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[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Toronto’s goalie depth is no joke and it changes everything: Alberga’s Take

If there was one thing that I was reminded of watching the Dennis Hildeby extension come across the wire on Tuesday morning, it’s that the Toronto Maple Leafs are absolutely STACKED in between the pipes right now.

Seriously, I don’t remember a time this organization possessed this much crease depth —at least in recent memory.

But honestly, you would probably need to go back all the way to the dreaded Tuukka Rask/Justin Pogge era, right?

Any way you slice it, the Leafs have every reason to believe in Hildeby, even though the 24-year-old’s coming off a turbulent campaign. The three years they handed him will not only give him time to develop but it will also allow him to push for a job at the NHL level in due time. The contract doesn’t become a one-way deal until Hildeby’s 26, when presumably, everyone should have a pretty good understanding of what he truly is. Indisputably, it was a tidy piece of business by Brad Treliving and company.

Between Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll at the NHL level and Hildeby and Russian Artur Akhtyamov in the American Hockey League, this administration has made the days of Michael Hutchinson easy to forget. Not to pick on him but it seemed like the Dubas era featured about 53 different netminders to dawn the blue and white. Needless to say, acquiring David Rittich for a third-round pick in 2022 will continue to haunt my dreams for many years to come.

Most importantly, Toronto’s evolving crease depth gives them flexibility to do a few things down the road. All in all, it’s probably one of the reasons why they’ve been able to slow play the Stolarz situation a bit here, too. They love him, but at the end of the day, they’re not going to overpay to retain him. It makes a lot of sense.

In the grand scheme of things, teams are always looking for goaltending, which bodes well for the Leafs on the trade-front moving forward. For instance, fresh off another disappointing loss in the Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers are dying for an upgrade in goal. Barring something unforeseen, it doesn’t look like Stan Bowman will be able to get the job done —at least before opening night. They have a championship calibre roster paired with a mediocre crease, and ultimately, that’s why they keep falling short when it matters most.

With puck drop just around the corner, it’s no secret that the Leafs would still like to do a few things. That said, they will likely play the long game here, and that’s the correct course of action. In the coming months, it will be fascinating to see if the Stolarz/Woll tandem can replicate what they did last season in 2025-26. In addition to that, there’s reason to be excited for what’s to come, too. If Hildeby and Akhtyamov can continue to develop and improve, the Leafs will be sitting pretty for many years to come.

Bottom line: You can never have enough goaltending.

This is a strange feeling.

Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/tor...epth-no-joke-changes-everything-albergas-take

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Scott Laughton confesses his love for Tie Domi, Wade Belak, & the Pat Quinn era: Leafs Morning Take

September is here, and with that, we’re now just 35 days away from regular season puck drop.

Time flies.

We covered quite a few different topics on the latest summer edition of Leafs Morning Take. Naturally, considering all the hoopla starting the build-up, yes, we did discuss Connor McDavid for a few minutes. It will be fun to document that whole situation moving forward —that’s for sure. It’s amazing how quickly the narrative is starting to shift in that market and the hockey world. It’s still wishful thinking to suggest he leaves Edmonton next summer, but we’ll see what happens.

Brought to you by Simply Spiked, we kicked things off by diving headfirst into all the Mitch Marner/Darren Ferris noise from the past week. Unsurprisingly, Jay Rosehill had a few things to get off his chest regarding Marner’s sit-down with TSN’s Mark Masters. Needless to say, we’re very excited for January, when the Leafs will play Vegas not once but two times. The Marner camp continues to paint him as the victim, and unfortunately, that’s just not going to fly —at least not in these parts. Over the coming days, there’s no question that the Leafs side of the story will come out. This is getting ridiculous. It’s time to move on. We’re pumped about the 2025-26 Maple Leafs.

Speaking of which, after that discussion, Leafs forward Scott Laughton dropped by the show. It was a very candid interview. We talked about his trade to Toronto, the difficult transition, and what it’s been like living out a childhood dream. Additionally, we asked Laughton, who’ entering the final year of his deal, if there’s been any contract discussions with the Leafs this summer. He said no. That said, he did admit he’s open to being a Leaf for many years to come. This opportunity is what he’s been dreaming of his entire career, so that makes sense.

Then, we got into an extensive goaltending conversation. Firstly, we piggybacked off David Pagnotta’s reporting from Tuesday that suggests that the Leafs and Anthony Stolarz have begun to discuss a possible contract extension. Unsurprisingly, we both agreed that the best course of action would be to extend Stolarz as soon as possible. Assuming everything comes together over the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see what his next contract looks like. We were just spit balling, but three to five years accompanied with an average annual value of five to six million would make a lot of sense.

