26 Maple Leafs Resolutions for 2026

1. Do the right thing according to Auston Matthews. Does he need surgery, rest, a playmaking right winger who can help in all three zones? As much as Auston Matthews needs to step up, the team won’t be at its best until Auston finds himself in a situation where he looks like he can score 60 goals again. If that is no longer possible at all, the Leafs problems are bigger than we think.
2. Write Easton Cowan’s name on the lineup card with permanent marker. There is no reason why the Leafs top prospect should be put in the press box to ensure Calle Jarnkrok gets his reps. Cowan can beat most Leafs veterans and while he still has a lot to learn, he’ll have to learn it on the job.
3. Get younger. This immediately means that we have to keep Cowan in the line-up, but try to do the same with Matias Maccelli and Nick Robertson as much as possible. It means finding a way to get Jacob Quillan, a point per player in the AHL, to the NHL, and it means more opportunities for Henry Thrun and William Villeneuve in the Leafs’ third defensive duo.
4. Find happy homes for their free agents. Assuming Thrun, Robertson, Quillan and Maccelli aren’t part of the Leafs’ game plans, they could potentially fall into this group as well, but this is primarily about maximizing the value there is on Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and to a lesser extent Calle Jarnkrok. Both McMann and Laughton should have some value in the league and the Leafs should make money whether they push for the playoffs or not.
5. Take advantage of their salary retention areas. The Leafs can maintain salary on up to three contracts at a time and currently they have not used any cap space. Potentially a mid-priced Max Domi will get attention across the league, the same can be said for Matias Maccelli and Calle Jarnkrok. The Leafs aren’t limited to these options and likely won’t use all three retention spots, but finding a way to get additional value from the players they want to move is key to getting the team back on track.
6. Find more puck carriers. William Nylander was slumping in December, but maybe it’s just exhaustion from having to hustle excessively for the Leafs (rushing back from an illness probably didn’t help either). Whatever the Leafs need, find more players who want the puck on the stick and throw it away at the first opportunity.
7. Pretend Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, and Knies are on your top power play unit. The Leafs are far too talented (at least at the top of their lineup) to struggle the way they do on the power play. Ditching the overly structured approach and relying on the talent seems like a safe bet, even if Mitch Marner’s power-play skills aren’t easily replaceable. And to be fair, Steve Sullivan seems to understand this assignment.
8. Speaking of Marner: DON’T LOSE TO VEGAS. No one wants to deal with the narrative that comes with Marner beating the Leafs and if he gets a goal or multiple assists it will be even worse.
9. Bring back Topi Niemela and Roni Hirvonen in 2026-2027. This may be my own personal sore spot that no one else cares about, but both Niemela and Hirvonen are too talented to have just been discarded by an organization that could use some youthful energy to boost veterans.
10. Get stronger by limiting space, not throwing hits. The reason the Leafs aren’t difficult to play against is that they give their opponents all the time and space they need to execute, and no one really cares if Dakota Joshua pops up shortly after a pass to finish his goal. Increasing the pressure by racing for the puck more, bringing the opponent closer and meeting Craig Berube’s puck battle expectations would be a nice start for the Maple Leafs and would address the team strength issue in a meaningful way rather than bringing in an enforcer or a third defenseman ship.
11. Don’t be afraid to admit when you were wrong. Brandon Carlo, Matias Maccelli and Nicolas Roy didn’t go exactly as planned. The same can be said for others, but we’ll follow the short list here. Recognize that the gamble didn’t pay off, you won’t get the return you would want for them, but keeping underperforming players around only hurts the team.
12. Be impatient. If a team isn’t playing well and you practice patience, you can see the team working its way up to mediocrity. That’s not an “I told you so” moment, that’s still wasting valuable time with a disappointing GM, coach, player, etc. Change is good and necessary, especially in sports. The Shanahan and Dubas era was undone by the loyalty and faith of a group that continued to show they couldn’t get things done. Why would the Leafs continue to repeat that approach? What do the Leafs owe Max Domi?
13. Give Philippe Myers some time with the Marlies. Last season, Myers showed he can be a serviceable seventh defenseman and fill key spots in the Leafs lineup when needed. Send him to the AHL and give him a chance to work his way back to what he was.
