The Toronto Maple Leafs are a shadow of their last-season selves. A string of losses has rendered the 2024-25 Atlantic Division leaders unrecognizable, largely due to injuries to several key players at various points in the season so far.
The team must emerge from its current slump, and GM Brad Treliving will be looking to add new pieces to the Maple Leafs. To that end, reports have emerged about the Toronto front office offering four players as potential returns.
Cap-Starved Toronto Maple Leafs Offer Four Players as Trade Returns
This season could have developed entirely differently for the Maple Leafs. As Dom Luszczyszyn pointed out, Toronto had ample opportunities to repeat last season’s feat because of the “League’s fourth-easiest schedule.” Injuries have played a role in the Leafs’ abysmal performance, but that is not a sufficient justification for Luszczyszyn, who cited the examples of teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes: two teams that have managed to excel despite their poor injury luck.
Of course, the Leafs never found a replacement for Mitch Marner, leaving the team’s once glorious “Core Four” devastatingly destabilized. Treliving seeks additions to the team, but the team will inevitably face struggles with cap space.
“It is no secret Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving would like to add to his roster, as multiple reports have indicated recently. But given the team’s close proximity to the salary cap, any major addition will have to result in at least one roster player being moved out,” the Fourth Period reported about the Maple Leafs’ current situation.
Clearly, the Leafs have a lot to deal with. The team is languishing at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and continues to seek ways to improve its roster to this day. Appearing on “The Sheet” with Jeff Marek, David Pagnotta stated the Maple Leafs’ priorities remain the same. “…Toronto’s desire to add a puck-moving defenceman and a top-six forward to their lineup.”
To further their trade ambitions, the Leafs are offering Max Domi, Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli, and Brandon Carlo as “trade bait”.
Moreover, the injuries to Chris Tanev and Dakota Joshua also have repercussions for the Maple Leafs’ plans. “If Joshua and/or Tanev are placed on LTIR for the balance of the regular-season, they would give the Maple Leafs extra salary cap space to add to their roster and help the team push for a playoff spot–upon which, each playoff game lineup must remain cap compliant.”
The Maple Leafs have been linked with the Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood, the Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, and the St. Louis Blues captain, Brayden Schenn. Chris Johnston has also linked Edmonton Oilers’ Andrew Mangiapane with the Leafs, citing familiarity between Mangiapane and Leafs GM, Treliving.
The Leafs’ future remains a developing storyline, and what happens next remains to be seen.
