Maple Leafs News & Analysis

Mike Babcock's Oilers hire got a public endorsement from Draisaitl and McDavid in Toronto. Two contenders, two coaching resets, two different diagnoses.

The Maple Leafs teased a James van Riemsdyk reunion with a 'Don't blink' clip. A return is fun, marginal, and only works at the league minimum.

Opinion: Chayka rebuilt the Maple Leafs defence's depth and the crease this summer, but the top four is older and thinner. That is the unfinished job.

Chayka dismantling the Maple Leafs analytics department is a defensible long-term move made at a reckless moment, weeks before a cap-tight camp. Our take.

Opinion: A Matthew Knies trade for Zach Werenski would have cost too much. Losing the Werenski race saved Toronto from a franchise-altering mistake.

Opinion: Gavin McKenna belongs on the Maple Leafs roster now — alongside Matthews. The case for keeping the No. 1 pick, the argument for patience, and why patience loses.

An opinion grading the Maple Leafs free agency reshape — Chayka's disciplined July 1 of five signings and two trades earns an A-minus for solving the right problems without a panic overpay.

Alex Tuch got $10.5M, Pavel Dorofeyev $11M, and Bobrovsky wants seven years. Maple Leafs free agency in 2026 calls for discipline — and Chayka is right to hold.

Patrik Laine is the bargain the Maple Leafs should chase on July 1. Why a short, incentive-laden deal on a former 40-goal scorer is Toronto's smart move.

The Patrick Kane Maple Leafs rumour is tempting, but at 37 he's the wrong July 1 swing for a team trying to get younger and faster. An honest case against it.

Toronto shrugged at the Jim Hiller hire, but Chayka's bet on trust over star power is more defensible than it looks.

Our take on whether the Maple Leafs should hire John Tortorella, and what the idea reveals about the team's real problem.

Mitch Marner leads the 2026 playoffs in scoring for Vegas. A Leafs-angle on why the one that got away is thriving — and what it says about the core era.