The Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t have thought they’d be in this position 12 months ago, when they were buyers at the 2025 trade deadline. If they had, they wouldn’t have gone ahead and traded their 2026 first-round pick and a top prospect in Fraser Minten to the Boston Bruins for Brandon Carlo. They also would have kept their 2027 first-round pick Nikita Grebenkin instead of acquiring Scott Laughton.
Instead, the Maple Leafs now face the uncomfortable reality of missing the playoffs and forfeiting a lottery pick to the Bruins. Toronto is fortunate to have a protected pick in the top five, but it’s unlikely they’ll fall that far unless they win the lottery. The reality for Toronto now is the opportunity to become a seller at this year’s trade deadline to recoup some of the assets they gave away.
According to NHL analyst Craig Button via the Frankly Hockey podcast, the Maple Leafs have no choice but to accept their reality and undergo a retooling.
Toronto needs to see where this goes if they don’t make some changes. The Atlantic Division is full of contending teams, and it won’t be easy for the Leafs to crawl back into the playoff picture. Even if they do, the future of the division looks bright, with some strong young teams and others like the Bruins undergoing accelerated reorganization that already puts them back in contention. The Maple Leafs would be wise to make the same moves.
Maple Leafs stumble at trade deadline
If they take a page from the Bruins retool, the Maple Leafs can create a blueprint. Boston traded Carlo, Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau. Most of these trades are already paying off, with players currently on the roster and prospects in the pipeline. They also have a few more first-round picks from these trades to acquire even more top prospects.
The Maple Leafs have a lot of players they can trade. Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Calle Jarnkrok and Troy Stecher are the players who have increased their value the most this season. However, they could also look at flipping players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Matias Maccelli, Nick Robertson and Carlo.
If Toronto wants to improve its future, it has the resources to do so. The only problem is that it requires some awkward conversations with their star players and fan base.
Next: Maple Leafs could be deadline sellers – and it could go deeper than expected
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