Dave Litman
The Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to pick up their season in the post-Olympic part of the schedule. And pretty much every game is a must-win. Well, close to it. Estimates are that they’ll need to win about two-thirds of their remaining 25 games to have a shot at a playoff spot. They currently sit six points back.
But should their postseason chances really be a consideration in what the front office does at the upcoming trade deadline? Most feel it shouldn’t matter. And from the newest reports from a couple of notable insiders, it doesn’t sound like it will.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, GM Brad Trelving & Co. will not be going “all-in” as a buyer. Nor will be they be an all-out seller. Extensions for pending UFAs won’t be prioritized. But the future of what those potential deals could mean, will be.
It’s less about Toronto’s playoff chances and really more about the cost effectiveness of extending certain players like Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton. So there are decisions pending.
But what I’m told is that there is a plan in place, and Brad Treliving and hockey operations for the Maple Leafs are going to follow this plan. They are not going to chase an expensive extension.
What will get noteworthy and interesting, given that we do have some time, is what if Toronto closes the (playoff) gap and they’ve got to make the call on these pending unrestricted free agents. They can’t let them walk for free, so it could be interesting the next several days.
As Dreger notes, what if the Buds do pick up where they left off before the break, and extend that three-game winning streak? Or win a large majority of the six games remaining before the March 6th deadline? At that point, they’ll have some huge decisions to make.
Do the Leafs swap out UFAs for assets they can flip?
Insider Elliotte Friedman, appearing on NHL Network Radio on Wednesday morning, has a somewhat different take on things. He seems to suggest that the plan is to move some players in order to get assets for a future-focused move.
My idea that I think of what’s been going on with Toronto, is I think they’re in a position where they’re trying to accumulate assets, and then see if they can use some of those assets and do something that might get them a more impact younger player… That’s what I think their idea is.
The Leafs, of course, are pretty much bereft of the aforementioned “assets.” Because of the raiding of the prospects and draft picks pantry the last couple of years, they have no first-round picks in either the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft. They also traded away a top prospect in Fraser Minten in the Brandon Carlo deal last year (and we all know how that has worked out).
So it makes sense that spending more money on players like McMann & Laughton—good role players who have fulfilled their duties nicely this season—perhaps doesn’t make sense at this point. Instead, they would be trying to turn those at-or-near 30-year-olds into draft picks that could then be flipped. Get back a younger player they could build with. One who could potentially play a bigger role in the near future than McMann or Laughton (or anyone else they trade) could.
Toronto faces a tough Florida doubleheader over the next couple of days—at Tampa Bay Wednesday night, and against the Panthers on Thursday. After that, it’s matchups with the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers taking them to deadline day.
