Moving Oliver Ekman-Larsson makes little sense to me. The Maple Leafs need to be retooled, they don’t need to be rebuilt, so if you move Ekman-Larsson you’ll be moving your best defenseman from a team that desperately needs three new blue liners as it stands. Toronto could probably add a second-round pick and a solid young defenseman, but OEL is signing for two more seasons at a very reasonable rate, and if Treliving can really work some magic and make deals to upgrade his roster, the pieces are still there for the Maple Leafs to turn things around as quickly as possible next season. Ekman-Larsson should be part of the solution.
If teams call about Brandon Carlo or Simon Benoit, Treliving should bite. Both defenders are tied up until next season and have been extremely inconsistent this season. It seems like they’ve both lost their edge and aren’t nearly as intimidating to play against as they used to be. Benoit would have been scratched countless times on any other team this season, but Craig Berube doesn’t have much to work with at the back in terms of better options. It’s worth remembering that Troy Stecher was a waiver wire pickup, and before you know it, he’s one of the Leafs’ leaders in ice time. That says something about Stecher, but it also says a lot more about the Leafs’ blueline.
Treliving should sell both Carlo and Benoit low, taking whatever he can get for draft picks or assets. The Maple Leafs need a new look for their defensive core next season, and Treliving can do this in several ways ahead of the 2026-2027 season, including signing a few free agents or crafting a blockbuster offseason. Get away from Rielly, Benoit and Carlo for now and call it a day.
Auston Matthews should be a priority as he enters the final year of a four-year contract, and Treliving should ask Matthews who he wants in the league as his new right winger. Knies should be moved back to his left wing, and both Max Domi and Bobby McMann should be moved before the trade deadline.
Domi has no home on this roster, and unfortunately for him, that has been the case since day one. He wasn’t strong enough defensively to be the center of the third line, which the Leafs so desperately needed in recent seasons, and now he’s not consistent enough to ride alongside Toronto’s best player on the top line. Domi has a 13-team no-trade clause, so there is a small wrinkle to consider, but it doesn’t tie Treliving’s hands enough that a trade can’t be made.
Along with Domi and McMann, Treliving must see if anyone wants veteran Calle Jarnkrok for the remainder of this season, and if he should retain 50 percent of his contract, absolutely do so. There’s a team that will bite on a veteran winger at 50% discount with a strong work ethic, and it’s essentially the only way Treliving will get anything like a fourth-round pick. The Leafs lockers are bare in the organization, so grab whatever you can get for 50 percent off Jarnkrok right now.
In the crease, moving a goaltender seems more likely than not, as the Maple Leafs have two goaltenders who can’t stay healthy despite being on a team-friendly contract. And don’t forget Dennis Hildeby. There’s a reason why Treliving extended him ahead of this season. He has a future in Toronto, and when the offseason rolls around, one of Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll will have to be traded. It’s a strong position for the Leafs, they have trade value on the market. It just doesn’t seem like a trade for a goaltender is something that could happen quickly enough during the Olympic break, so Treliving might have to start those conversations and then finish them in the summer. My guess is that Stolarz is the one getting the offseason treatment.
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