News Maple Leafs Team Notes

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Elliotte Friedman says Maple Leafs are leaning towards becoming sellers

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly leaning towards becoming sellers at the trade deadline, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“I think you’ll see talks about Toronto’s players intensify,” he said during Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts The Podcast. “I don’t know if you’ll see anything major before the Olympic freeze, which is on Wednesday. But I definitely think you’re going to start to hear a lot more Toronto names get out there, more than you would have expected this year. I don’t think we’re too far away from that. I think they’re going to put a lot of guys out there and just kind of see what the market is for them.”

The Leafs are coming off their sixth straight loss, falling 5-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday and finding themselves 10 points back of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. While they are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention just yet, it is becoming painfully obvious that the Leafs are set to miss the postseason for the first time since 2016 and it would be in their best interest to start seriously considering selling off assets.

There are plenty of assets that the Leafs could dangle on the market to kickstart a retool on the fly. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is having a renaissance year and should easily fetch a first-round pick if he is made available. Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton could be an ideal rental for contenders to target, especially with them being at just over a million each. While the Brandon Carlo trade has not panned out, they could redeem themselves with a second trade to get back some assets lost.

That’s only scratching the surface of what the Leafs could ship between now and the March 6th deadline, but they could set themselves up nicely to get back in contention next season if they play their cards right with this retool. Whether that be GM Brad Treliving or someone else navigating the fire sale, this disastrous season could have a silver lining in the weeks ahead.

It is no longer a question of if the Leafs will be sellers at the deadline, but instead who will be the first player that is shipped out of Toronto to the highest bidder.

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/ell...-maple-leafs-leaning-towards-becoming-sellers

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs scrape together win vs. last-place Canucks to end 6-game losing streak

In a game between two teams destined to miss the playoffs that seemed like neither team wanted to win, the Toronto Maple Leafs prevailed over the Vancouver Canucks to snap their six-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win.

The game was straight-up comedic, particularly the overtime frame between the two teams. The Maple Leafs gave the Canucks at least three high-danger chances and the Canucks simply refused to convert on them. The Leafs failed to convert on the chances they did have, including a whiff on a wide open net by John Tavares and a failed penalty shot attempt by a clearly gassed Auston Matthews, who opted for a backhand-forehand attempt and shoved it directly into the right pad of Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo.

The game eventually went to a shootout where the Leafs ended it within the first four shots. Vancouver’s Jake DeBrusk banked the puck off of both posts and out to kick things off, William Nylander undressed Tolopilo on the Maple Leafs’ first shot, Elias Pettersson was stopped by Joseph Woll on his attempt and Matthews made good on his penalty shot miss to win the game for the Maple Leafs. Toronto got goals from Nicolas Roy and Max Domi in regulation, the latter of whom has been a lone bright spot for the Maple Leafs lately with three goals and four assists for seven points in his last five games.

The win will surely give the dressing room a morale boost, but ‘too little too late’ seems like the understatement of the century for a team whose playoff odds fell to 2.6% following their latest loss against the Seattle Kraken. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated during second intermission’s ‘Saturday Headlines’ segment, that the Leafs have begun the process as a deadline seller, so these two points will serve as a moral victory and not much else for the Maple Leafs of 2025-26.

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-scrape-win-last-place-canucks

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Brad Treliving’s history as a trade deadline seller hints at small moves only for Maple Leafs

Brad Treliving’s philosophy that he has frequently stood by is that the offseason is the time for overhauling the roster not the regular season. That maybe a philosophy inherited from his time spent under Brian Burke in Calgary, and you could argue that there should be some evidence of this philosophy being successful before committing so firmly to it.

In the past Treliving’s history at the trade deadline has been about tempering expectations on who Brad Treliving would bring in to help the Leafs, this time as the Leafs are progressing towards seller status, the Leafs’ GM’s past shows that a fire sale isn’t likely occurring either.

Years the Flames missed the playoffs under Brad Treliving:

Season	Flames traded	Flames Acquired
2015-16	Markus Granlund	Hunter Shinkaruk
Jiri Hudler	2nd and 4th round picks
Kris Russell	Jyrki Jokipakka Brett Pollock Conditional 2nd or 3rd round pick (ended up 2nd)
2017-18	Eddie Lack	Dalton Prout
7th rd pick	Nick Shore
2020-21	David Rittich	3rd rd pick
Sam Bennett 6th Rd pick	2nd Rd Pick Emil Heineman
2022-23	Radim Zohorna	Dryden Hunt
Brett Ritchie Connor Mackey	Troy Stecher Nick Ritchie
Future Considerations	Kristians Rubins

The 2015-16 trades of Kris Russell and Jiri Hudler in what ended up being the worst season the Flames had under Brad Treliving were the closest thing the Flames had to a sell off. The Flames would walk away with three second round picks and a couple of prospects and ideally this would be the results that Leafs fans should be hoping will be repeated. The reasonable sell off of veteran assets brought in some useable futures and freed up key spots in the lineup that were addressed in the offseason and along with the convenient ability to draft Matthew Tkachuk (not really an option for the Leafs), the team turned itself around from a 77 point team to a 94 point team by 2016-17.

