It seems as if the final word on the Maple Leafs’ 2024-25 season has been given. Brad Treliving has spoken, and it is now time to shift fully into the offseason. I’ll get to some of what Brad Treliving spoke about in a bit, but with the commitment to Treliving as the man responsible for dismantling the Shanahan era is one that needs to be met with skepticism. While Toronto is not Calgary, the attempt to move on from Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Giordano, etc. left a lot to be desired. And the targeting of Blake Coleman as a potential missing piece for the Flames during their peak competitive years seems like it could be foreshadowing a similar move in Toronto where a role player who was the right fit on a great team is about to be overvalued. The reduced level of oversight for Treliving adds to some of the concern as well.
That said, here are a few stray thoughts for the last weekend in May…
Sam Bennett-lite
The dots are certainly being connected that Sam Bennett could be coming to the Maple Leafs. And while I do believe that the Florida Panthers would consider re-signing him or at least prefer not to face him in their division, more than any other GM, I believe that Bill Zito has a price he won’t pay for players and that will present a challenge when Darren Ferris is negotiating on Bennett’s behalf.
Sam Bennett is certainly good at what he does. The fact that many people will be getting irate at the idea of a dirty player like Bennett joining their Leafs as they read this post proves that he brings a unique reputation. A lot like a player like David Clarkson for instance. (Also, like Clarkson, Bennett had a career year leading into free agency, but there is no need to head down that path any further.)
Bennett is a product of his surroundings. His most frequent linemates, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe, put in a lot of the work that allows Sam Bennett to be Sam Bennett, but while painting Bennett as a passenger on his line is a stretch, it certainly is worth mentioning that his production was largely dependent on playing with either Tkachuk, Verhaeghe or Reinhart, and the only down roster player Bennett seemed to put up solid numbers with was Jesper Boqvist. Asking Bennett to somehow elevate players like Max Domi or Bobby McMann would be very different from the role he’s played in Florida and given that Bennett’s point production has been sub-50 for every year of his career before this one, there is a very real possibility that Bennett will be a $9M AAV player that can barely touch 0.5 points per game.
That brings us to the Sam Bennett alternative and the good news for the Leafs is that call is coming from within their own house. The other piece of good news is that he’s only costing the Maple Leafs $1.5M next season.
| Bennett | Bennett-lite | |
| TOI/G | 17:27 | 14:36 |
| G/60 | 1.13 | 0.67 |
| P/60 | 2.31 | 1.59 |
| SH/60 | 10.86 | 6.42 |
| SH% | 10.4% | 10.4% |
| ixG/60 | 1.25 | 0.80 |
| Hits/60 | 6.47 | 9.14 |
Scott Laughton is very similar to Sam Bennett. Slightly less offensive but with the caveat that Garnet Hathaway was his most frequent linemate in 2024-25, not Matthew Tkachuk. The shooting percentages were identical, Laughton threw more hits, and potentially putting Bennett with slightly worse linemates and upgrading Laughton’s linemates would bring those numbers even closer together.
Even at Bennett’s current rate of $4.425M, Laughton looks like the better alternative, and with NHL pundits making the case for Bennett close to or at $10M AAV, the potential for him to become the biggest contract bust of all-time is very real.
Now, having Laughton might not negate the idea of wanting more players like Laughton or Bennett in the Leafs lineup. I get that too. The thing is, there is something to be said for going the Wish.com route here and hoping to get lucky with a Bennett knock off in free agency. Eric Robinson of the Carolina Hurricanes is one option; Mason Appleton of the Jets is another. Neither have Bennett’s high draft pick pedigree or Stanley Cup experience, but both have all the characteristics that are being overvalued in Bennett.
For a team like the Leafs that has gotten it wrong before on chasing high profile truculence and tied too much salary up at the top of their roster, Bennett would be a big mistake when Laughton and others can do a lot of what they are looking for.
“Changing the DNA” are the new buzzwords
Last year, it was “everything is on the table.” What fans quickly learned that while everything might have been on the table, there was little interest in doing anything with it.
This year, Brad Treliving is splicing DNA and trying to get at changing the makeup of the Maple Leafs. Another promise of change but one that ignores the at the very heart of the Maple Leafs is “talent” and this seems like it is making a case for moving away from talent. And it also came with the qualification that it wouldn’t necessarily be roster changes that bring about that change in DNA, but theoretical changes to style of play and adjusting the psyche of the current group.
All of this seems more about chasing a way of being rather than building an overloaded roster that puts the rest of the league on notice. At best it’s group therapy and at worst it is shuffling deckchairs, at least until Brad Treliving proves me wrong.
Another call from within the house
One of the highlighted needs for the Maple Leafs will be a puck moving defenceman (or two). While the Leafs erased a lot of the regular season narrative when their offence increased from the backend in the playoffs, Toronto was at the bottom of league for offensive production from defencemen in the regular season and some uncertainty about Rielly’s future in Toronto and his ability to fit into what Craig Berube and Mike Van Ryn want on their blueline, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson not being a viable secondary puck moving option, and with Dante Fabbro being the only viable option, albeit a depth one, in free agency, the Leafs will have to get creative with how to address their need for puck movers.
Enter the Marlies and specifically Topi Niemela and William Villeneuve. Both at 23 years of age, they’ve put in their AHL dues and are restricted free agents this summer. Both have made good cases for becoming a third pairing puck mover on the Leafs, Niemela’s case was stronger in 2023-24, and Villeneuve looked like the better option this season, and both now have the opportunity to benefit from a stronger defensive blueline that can afford to spend the regular season providing rookies with an opportunity to learn the game at the NHL level and establish if they can be a fit.
For a team like the Leafs that has a number of areas needing to be addressed, leaving an opportunity for AHL talent to earn their spot on the Leafs might be a good way of changing the organization’s DNA, by inviting relying on internal competition rather than an over the hill free agent option like Brent Burns as the solution.