The most active part of free agency has come and gone, and while the Toronto Maple Leafs were extremely quiet on that front, they’re heading into 2025-26 with a different-looking forward group thanks to a couple of trades. A Maple Leafs offence without Mitch Marner alone is going to take some getting used to, but the additions of Nicolas Roy and Matias Maccelli in said trades will give them a new look when you go beyond the core forwards.
With that being said, this is how the Maple Leafs are looking heading into the new season. Note that this is just what they have on paper, they aren’t opinion-driven line combinations. Put whoever you want where you want!
Forward lines
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Max Domi
Matias Maccelli – John Tavares – William Nylander
Bobby McMann – Nicolas Roy – Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz – Scott Laughton – Calle Jarnkrok
With the rumours that the Maple Leafs are looking to trade for a top-six forward, you’d imagine the gap they’re eyeing is the spot on Auston Matthews’ right side. Since said trade hasn’t happened yet, we’re putting Max Domi in that spot for the time being. The two played together in the back half of the 2023-24 season and saw success, so if the season were to start tomorrow, lining Matthews up with someone he’s familiar with and letting Knies do the dirty work in front seems like the most logical course of action.
Matias Maccelli now gets an opportunity to play with John Tavares, a centre who scored 38 goals last season, and William Nylander, arguably the team’s most dependable forward who is just coming off of his third-straight 40-goal season. Maccelli produced at an impressive rate in his first two seasons in the league before a season littered with constant line shuffling and dips in ice time saw him have a down year offensively. The Maple Leafs acquired him in hopes that he could play in their top-six, and he’ll have an excellent situation to help him get back on track.
The bottom six is still a little bit of a question mark, depending on who the Leafs want to keep and who they’ll decide will be cap casualties. Nicolas Roy, Scott Laughton, and Steven Lorentz are easily locks to stay, while Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson land among the most likely candidates to be dealt, and Bobby McMann falls somewhere in the middle. Robertson is headed to arbitration with the Maple Leafs, so he may find himself with another opportunity to finally have that breakout season offensively. There’s also free agent signing Michael Pezzetta, who sounds like he’ll get a fair share of games, and David Kampf, who doesn’t crack the lineup the way it is and might very well find himself as the cap casualty, especially with his $2.4 million annual salary and the addition of Roy.
Defence pairs
Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly.- Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
The defensive pairs at this point are completely untouched. There has been discussion among fans and media about whether moving somebody like Carlo for a top-six forward could be the play, but that seems like a bit of a backwards move considering the void he fills. It feels like the team has struggled to find a consistent partner for Morgan Rielly, and you can’t ask for much more than a big, right-handed shutdown defenceman who is mobile and has term.
The ever so reliable pair of Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev will be together again, which leaves Simon Benoit and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the bottom pair. Benoit and OEL had their moments when they struggled last season, and having the latter on his off-side doesn’t help things, but overall, they were fine. Expectations for a bottom pair should be a little more conservative to begin with.
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
Nothing new here, either. Stolarz and Woll were arguably the best goaltending tandem in the league last year, and will look to replicate that success with the former in a contract year and the latter signed on for another three years.
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