On top of that, we loved what the Leafs did with Dennis Hildeby and that extension. Quietly, it shows that the organization believes in his future, which is great to see. The new deal allows Hildeby time to develop in the AHL while continuing to push for NHL playing time. It’s a win, win situation. Love to see it!

As we start to ramp up for October, our next episode will drop next Tuesday, September 9th. Talk then! We’ve got an exciting interview planned, so don’t you dare miss it!

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/sco...de-belak-the-pat-quinn-era-leafs-morning-take

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

What does a successful 2025-26 season look like for David Kampf?

David Kampf starting the 2025-26 season as a Toronto Maple Leaf doesn’t seem like a popular idea and as such the notion of a successful season for David Kampf is one that he doesn’t play in a Maple Leafs uniform. We’ll get that idea out of the way first because variations of that response are being quoted across social media in reaction to the title of this post.

Looking at how the past couple of seasons for David Kampf have gone it is understandable that expectations are low. Kampf being bumped from the Leafs lineup late in the season and throughout most of the playoffs has the writing legibly on the wall that Craig Berube isn’t as interested in using Kampf as much as Keefe was. Not every coach has the same comfort food and with one of the final selling points on Kampf was his success on the penalty kill with Marner and Mitch no longer being around, there’s not much of a case for using Kampf over the other bottom six forwards available.

Assuming the ultimate goal and reasonable expectation is that the Leafs move on from Kampf, it is still worth the exercise of considering what if he’s still a Leaf in 2025-26 and setting goals and expectations for his play.

The Goal: Stay in the lineup and remain a penalty killing specialist

This seems simple enough and could just come down to being healthy. If Kampf is in the lineup it seems like a sure bet that he’ll be killing penalties and although it’s likely that Laughton and Roy will be given larger roles, Kampf will have a place next to someone on the second unit.

As for what a successful fit for Kampf in the lineup looks like, it could be that with the Czechia-born forward available the Leafs might want to try Scott Laughton on the wing next to Tavares. Or Kampf could find himself on Laughton’s wing helping create a much tougher defensively fourth line.

What seems like it is most necessary is that Kampf either bets out Robertson, Jarnkrok, or McMann, stays healthier than at least two other Leafs forwards at any given time, and Brad Treliving pulls off a more significant trade than just moving on from some of his depth.

The Expectation: Kampf is a low risk bottom of the lineup option

David Kampf can be the forward version of Martin Marincin. He can come into the lineup and provide low risk, low event hockey at zero risk of attempting something flashy. He can be a predictable but unexciting option for Craig Berube to call on and that honestly seems more appealing to NHL coaches than taking a chance on a rookie or AHLer who wants to prove something.

There is a benefit in keeping some centre depth around and if the Leafs aren’t eager to see Max Domi up the middle again, Kampf could be the ideal 13th forward.

What does seem like an expectation for the Leafs is that Kampf rediscovers his 26–27-point season form and have some ability to provide secondary offence. That’s a hard thing to do when most of your shifts are with Ryan Reaves and maybe Kampf gets better by that subtraction.

There’s probably still a preference towards just moving on from the 30 year old and his contract and the most likely scenario remains that Kampf is either traded or demoted. (Note: this has been said many times before.)

PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST​

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.

Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/what-does-successful-2025-26-season-look-david-kampf

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Atlantic Division Preview: Red Wings stuck in the middle as the Yzerplan stalls

There’s an easy maxim to follow in the NHL and NBA: being stuck in the middle is the worst possible place for any team. And once again, this is certainly true of the Detroit Red Wings, who are searching for their first playoff appearance in a decade. Steve Yzerman’s once-lauded ‘Yzerplan’ is in a state of inertia and the Red Wings aren’t gaining ground towards a postseason berth, nor are they awful enough to really contend for the first overall pick in 2026. Detroit is a proud sports city and it may have to reckon with the idea that the franchise’s most iconic player of the past 50 years may be ill-suited to lead the Red Wings back to relevance, if not prosperity.

Detroit registered 143 goals at 5-on-5 last season, the 27th-best total in the NHL. There was an offensive uptick after head coach Todd McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde on December 26, but this was a Red Wings team that disproportionately relied on their power play to generate any offence at all, clicking at a 27 percent clip, the fourth-best mark in the NHL. And this perhaps spells out a key issue for the Red Wings in simple terms: after Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Patrick Kane, there isn’t a reliable source of scoring prowess. Larkin already made it clear that he was disappointed by Yzerman’s static approach to the trade deadline, and it didn’t help matters that James van Riemsdyk is the most important upgrade to the forward corps this summer.

“I think, especially in March, it was hard that we didn’t do anything,” Larkin said during a press conference in April. “I felt the group… we didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline. Guys were kind of down about it. So it would have bee nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well.”

