After a terrible start to the 2025-26 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have turned things around and as a result they will likely be looking to expand their roster. Of course, it will ultimately depend on how things go from here until the calendar turns to 2026 and the NHL Trade Deadline approaches.
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There are a few names floating around that might be of interest to them. One of them, which I wrote about last week, was Michael Bunting of the Nashville Predators. This next one is also a former Maple Leafs forward, Mason Marchment of the Seattle Kraken.
Maple Leafs need to focus on marching
The Maple Leafs will be one of the teams in the NHL looking to add a top-six forward. It is clear that the loss to Mitch Marner this offseason has hurt them and it has been difficult to fill the void. Therefore, they will look to add something, and if Marchment’s name comes up, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Maple Leafs inquire about the asking price. It was also reported last season that Toronto had done so interest in taking it over from the Dallas Stars before the Kraken traded for him.
Marchment’s playing style would fit well on the top line alongside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews. He was able to take some of the pressure off Knies to get into the corners and get to the front of the net. Instead, Marchment could take on some of that responsibility, allowing the other two to lean on their skills to help the team.
Both Knies and Matthews have top skills, that much is clear. It’s also clear that Knies is taking on the power forward role because of his size and the way he plays the game, but also because of the role that was missing when he, Matthews and Marner formed the team’s top line. If they were to add Marchment, it could allow him to play more of that role, allowing Knies and Matthews to focus more on scoring.
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Marchment’s playing style would also be useful in the playoffs. He’s a big forward at 6-foot-1, 212 pounds who can hit, fight and fill the power forward role. This season, he scored two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 25 games with the Kraken. He scored 47 points in a season twice and his career high was 53 once.
As previously mentioned, Marchment was a member of the Maple Leafs organization and played four games for the club. Unfortunately, former general manager Kyle Dubas decided to do just that trading him for Denis Malgin of the Florida Panthers was a good idea. And it has come back to haunt the Maple Leafs, especially when Malgin played for their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, and Marchment played in the NHL with the Panthers and Stars.
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