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2026-27 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion | Official: Sundin & Chayka to lead front office

herman said:
There are no Leafs first rounders in Toronto’s control so there is little to no point rebuilding in the next two seasons minimum.
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One down season and "REBULD!" ...seems like an overreaction. All factors considered, worth giving it half of next season to see how the team looks under a new coach and reinforcements. Can still sell at next years deadline if this team is still a lost cause.

The core of Lightning players that went on to win multiple cups had a season where they missed the playoffs. I think it's possible for this Leafs team to at least be in the mix in the Eastern Conference next season.
 
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cw said:
I think they clipped Treliving's abilities well before they fired him.

All the machinations to get Marner's cap money for a year plus ... and no one really decent to spend it on with the barren UFA market - which was foreseen on this site and elsewhere. And then the team goes in the toilet. Pelley sat in on the trade deadline. I think Treliving's strings were cut after Shanahan departed but well before he was fired.

I would not have traded Woll like Chayka did - still not crazy about that deal. And I would not have signed Raddysh because I'd prefer a rebuild.

There has never been a presentation that Chayka studied rebuild vs retool and presented his conclusions to MLSE board. They just seemed to go straight into retool because Pelley said as much prior to hiring a GM. So the board is calling the shots on the overall direction. They control the purse strings as they always have.

From that, if I am in Chayka's boots, then I have to sign Raddysh. "My boss wants us to retool ..." On that basis, his decision to do that is defensible (even if the long term is ugly - that will be part of the price of the rebuild later). For that size & term of a deal, Chayka had to get board approval - like all NHL GMs. So MLSE board - the owners - are right behind Chayka on this. Chayka, like any other NHL GM, is an employee of MLSE and he has to do their bidding.

That is no different than when Pat Quinn was GM. Or JFJ. Or Brian Burke. Or Shanahan/Dubas, etc, etc.
When Treliving's team was sinking, MLSE protected their talent assets, as they should, from a GM desperately floundering to survive.

So, in my opinion, that is how it is.
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There's near zero ability or reason to rebuild at this juncture without your own first round picks. Raddysh is free acquisition which can let you make moves elsewhere and as far as I know he doesn't have complete trade protection so if we need to pivot there's another asset you can sell off if we need to. The cap is becoming less and less relevant and you need talent (which we don't have currently) to sell to accrue futures.
 
dappleganger said:
One down season and "REBULD!" ...seems like an overreaction. All factors considered, worth giving it half of next season to season how the team looks under a new coach and reinforcements. Can still sell at next years deadline if this team is still a lost cause.

The core of Lightning players that went on to win multiple cups had a season where they missed the playoffs. I think it's possible for this Leafs team to at least be in the mix in the Eastern Conference next season.
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And they got swept in the first round by Columbus one year.

*Edit: Am In the only one who didn't notice that Tampa has been bounced in the first round four years in a row?
 
dappleganger said:
One down season and "REBULD!" ...seems like an overreaction. All factors considered, worth giving it half of next season to season how the team looks under a new coach and reinforcements. Can still sell at next years deadline if this team is still a lost cause.

The core of Lightning players that went on to win multiple cups had a season where they missed the playoffs. I think it's possible for this Leafs team to at least be in the mix in the Eastern Conference next season.
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The Leafs are pretty fixable and they’re trending in the right direction now. Last year was bad and they made it worse by a) doing nothing b) sticking with Berube c) players stopped trying.

Now they are doing something, Berube is out, and the players are going to want to prove that last year was a one-off.
 
Bender said:
There's near zero ability or reason to rebuild at this juncture without your own first round picks. Raddysh is free acquisition which can let you make moves elsewhere and as far as I know he doesn't have complete trade protection so if we need to pivot there's another asset you can sell off if we need to. The cap is becoming less and less relevant and you need talent (which we don't have currently) to sell to accrue futures.
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Raddysh has a NMC for 6 years and 16 team NTC for his last two seasons.

General Manager Matthews will make the decision to rebuild or not around July 1, 2027 - probably very dependent on how he perceives his chances of winning a Cup with this team - in part, because he's won nearly everything else and has the franchise goal scoring record, etc.

In 12 months time, this team probably must look like a true Cup contender (without 1st rounders in 2027 and 2028) to entice Matthews to hang around because he's not getting any younger or any healthier and neither is his team of many 30+ year old players.

The odds makers currently have the Leafs as maybe making the playoffs in April 2027. If the Leafs carry on in the direction they currently are, they have a decent chance of making the playoffs. I'm a Leafs fan hoping for the best. But it would be one heck of a rabbit they have to pull out of a hat to lift a team from 28th to being a top contender that looks like it reliably has a few good Cup runs left in it with its aged roster and shallow farm system - which is what I think they're going to need to look like to re-sign Matthews.

You have to be able to look beyond next season because you can bet Matthews is surrounded by smart hockey people he trusts who will be doing just that as they advise him. (Edit: the same folks who advised him to re-sign for four years instead of eight). The die has been cast by the MLSE board - retool. Auston Matthews will probably make the decision on when this team rebuilds.

If I had to bet on it, I'd bet they'll be in a rebuild as Auston heads south to a good Cup contender in 2027-8.
EDit: our best hope might be that they make the Conf finals or finals and he extends for a year or two.
I'm a Leafs fan. I'd love it if he would hang around and score 60 goals per season for the next 10 years.
But I can't ignore the difficult circumstances that make that so unlikely.

They're probably going for a last hurrah. I'll be cheering for them, hoping for the best, every step of the way.
 
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