14. Don’t be afraid to take back a bad contract at the trade deadline. Free agency was a failure in 2025, and it will happen the same way in 2026. The same players who will be salary dumps at the trade deadline are players of the same caliber added in the summer (case and point: Maccelli, Roy, Joshua). If the Leafs can use their cap space to their advantage in March, they could have serviceable players later in the season and potentially enough resources for the 2026-2027 season.
15. Ditch the “good enough” approach to staffing. Whether it’s personnel on or off the ice, the Leafs need to stop simply selecting the best available option after their first pick. Prioritize talent over archetype and if you’re that hung up on bringing in experience, opt to take a chance on someone new rather than go with someone with a history of not getting the results the Leafs require.
16. Sign Troy Stecher for next season. He plays for his place in the lineup and that should probably be rewarded. Just don’t go crazy with a multi-year deal.
17. Shake things up. While there is still talent on this team, it doesn’t seem likely that the Leafs will win with this group. John Tavares isn’t going anywhere and with his cap hit he’s earned the right to be the last core member standing, but besides Tavares, there’s awkward conversations to be had with the move clause crew (Matthews, Nylander, Rielly, Tanev, and McCabe (who is currently on a full trade clause).
18. Be aggressive in NCAA free agency. With only 3rd, 5th and 6th round picks in this upcoming draft, the Leafs prospect pool will need to be filled in other ways. That’s not to discount Europe and the CHL, but NCAA seems to be the most defined window and the first to present itself.
19. If you’re going to lose, at least provide some entertainment. It seemed like the Leafs had returned to top-level hockey over the past few games, which is what this group was all about back in the day. The low shot totals and attempts to slow the game down feel like an insult to injury this season and honestly not what works for the best players on the team.
20. Develop players according to a need. Above I said that the Leafs need more puck carriers, or at least players who can make comfortable plays with the puck. Finding players in trades will certainly be difficult and that’s not to say development isn’t difficult, but taking youthful players like Robertson, Cowan, Thrun and Maccelli and making their training more about skill development rather than playing in the current Leafs structure could be beneficial and worthwhile for the Leafs. Steve Sullivan seems like a good option to lead that effort, as the team won’t spend all of practice on power play drills.
21. Make a tough decision about goaltending. The Leafs’ goaltending was good, but not great. There have been moments of greatness, but also moments that were decidedly not. As Dennis Hildeby works his way into becoming a capable NHL backup and the league has plenty of teams that could use a goaltender, the Leafs may want to bring in a netminder to fill another hole in the lineup.
22. Don’t blow it up. The Leafs need a fair amount of change, but there’s no reason to hit reset and considering how many teams have taken much longer than expected to climb out of their rebuilds. Even if it seems like there is a lot to be done, moderation and choosing a scorched earth policy would make the most sense.
23. Bring back the power kill. While Mitch Marner and David Kampf played a big role in what made the aggressive penalty kill work, the Leafs should feel comfortable tapping into their current resources to revive it. The passive box was fine, but the Leafs still have the right personnel to apply pressure, and perhaps there would be fewer defensive injuries if penalty killers didn’t block misses from the point.
24. Figure out the long change. The Leafs are outscored in the second period, and this again feels like the team is ignoring the fact that they have players who want to play offensive hockey. Being more aggressive offensively and pushing the play more seems like a simple solution that may not last, but addresses the fact that this has been the Leafs worst period (at home and overall).
25. Let Willy be Willy. The attempts to overcoach Nylander resulted in some of his worst hockey. He’ll have some shifts that will make you want to yell at him and no one is saying don’t yell at him, but considering that when he does things his way he normally gets stronger results than when he’s put in situations or asked to play in a way he’s not built for, it seems like building on his strengths is the only way to go.
26. If you don’t think Craig Berube will be the coach next year, move Craig Berube type players. Steven Lorentz and Simon Benoit have been better than expected during their time with the Maple Leafs and a big part of that is their play mirrors what Craig Berube looks for from his players. It’s entirely possible that the next coach won’t see the same value in them, and if the Leafs suspect they’re going in a different direction, it may make sense to cash in on players who appear to be useful playoff depth.

Bonus resolution: 26 resolutions is too many and halfway through you are fighting for your life. That said, I hope everyone who made it this far has a great 2026.