And there are concerns on the blue line as well. Moritz Seider faces arguably the most difficult workload in the NHL and the Red Wings run the risk of exhausting their 24-year-old cornerstone. Seider hasn’t missed a game in four seasons and his offensive output has been pretty much identical the past three seasons, recording eight goals and 46 points last year. Last season, Seider was partnered with Ben Chiarot, the 15th-most used pairing in the NHL at 5-on-5 last season, where it controlled 48 percent of the expected goals, along with a -2 goal differential. Seider’s individual metrics were far superior, with a plus-six goal differential and a 51 percent share of the expected goals, while operating as the power play quarterback as well. Simon Edvinsson is a promising talent, but the Red Wings run the risk of burning out their top two defencemen, while providing sub-par partners.

This is a Red Wings team that is still several years away from catching the Florida Panthers at the top, or joining the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning in the next wave of perennial contenders. Detroit was largely thought to be in the same group as Montreal and Buffalo during prolonged rebuilding stages. Montreal now sports the best prospect pool in the NHL, and have developed several emerging stars that could propel them to the Stanley Cup within the next five years. Buffalo has been a disaster, and we’re not going to celebrate organizational incompetence just to make a point, but it has bottomed out and is a leading contender to secure Gavin McKenna next fall.

Where is the Yzerplan leading the Red Wings? For the 10th consecutive year, it appears that the Red Wings aren’t close to a playoff spot, nor are they awful enough to contend for the first overall pick. Getting stuck in the middle is the worst place to be.

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/atlantic-division-preview-red-wings-stuck-middle-yzerplan-stalls

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Schadenfreude and the 2025-26 Boston Bruins

Last season, the Boston Bruins’ run of eight consecutive playoff appearances came to a close. That recent run of playoff appearances included three first round victories over the Toronto Maple Leafs and one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. They won the Atlantic Division twice and the President’s Trophy over that span of time. They did all of this after missing the playoffs only twice after coming out of their previous competitive window that saw them in the Stanley Cup Finals twice and winning it all in 2010-11.

The Bruins have always been able to avoid the long rebuild process and you’d have to go all the way back to *sigh* 1967 before seeing the Bruins miss the playoffs in more than two consecutive seasons. That’s a nice little legacy. No decade of darkness, no Ballard era, and while they had a 49 year Cup drought, they at least had five Stanley Cup finals appearances over that span to tide them over and bring some hope.

The Bruins missing the playoffs last season was nice to see but given that Boston was able to hang with the Red Wings, Canadiens, and Senators for most of the season and appear as a potential wild card option for the playoffs right up until the trade deadline, taking enjoyment from their demise was limited. This season seems like it will make up for that with a full blown suck fest coming out of Boston and should come with the disclaimer: enjoy it while you can.

While the Bruins aren’t as bad as their bottoming out roster of 1996-97, and there are plenty of teams that would love to have David Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, and Charlie McAvoy at the top of their depth charts, and Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie, and Jeremy Swayman certainly give something for the Bruins to build around too, the Bruins are simply not a playoff team even with healthier versions of Lindholm and McAvoy likely to show up this fall.

The depth in the Bruins forward ranks erodes after Pavel Zacha’s spot on the depth chart with Casey Mittlestadt, Tanner Jeannot, and Victor Arvidsson all coming off lacklustre seasons, and the rest of the cast looking like capable of fourth liners and prospects trying to establish themselves as permanent bottom six forward fixtures.

The blueline quality understandably drops off significantly after Lindholm and McAvoy and looks like it will struggle to move the puck efficiently, a theme that looks like it will hold true outside of the Bruins top line as well.

Swayman has the potential to be a bright spot in net but was left treading water after his star blueliners were hurt last season. Without the strong supporting cast around him and Ullmark to push him, Swayman looks like he’s just wanting to hold onto the role long enough to survive the Bruins rebuild.

All of this should be enjoyable for a Leafs fan base that has been on the unfortunate side of the Bruins success for a number of years.

What is also encouraging from a schadenfreude perspective is that as things sit today, the Bruins cupboards are bare prospect wise, they are just now beginning to restock, and the Leafs have some control over their ability to do so. A good season (and playoff run) from the Leafs can limit the options of what the Bruins can do with what should already be a late first round pick.

The Bruins are also not bad enough that their likely lottery pick in 2026 will land them one of the potential superstars in the making available in the 2026 draft and no Joe Thornton or Sergei Samsonov will be walking through that door (and thanks to Leafs pick protection, no Tyler Seguin or Dougie Hamilton either.)

The reality of the NHL cap and free agency also will create a bit of an uphill climb for the Bruins to attract free agents. They had to throw an insane five year at $3,400,000 per season deal at Tanner Jeannot to bring him in this summer and it is doubtful that options will improve next season. The two year turnaround rebuild that the Bruins have been accustomed to might no longer be possible and it’s hard to imagine that many fans around the league are heartbroken by that.

