Forwards & Scoring

William Nylander's 700 points came in 756 games, all as a Leaf. Where he ranks in franchise history, who is next, and why his $11.5M deal has aged so well.

Maple Leafs vs Avalanche recap: Nylander ties a career high with five points, Matthews adds four and Bobrovsky makes 30 saves in a 6-3 win.

Nick Paul second line: with John Tavares out after the birth of his son, Jim Hiller moves Paul up between Cowan and Nylander for Colorado.

Maple Leafs vs Golden Knights recap: a 3-0 lead gone by 3:58 of the second, a 43-24 shot gap, 40 Bobrovsky saves and a shootout loss in Vegas.

Maple Leafs vs Golden Knights preview: Marner's Vegas run, Ryan Craig's new bench, Stolarz vs Bobrovsky, and the matchups that decide Thursday's game.

Gavin McKenna's first NHL goal came in game four. Why it should not end the second-line debate, and what the road trip needs to show.

Maple Leafs vs Predators recap: Matthews' four-point night and OT winner cap a 3-0 comeback, McKenna scores his first goal, and what still needs fixing.

Jim Hiller is sticking with the Maple Leafs second line of McKenna, Tavares and Nylander 'for now.' Here is why that patience needs a firm deadline.

Alex Ovechkin final season is official: the 41-year-old visits Toronto on Dec. 21 and March 28. What his farewell means for the Leafs and their fans.

The Maple Leafs scoring problem isn't bad luck. Toronto has scored two goals in all three games on 27 shots a night, and Jim Hiller's lines need to change.

Maple Leafs vs Senators recap: Toronto dominated the second, hit six posts, then a Marchenko high-stick set up Halliday's winner in a 3-2 loss.

The McKenna-Tavares-Nylander line was out-attempted 19-3 by the Islanders. Why Hiller should swap Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan if it happens again.

The Auston Matthews trade prediction sending him to Philadelphia for Michkov misses. His no-movement clause and 2027 extension window tell the real story.

Matthew Knies' Blue Jackets debut brought two goals and a franchise-record-tying three points. Why the Maple Leafs side of the Marchenko trade still holds.

Kirill Marchenko Maple Leafs debut: eight shot attempts and an assist beside Auston Matthews with no practice. Matthew Knies debuts in Columbus tonight.

Gavin McKenna NHL debut: minus-2 and one shot in 15:19 of a 3-2 loss to Montreal. What it tells us, what it doesn't, and how his nine-game window plays out.

Our verdict on the Matthew Knies trade: Marchenko is the better player and Toronto is better tonight, but Chayka paid too much in the details. Grade: B-.

The Kirill Marchenko contract pays $12.5M a year through 2032-33. What it means for the Leafs cap this season, in 2027-28 and for Auston Matthews' next deal.

The Maple Leafs Marchenko trade sends Matthew Knies to Columbus for Kirill Marchenko, who signed a six-year, $75M extension the eve of opening night.

A Maple Leafs season preview built on six real questions: Matthews health, Bobrovsky at 38, the defence, the third line, McKenna and Hiller system.

Before practising at Mullett Arena, the Maple Leafs visited Matthew Mayich and his family. The ASU defenceman collapsed Aug. 20 and remains hospitalized.

Monday's Maple Leafs roster deadline forces a cap-compliant 23-man list. The Domi LTIR math, the Lorentz burial and the $70,000 cushion, explained.

The Maple Leafs' Kirill Marchenko trade interest is now public, and six other teams want the same $3.85M winger. Why the cap makes Toronto a long shot.

Mitch Marner Cup Final run: 29 points, a Vegas record, then one assist in the last three games. What it settles about Toronto's 100th season.

Maple Leafs Arizona bonding trip: Matthews hosted in Scottsdale, Chayka broke the Muskoka routine, and Toronto flew home three days before hosting Montreal.

Adam Fantilli contract: six years, $82.5 million, $13.75M AAV. Why Columbus paid it, what the new CBA term limits did, and what it costs the Maple Leafs next.

Jack Roslovic won the Maple Leafs top-line right wing with a three-point finale. Why the alternatives were weaker, and what settling it unlocks.

Auston Matthews knee update: a goal and two assists in the preseason finale, after full clearance and top-speed data. Why it decides Toronto's season.

