The Toronto Maple Leafs are about to embark on Season 1 of the post-Mitch-Marner Era. But while Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving tried valiantly to fill Marner’s spot in the top-six group of forwards, he’s done particularly great work changing up Toronto’s bottom-six forward group.
Toronto’s high-end players – Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies – need to step up with big seasons next year, but if the Leafs are to improve on getting to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, there’s going to need to be some incredible competition in the Buds’ bottom-two forward lines.
For starters, you can rest assured that new Leafs center Nicolas Roy – acquired in the sign-and-trade deal sending Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights – is going to be a lock to start the season as Toronto’s third-line center. Roy was not acquired to be shunted to the wing on the fourth line. He’s there to play solid two-way hockey and make Toronto a tougher team to play against.
Meanwhile, on the Maple Leafs’ fourth-line, there’s also a sense that the center role is already taken – in this instance, by veteran Scott Laughton. The former Philadelphia Flyers center took a while to find his stride as a Leaf, but by the time Toronto’s second-round series against the Florida Panthers was over, Laughton was one of the Leafs’ most dogged competitors. And he’s under a great contract situation, accounting for just $1.5-million against the salary cap.
So, the real questions about the Leafs next season are essentially the wingers on Toronto’s bottom two lines. You’ve got wingers who probably are going to be in the lineup in Game 1 of the Buds’ 2025-26 regular-season – guys like veteran Bobby McMann and Calle Jarnkrok. Then, you’ve got the Maple Leafs’ most recent acquisition, former Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua. He’s not going to be a healthy scratch anytime soon.
Finally, you’ve got a trio of forwards, only one of which will be Toronto’s other fourth-line winger. From our perspective, that will be youngster Steven Lorentz, who was an admirable soldier for coach Craig Berube last year. Then, there’s forward David Kampf, who is a natural center but who can slide over to the wing if need be. In addition, former Montreal Canadiens winger Michael Pezzetta joined the team, and he may force Berube’s hand and stick with the NHL club. And the guy more people should be talking about, Leafs prospect Easton Cowan, also intends to make Toronto’s opening-night roster.
From our calculations, there’s no room for Robertson, Pezzetta and Kampf right now – and that’s even if Cowan plays for the American League’s Toronto Marlies next season. And that’s why people are wondering if Kampf, Jarnkrok and Robertson are going to be on the trade block, if they’re not already there. Toronto has some relatively highly-paid veterans, and Treliving needs to peel off at least one or two of them to give himself cap flexibility during the season.
So, between now and training camp, don’t be shocked to see the Maple Leafs make a couple more roster moves. They’re under the cap ceiling right now, with $1.9 million in cap space. But they’ll need to accrue more cap space to be a mover-and-shaker at the trade deadline, and that’s what Berube and Treliving will want as they chart a course without Marner.
Ultimately, while not having Marner around will hurt, Toronto now has one of the better bottom-six groups of forwards in the league. And the competition for jobs on the third and fourth lines will only help the Maple Leafs improve from the bottom up.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