The next biggest push came during the strange COVID North Division season and the Flames cashed out on Sam Bennett in addition to getting a decent return for David Rittich from the Maple Leafs. Second and third round picks along with a player that was a fairly highly regarded prospect as the return is decent and given the Leafs current situation is the low bar for what should be expected from the Leafs as sellers.

The other two playoff missing seasons are a bit more concerning. The 2017-18 season where only Eddie Lack was moved and for a minimal return was partially because the Flames were tied for the final wild card spot on deadline day. No matter what happens between now and the trade deadline, the Leafs are very unlikely to be that close to a playoff spot.

The 2022-23 season trade deadline for the Flames was littered with Leafs moves. Acquiring Dryden Hunt from the Leafs, picking up former Marlie Kristians Rubins for Future Considerations, and bringing in current Leaf Troy Stecher and former Leaf Nick Ritchie. The bizarre thing about this is that none of these moves were about bringing in assets for helpful future assets for the Flames or clearing out any veterans despite being five points behind the final wild card team on deadline day. Interestingly enough the Flames had a .540 points percentage then which mirrors the .538 point percentage the Leafs presently have (although the Leafs eight points back right now.)

2023 Treliving would eventually trade Tyler Toffoli at the draft and perhaps that could be the better play for the Leafs with under contract players like Stolarz, Domi, Ekman-Larsson, and Carlo, but Laughton and McMann need to get the Bennett or Hudler treatment.

There are opportunities for the Leafs to go big as sellers and unless the Western road trip is dramatically different their disastrous homestand, that seems like the situation calls for but if the Leafs are looking at an overhaul, the question also needs to be asked if the person responsible for the failing roster is the right guy to fix it. Pushing Brad Treliving outside his comfort zone doesn’t seem like the right course of action either.

Something needs to go right for the Maple Leafs and with the 2015 trade deadline sell off as Toronto’s gold standard, it will be interesting to see if the trade deadline can provide some positives to a very disappointing season.

PRESENTED BY OFF THE ROSTER​

Introducing Off The Roster—Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favourite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster dives into the city’s legendary plays, brutal trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets, and everything in between. Raw, fun, and totally unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Tune in live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channel, or catch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founding partner, PROLINE. Off The Roster—the new sound in the 6ix.

Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/bra...ler-hints-at-small-moves-only-for-maple-leafs

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Craig Berube credits William Nylander’s leadership for propelling Maple Leafs over Canucks

The Toronto Maple Leafs were back in the win column Saturday night, as it took a complete team effort to come out on top of the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-2 shootout win. Auston Matthews enjoyed some revenge after missing on a penalty shot in overtime to secure the win in the breakaway challenge. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube made things very clear after the game that it was William Nylander who gave the Leafs’ lineup the boost it needed.

“It was a great effort by our team. It’s great to have Willy back. We got it done. It took a bit.” stated Berube postgame.

Nylander returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 15, playing over 20 minutes against the Canucks, and while he didn’t hit the scoresheet, Berube could feel the boost as the skilled winger helped generate offence, something the Leafs have lacked during their six-game losing streak.

“I thought he was really good tonight. He skated extremely well, competed, and created offense. Overall, hearing him on the bench talking, he brings leadership and things like that. I thought he elevated everybody on the team, to be honest with you.”

The Maple Leafs entered Vancouver searching for answers as they just went through a dismal home stand, lost the first game of the road trip in Seattle, and then entered the third period against the Canucks down 2-1. Berube made things very clear during the second intermission, the third period against the Canucks had absolutely everything riding on it.

“We talked before the period about how it had to be our best period of the year. For me, it was pretty close. We had the puck the whole period and couldn’t find the back of the net.”

With the two points against the Canucks, the Maple Leafs leapfrogged the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference standings, and now sit eight points out of a playoff spot. It’s tough sledding ahead, there’s no doubt about it, but perhaps the two-week Olympic break can help the team reset ahead of the homestretch of the 2025-26 season. Berube knows in order for the Maple Leafs to have any chance, they’ll need the Joseph Woll he saw against the Canucks, the entire rest of the season.

“That three-on-three sometimes gets a little wild, but Woll made some big saves. He made a huge save late in the third period when they had an odd-man rush. For me, that is a save that wins the hockey game. Well, it’s huge. Both of our goalies are. In this league, you need solid goaltending night after night. We had that combination going last year, all year. It put you in a really good spot. We need both of them to play well”

The Leafs continue their western swing against the Calgary Flames on Monday, followed by facing off against the Edmonton Oilers the very next night, and then have 22 days off between games. Four more points ahead of the break would do wonders for this hockey club, and put GM Brad Treliving in a very interesting spot ahead of the trade deadline.

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/cra...pelling-toronto-maple-leafs-vancouver-canucks