Maple Leafs preseason finale: a 6-1 and 4-2 split-squad sweep of Ottawa. Matthews, Tavares and Roslovic each had three points, and nobody got hurt.

The Maple Leafs top six puts Roslovic with Matthews and McKenna with Tavares. It is backwards: the rookie belongs on the first line, and here is the case why.

The Maple Leafs power play ranked 25th last season. Daniel Alfredsson's fix starts with faceoffs, edge battles and quicker puck retrievals, not a new formation.

Auston Matthews speed data says a lot: 35.1 km/h in his first game since March, a mark he has hit only a handful of times in three seasons.

Auston Matthews offensive zone freedom is Jim Hiller's real change, undoing the Berube structure. The takeaway numbers explain why. The risk is real.

The Auston Matthews TSN Top 50 ranking dropped him to No. 14. After 53 points in 60 games that is generous — and Nylander at No. 30 is the real snub.

Matthew Knies trade rumours ended with a direct message from John Chayka. Knies turned it into a standard — and Auston Matthews says his ceiling is untouched.

The Gavin McKenna preseason debut is Saturday at Scotiabank Arena, on Tavares' wing. Three things worth watching, and why the scoresheet is not one of them.

Jack Roslovic drew the first look on Auston Matthews' wing at Leafs camp. Why the signing is better than its reception, and what he has to prove by November.

Maple Leafs training camp lines, day one: Roslovic with Matthews and Knies, McKenna with Tavares and Nylander, and a surprise on the second defence pair.

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 Auston Matthews contract has two years left at $13.25 million. Chayka says he hopes it ends in retirement — here is the 2027 negotiation.

Matthew Knies contract: $7.75M through 2030-31. After deadline day reset the winger market, it is the best value deal in the Atlantic Division.

The new NHL CBA is live: 84 games, seven-year contract maximums and a 13-day camp. What changed September 16 and what it costs the Maple Leafs specifically.

Max Domi won't start Maple Leafs camp, Chayka confirmed. The back surgery complications stay open-ended — and Toronto's cap compliance depends on his LTIR.

NHL eight-year contracts end September 15. Toronto has no eligible player, and the seven-year cap that follows lands on the Auston Matthews extension.

Auston Matthews has a full green light for camp, Chayka says — 100 per cent physically, six months after surgery on a Grade 3 MCL tear in his left knee.

Chris Kreider is a free agent after Anaheim terminated his contract. The Chris Kreider Maple Leafs fit is real, but Toronto sits $2.75M over the cap ceiling.

Auston Matthews fell a full tier in The Athletic's player tiers, the first time since 2022. Five Leafs made the board — and what's missing says more.

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.

The Maple Leafs injury report before camp: Matthews cleared from knee surgery, Tanev still awaiting clearance, Domi's back and the $2.75M cap problem.

Patrik Laine Maple Leafs interest survives into September, his market reportedly down to five clubs. The fit is real; the cap math is brutal.

Maple Leafs 2026-27 predictions have Toronto fourth in the Atlantic. Why that is too generous for a 78-point team with an unchanged defence corps.

A Kirill Marchenko trade fits the Maple Leafs perfectly at $3.85 million. The problem is Montreal can meet Columbus's price and Toronto cannot.

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.

The Luke Evangelista trade cost a conditional 2028 first and a second — a price that shows why the Maple Leafs cannot buy a top-six winger.

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

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.

The Maple Leafs milestones of 2026-27: Rielly's 1,000th game, Nylander's 300th goal, Tavares at 1,200 games and Matthews chasing 800 points.

The Maple Leafs PTO board is empty with camp two weeks out. With one contract slot left and LTIR math to manage, that restraint is the right call.

The Auston Matthews next contract math just changed. Makar's $20.4M deal reset the market, the new CBA caps term at seven years, and Toronto talks in July 2027.

The new NHL LTIR cap limits relief to roughly $3.82M this season. Max Domi’s $3.75M hit clears it, keeping the Leafs’ compliance plan alive.

The Gavin McKenna Calder Trophy chase starts in October. He put the playoffs first — and his Penn State numbers say what kind of rookie season to expect.

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.

Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds for 2026-27 opened at +6000, tied 19th. A breakdown of why the price collapsed and where the market may have Toronto wrong.

