2025 Offseason in Review: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to look vastly different without Mitch Marner, but it could be a good thing after years of playoff disappointment.
Who’s Back: John Tavares (4x$4.38m), Matthew Knies (6x$7.75m), Nick Robertson (1x1.825m), Steven Lorentz (3x$1.35m)
Who’s New: Matias Maccelli (trade via Utah), Nicolas Roy (trade via VGK), Dakota Joshua (trade via VAN), Henry Thrun (trade via SJS), Michael Pezzetta (2x$812k), Vinni Lettieri (1x$775k)
Who’s Gone: Mitch Marner, Matt Murray, Ryan Reaves, Pontus Holmberg, Max Pacioretty
Cap Space (per PuckPedia): $1.92 million
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to look vastly different without Mitch Marner up front, but it does not mean they are slated to take a step back by any means.
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving was able to recuperate a possible middle-six forward in Nicolas Roy in the sign-and-trade deal which sent the superstar forward to Vegas while also securing former Calder Trophy candidate Matias Maccelli via a trade from Utah.
After several years of watching its stars underperform in the playoffs, Toronto needed a shake-up and this could be it — but we will wait and see on that.
This Maple Leafs team is surely going to miss Marner’s 100-plus point output during the regular season, but simply put, he could not hack it in the playoffs. He put up a disappointing three points in Toronto’s seven-game defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins in 2023-24 and has just three goals in his past 20 playoff games over the past two years.
The roster the Maple Leafs have left is surely talented enough to break into the playoffs — John Tavares taking a team-friendly four-year deal worth just over $4 million per year helped them navigate the blow —but there are a ton of questions surrounding how they can get to their ceiling.
Matthew Knies is going to have to answer a lot of them after earning a six-year deal worth $7.75 per year, but he has proven that he can answer the bell when it matters most.
Knies was arguably Toronto’s best player in last year’s run to the second round, scoring five goals in 13 games. He scored two goals in the first three games against the Florida Panthers in Round 2 — including a game-winning goal — and helped the Leafs to an early 2-0 lead that they eventually blew.
He has shown that he can impact the game in a multitude of ways, causing chaos at the net-front and creating space for his teammates away from the puck, but Toronto is going to need to ask more from him in the regular season.
The two-year pro nearly doubled his career-highs from 15 goals to 29 and from 35 points to 58, but there is a Marner-sized hole in the Top 6, and he is slated to be the guy who gets those primetime minutes.
But the Leafs don’t need Knies, Maccelli or anyone else to score 100 points to contend by any means.
Toronto’s defense legitimately looked like a strength at times during the postseason, and if they hone in on what worked, they could end up being even more competitive this time around.
The Maple Leafs are running it back with all six defensemen from last season, with trade deadline acquisition Brandon Carlo entering his first full season in Toronto after getting traded from Boston with two extra years remaining on his current deal.
If Toronto can play like the team they were during the first half of its series against Florida — one that suppressed shots, blocked shots, and kept the front of its net clean — that shift in playstyle could work to its benefit.
But if things get fast and loose, and the Leafs cannot match their usual offensive output, things could get a bit ugly.
Projected 2025-26 Ceiling: Second place in Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference final
Projected 2025-26 Floor: Barely miss playoffs
Projected Opening Night Lineup:
Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Matias Maccelli
Max Domi — John Tavares — William Nylander
Bobby McMann — Nic Roy — Calle Jarnkrok
Dakota Joshua — Scott Laughton — Steven Lorentz
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Morgan Reilly — Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll