafs, however, it feels as if they’ve simply been treading water for years and now with the departure of Mitch Marner, they may be sinking just a little bit.