Maple Leafs News & Analysis

Bedard's $15M pushed the NHL pay scale higher, reframing the Maple Leafs salary cap. Matthews and Nylander now look like value, not albatrosses.

Chayka rebuilt the Maple Leafs bottom six with penalty-killing, defensively responsible depth — Sissons, Blueger and Roslovic — to free the top six for offence.

At 35, John Tavares is the Maple Leafs' bargain second-line centre. His $4.389-million cap hit and flexibility quietly insulate Toronto for 2026-27.

A Connor McDavid Maple Leafs trade is fun to imagine, but his contract, Edmonton's Babcock hire and Toronto's cap crunch make 2026 impossible.

John Chayka says he doesn't anticipate a Morgan Rielly trade, calling him 'a big part of this.' Insiders aren't convinced the saga is over.

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.

The NHL salary cap 2026-27 climbed to a record $104M with a $20.8M max. What the rising-cap era means for Toronto's books and Matthews' next deal.

The NHL offer sheet is a live tactic again after Carlsson's $18M match. What the new era means for the cap-strapped Maple Leafs and their young core.

A Dakota Joshua trade is Toronto's likeliest cap-clearing move: over the cap and heavy on left-shot wingers, the Maple Leafs can free room without touching the core.

The Nick Robertson contract — two years, $6.5 million in Pittsburgh — is the verdict on Chayka's trade, and a $3.25-million cap hit for a 24-year-old scorer stings.

The Morgan Rielly trade market has cooled, and Toronto's refusal to pay a sweetener means the veteran could open the 2026-27 season with the Maple Leafs.

A free agent is reportedly waiting on Maple Leafs cap space to open up. Here's why Toronto is over the cap and how Chayka clears the room.

The Maple Leafs second-line centre market vanished as Trocheck, Bourque and Kyrou were traded elsewhere, leaving Tavares and the kids to answer at 2C.

The Matthew Knies trade talk casts him as a sell-high asset. His $7.75M contract and Toronto's steep asking price say the Maple Leafs should hold, not deal.

Toronto projects roughly $2.75M over the $104M cap, yet the Maple Leafs salary cap 2026-27 crunch is easily solved with Domi's LTIR and depth demotions.

The Maple Leafs still want a difference maker, per Friedman. Chayka's restless posture is smart — but landing one likely means moving money out first.

Opinion: The Morgan Rielly trade needn't happen this summer. Toronto should hold the line on retention and sell from strength — or wait for the deadline.