Of course, history shows that the Bruins have always been able to find a way to right the ship and because of that it’s worth taking every little bit of joy possible from their 2025-26 season because tough years in Boston don’t come around too often.

PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST​

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.

Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/schadenfreude-2025-26-boston-bruins

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

What does a successful 2025-26 season look like for Dakota Joshua?

Dakota Joshua was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in July from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick. The addition of Joshua is part of an offseason attempt to retool Toronto’s bottom six to a have a bigger, tougher look to shore up the team’s depth for a deeper playoff run.

Last summer, Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer and needed surgery, missing training camp and keeping him out of the lineup until mid-November. Through a 2024-25 season marked by a lot of turmoil in the Canucks roster, the 29-year-old spent the year playing catch up, trying to find his game once again. The Dearborn, Michigan native finished the year with seven goals and seven assists in 57 games played.

Back at full strength this year, Joshua will be looking to put up the better numbers he’s certainly capable of. In the 2023-24 season, he set career highs of 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points. This year with pieces like Nicolas Roy and Matias Maccelli added to Toronto’s depth, he could definitely find those more consistent numbers once again.

Joshua was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2014. As he gears up to finally appear in the blue and white sweater, it’s clear that above all else, he’s back in town to bring his size and strength. The 6’3″, 206 lb. forward finished ninth in the NHL in hits two years ago with a career high of 244 across just 63 games. Last season he teammate Kiefer Sherwood surpassed him with a whopping 462 hits, but in 57 games played Joshua still managed to finish second on the Canucks with 193 checks delivered.

The expectation: 250 hits, 40-point pace

Is it ambitious to ask for Joshua to deliver career high numbers in his first year with the Maple Leafs? Maybe. But there’s no denying this is a sink or swim year for him. Entering the second year of a four-year deal with an annual cap hit of $3.25 million, it’s up to Joshua to prove he’s worth the gamble the Leafs took in acquiring him. To do so, he’ll need to prove he can continue to bring the physicality he has the past few years, while also contributing in some form offensively. Sailing through what are likely the prime years of his career, it’s up to Joshua to show what he can do to earn one of the Leafs’ sought after bottom-six spots.

Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/what-does-successful-2025-26-season-look-dakota-joshua

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Easton Cowan determined to make the Maple Leafs roster out of training camp

It’s been a busy summer of training for Easton Cowan. Now with training camp on the horizon, the 20-year-old has his sights set on one goal: crack the Toronto Maple Leafs roster.

Ahead of training camp, Cowan spoke with Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, sharing where his head is at as he enters Leafs training camp for another season.

“My mindset right now is to make the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Cowan said. “That’s my goal. We’re at an NHL camp and that’s where I’m at until further notice. This is definitely the most confident I’ve ever felt — faster, stronger, bigger. So that’s going to help me out a lot. I’ve put in the work this summer. Now, it’s just go out there and prove I can play.”

After winning the Memorial Cup with the London Knights last season, there was a sense of accomplishment that his work in juniors was done. At Leafs development camp in July, Cowan was focused on what was next, sharing the same things he’s now talking about. He was working on getting faster and adding weight, and it looks like his hard work is paying off. Now, he’ll have to show that extra work he’s been putting in as he hits the ice in Toronto.

“It all went well,” Cowan said of his summer. “I’ve been skating with the NHL guys who are all funnelling back now. They’re all coming up to me to give congrats [on the Memorial Cup win], asking how my summer’s been. Little messages like that go a long way and I feel a little closer and comfortable around all of them.”

Now, it’s either the AHL or the NHL for the Leafs’ top prospect this season, but for Cowan there’s really only one option. In The Leafs Nations’ summer player expectation series, Alex Hobson wrote the expectation for the season for Cowan is just that, crack the NHL roster:

While Cowan was given a reasonable shot to crack the Maple Leafs’ roster last season, it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t ready for full-time NHL action, so the team sent him back to junior where he rightfully succeeded. This season, the odds will be against him again, considering the abundance of bottom-six forwards the Leafs have, but he’ll still be given every chance to make the team if he proves to them he’s worthy of a job.

The goal for a player in Cowan’s position should always be to make the NHL team. After all, if you play like you’re destined for the AHL, you’re going to be destined for the AHL. Putting the team in a position where they have a legitimate decision to make in terms of who to trade so he can stay on the roster would be a great problem that I’m sure all parties would welcome, and it all starts with a good training camp.

Cowan is an exciting prospect who has already accomplished big things, but now he faces the first test of many to come. If he can put up a big showing at training camp, we may be just weeks away from his NHL debut.

PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST​

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.

Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/eas...make-toronto-maple-leafs-roster-training-camp