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

[cw]

One way or another, the Leafs need to plan for the eventuality that Tanev doesn't play a lot this season.

We said something like that last season and when they signed Tanev and due to their older dmen

Ages of their top 6 dmen during this season reach 31, 33, 33, 33, 35, 37
Andrae, who I currently regard as a 7th, until he proves otherwise, turns 25 this season.
Before they hand out another Cup, only 5 players on the Leafs current 23 man roster will be under 30.

Quillan & Haymes have been called up before and are waivers exempt.
Groulx & Pezzetta have been called up before and cleared waivers before.
They re-signed playoff scoring leader Lettieri who has cleared waivers before (but might not this time ..)
So they have some depth from last season
They added MacEwen who has 240 NHL games and cleared waivers before
There are other recent AHL signings who are waivers exempt and might help.

In other words, in my opinion, they do not need to carry 14 forwards on the roster. 13 will do because of the AHL depth they have
They should look at carrying 8 dmen to help the older dmen get through the regular season.
You want Tanev for the playoffs - give him all the back to backs off. Maybe OEL too.

Villeneuve turns 25 this season, is not a fleet skater, is not waivers exempt - might be an unproven 8th but promising offensively. I do not know if they have to worry about him getting claimed off waivers ... They can add his $850k without exceeding the cap if Domi is LTIR.
They would presumably also have Rifai, Myers & Mermis under contract who are not waivers exempt but have cleared waivers before. (... I was hoping we had seen the last of Myers ...)
They do have Chadwick, Webber & Danford and maybe others as waivers exempt but none of those three seem NHL ready though Chadwick and Danford had good moments in the AHL playoffs.
Their AHL depth for dmen may not be as helpful And those are tougher positions to fill.
If you have 2 spares attending practices and helping in back to backs, that helps reduce the risks of inserting them into the lineup.
Trading Rielly sounds great for the cap but teams are not giving away dmen for nothing and the UFAs are cleaned out.

 

[cabber24]

Rogers is buying out the remaining shares of MLSE. 25% for $4.35B, increasing MLSE valuation to $17.4B!

 

[cw]

There has been considerable chatter on Giroux
Apparently, Oilers are out. Sens seem to be out
Friedman alleges Leafs are the highest bidder
Some report Giroux favors a return to Philly & is waiting to see if anyone can change his mind.
I wonder about that and if it is really about Carlsson and the number of centers they have under contract ...

 

[azzurri63]

There has been considerable chatter on Giroux
Apparently, Oilers are out. Sens seem to be out
Friedman alleges Leafs are the highest bidder
Some report Giroux favors a return to Philly & is waiting to see if anyone can change his mind.
I wonder about that and if it is really about Carlsson and the number of centers they have under contract ...

Why overspend for another aging player. Stats weren't great and only going to decline. Give a young guy a chance before a washed up Giroux.

 

[cw]

Why overspend for another aging player. Stats weren't great and only going to decline. Give a young guy a chance before a washed up Giroux.

Their case for Giroux is extremely reasonable:
2025-26 82GP 49 pts, +20, .60ppg, 63.1% FOW%
He wants to play one more year ..
He's hardly missed any NHL games his entire career. He missed 1 game in his last 4 seasons - he's healthy
That is a heck of a lot less risk than Bobrovsky or Tanev
He's a good character for the younger players to experience.
Takes some heat off Tavares
They could sign that guy up in their sleep

Deal is not done yet

 

[Redleaf]

Their case for Giroux is extremely reasonable:
2025-26 82GP 49 pts, +20, .60ppg, 63.1% FOW%
He wants to play one more year ..
He's hardly missed any NHL games his entire career. He missed 1 game in his last 4 seasons - he's healthy
Hockey
That is a heck of a lot less risk than Bobrovsky or Tanev
He's a good character for the younger players to experience.
Takes some heat off Tavares
They could sign that guy up in their sleep

Deal is not done yet

"In for a penny, in for a pound"

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2074293614851531090

Anyone have thoughts on these thoughts about EF’s final thoughts of the season?

 

[L K]

Their case for Giroux is extremely reasonable:
2025-26 82GP 49 pts, +20, .60ppg, 63.1% FOW%
He wants to play one more year ..
He's hardly missed any NHL games his entire career. He missed 1 game in his last 4 seasons - he's healthy
That is a heck of a lot less risk than Bobrovsky or Tanev
He's a good character for the younger players to experience.
Takes some heat off Tavares
They could sign that guy up in their sleep

Deal is not done yet

I'm so confused how Giroux is playin out. First he was adamantly going to Philly. Friedman said hes signing with Ottawa last night but still no official announcement.

 

[Arn]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2074293614851531090

Anyone have thoughts on these thoughts about EF’s final thoughts of the season?

I haven’t read the thoughts on the thoughts as yet, but my thought is that we’re still 1 forward and one D short of ideal depth.

My other thought is I’m not sure how that depth can be obtained outside of more FA signings or a trade but a trade would likely open a hole elsewhere.

 

[cw]

I'm so confused how Giroux is playin out. First he was adamantly going to Philly. Friedman said hes signing with Ottawa last night but still no official announcement.

I think he had agreed to go to Philly. But the possibility of Philly getting Carlsson (which they had not counted on) messed up Philly's need for another center so they put it on hold. Media went nuts speculating and reversing itself.

Not official but fairly reliable :

https://twitter.com/x/status/2074311353859190799

 

[Bender]

Friedman is great at saying a lot while saying very, very little. This could've been summed up in two sentences.

Friedman: I think the organization feels this way: They really believe that Matthews is still the elite of the elite. They really believe it. They are hoping that he shows up healthy, ready to go, and drives the bus. They still believe he is the bus driver of this team.

They’ve added around him. They think all of these players are going to help make them better. But they still feel he is the critical key to the engine. That will be a very, very important part of next year.

… I don’t know how this is all going to go. It could be boom or boost. But it will not be boring. I’ll say this: I heard a lot of the returning players who were very demoralized at the end of last year really liked what’s been done. They feel much better about their team.

… I think one of the more fascinating ones will be Nylander. I think it was a really tough year between Nylander and the organization, but everybody gets a fresh start. Everybody gets something new. We talked about Matthews and how important he was, but Nylander is going to be pretty important too.

 

[cw]

Friedman: I think the organization feels this way: They really believe that Matthews is still the elite of the elite. They really believe it. They are hoping that he shows up healthy, ready to go, and drives the bus. They still believe he is the bus driver of this team.

They’ve added around him. They think all of these players are going to help make them better. But they still feel he is the critical key to the engine. That will be a very, very important part of next year.

"They are hoping that he shows up healthy" is not a very reassuring choice of words. It remains something that is not solid.
They're hoping Raddysh doesn't drop back from his 70 pt season to 2023-24 or before levels.
They're hoping Bobrovsky's .877 save% last year is an aberration he can bounce back from at age 38.
They're hoping Stolarz can stay healthy.
They're hoping Tanev recovers from his ordeal of last season so that he can put in a full season.

Friedman ...
I don’t know how this is all going to go. It could be boom or boost. ...

Chayka-Sundin are in a tough spot as managers.
There is plenty of risk the short term for this team doesn't come off.

They still don't have a commitment from Matthews beyond his current contract.
They've signed a bunch of their contracts short term - should Matthews depart.
I have not loved every transaction but they're making a credible effort to manage the circumstances within their control.