Maple Leafs News & Analysis

Gavin McKenna has to earn his spot in the Leafs lineup, Jim Hiller says. Why a sheltered start is right for an 18-year-old facing 84 games.

The John Tavares Maple Leafs accountability moment: clearly we were not very good. What it means for a room that turned over nine spots.

The Morgan Rielly trade market never materialized, and Rielly has now said Toronto means more to him than ever. Why keeping him was always the right call.

The Maple Leafs power play was 25th at 16.8 per cent. With Daniel Alfredsson, Darren Raddysh and Gavin McKenna, it is the cheapest fix on the roster.

Gavin McKenna's linemates are the decision Jim Hiller has to make at camp. Why Toronto should start its No. 1 pick with Tavares and give him PP1 anyway.

Anthony Stolarz is the Maple Leafs starter, per John Chayka — a public vote of confidence over Sergei Bobrovsky that says as much about workload as about merit.

Easton Cowan is the Maple Leafs' cheapest answer to their top-six winger problem. Here is what his second NHL season needs to look like.

Maple Leafs defence pairings for 2026-27 hinge on Darren Raddysh's partner. Jake McCabe is the right answer, even at the cost of the Tanev pair.

Colton Sissons carries a $4.25 million cap hit after an 11-point season. Here is the honest bar for a successful year from the Maple Leafs centre.

Toronto's third letter has sat empty since Marner left. The William Nylander alternate captain case costs Jim Hiller nothing and is long overdue.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson led all Maple Leafs defencemen in scoring last season on a $3.5M cap hit — and is now being discussed as a cap casualty. That is backwards.

Calle Jarnkrok's Berube complaint, delivered on his way to the SHL, is the most specific criticism yet of the deployment problem Jim Hiller inherits in Toronto.

Bruce Boudreau says the Maple Leafs defence will keep Toronto out of the playoffs. We test the claim against the ages, the 84-game grind and Hiller's plan.

The Auston Matthews penalty kill role should end in 2026-27. Jim Hiller has the specialists, the 84-game grind, and every reason to cut it to zero.

Auston Matthews Hart Trophy odds put him seventh for 2026-27. After a Grade 3 MCL tear and 60 games, that ranking prices in health he hasn't shown yet.

John Tavares is the Maple Leafs' best value contract at $4.39M. His 2026-27 role under Jim Hiller, and how the Gavin McKenna handoff lines up.

The Max Domi role question has no clean answer: five new bottom-six forwards, a $3.75M cap hit Toronto needs on LTIR, and no line for him to skate on.

Matthew Knies 30 goals is a seven-goal step, not a leap. Why it is the cleanest test of whether John Chayka built the Maple Leafs roster correctly.