NHL Network's Maple Leafs winger rankings put Nylander 10th and left Matthew Knies off the top 20. What one name out of 20 says about Chayka's forward group.

NHL Network's Auston Matthews centre ranking dropped him to eighth entering 2026-27. Why that is defensible, reversible, and entirely about games played.

World Cup of Hockey 2028 runs in Calgary, Edmonton and Prague. Why February 2028 is the worst month for the Maple Leafs' contract structure.

Auston Matthews skating in drills at Arizona State is the first footage since March knee surgery. What it proves, and what it does not.

The Maple Leafs 2026-27 projection spans redemption story to tire fire. The variance is really Auston Matthews knee and Sergei Bobrovsky age.

Toronto is about $2.75M over the ceiling. The Maple Leafs salary cap fix runs through Max Domi LTIR, and it buys less flexibility than fans think.

NHL 27 ratings put Nylander at 93 and Matthews at 92 — a second straight downgrade. The reaction says more about Toronto than the rating does.

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.

Morgan Rielly praised John Chayka's direct approach. It marks a real shift in how the Maple Leafs handle players — and a bill that comes due by February.

A Sidney Crosby extension is expected before mid-September, shrinking the 2027 UFA class — and pushing the Auston Matthews contract question into focus.

The Cutter Gauthier contract standoff — a rejected $52 million offer — resets the NHL's second-contract market and raises the price of Toronto's next deals.

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.

Auston Matthews 40 goals in 2026-27? His down-year rate already projects to 37 over 84 games. Health, not scoring touch, is the real question.

The clearest Auston Matthews injury update all summer came from his chiropractor. Toronto's silence on its captain's knee is a problem, and it is fixable.

Can William Nylander score 50 goals in 2026-27? The math needs his best-ever rate plus full health. Our projection lands at 43, and explains the gap.

William Nylander trade talk is back under John Chayka — but a full no-movement clause through 2031-32 means it is his decision, not Toronto's.

The Matthew Knies contract at $7.75 million gets better every time the cap rises — why it is now the most valuable deal on Toronto's books.

The Cutter Gauthier holdout is freezing the NHL trade market six weeks from camp. What Anaheim has to do next, and why Toronto can only watch it happen.

The NHL's eight-year contract deadline falls Sept. 15, 2026. Cale Makar is the biggest name on the clock, and the Maple Leafs cannot participate at all.

Toronto is the only NHL club with no Maple Leafs expiring contracts on its projected roster for two seasons. Chayka bought certainty and sold optionality.

The Patrik Laine Maple Leafs link is real for the first time. Why Toronto's $2.75M cap overage makes a tryout the only realistic path.

A Max Domi injury update from John Chayka says he's progressing but offers no timeline. His LTIR status is the key to the Maple Leafs' cap compliance.

With Toronto projected over the cap, a Maple Leafs PTO is the only free move left. Who is available, and why a defenceman makes more sense than a winger.

The Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds for 2026-27 sit at +6000, tied 19th league-wide. We think the Cup line is right and the playoff line is soft. Here is why.

The Maple Leafs two-year window is written into the cap sheet and the traded first-round picks. Here is what Chayka can still do before camp.

The NHL salary cap 2027-28 projection of $113.5 million lifts the maximum player salary to $22.7 million, framing Auston Matthews' next Maple Leafs contract.

The Andy O'Brien Maple Leafs hire hands Sidney Crosby's longtime trainer control of Toronto's sport performance department after an injury-wrecked season.

Anthony Stolarz went from a league-leading .926 to .893 in one year. With Bobrovsky at $7 million behind him, he has the most to prove on the Maple Leafs.

Jack Roslovic is the Maple Leafs' cheapest answer to an unsolved top six. At $4 million with 21 goals last season, he belongs on Auston Matthews' wing.

Auston Matthews' rehab reached the shooting stage in Davos, the clearest sign yet that the Maple Leafs captain will be ready for training camp in September.

The NHL signing bonus cap limits new deals to 60 per cent bonus money on September 16. Matthews' contract is 94 per cent bonus — Toronto's best tool is gone.

Gavin McKenna's rookie season goals are a Calder Trophy and a playoff run. The Leafs' No. 1 pick spoke in Chicago about Matthews, Celebrini and pressure.

The Maple Leafs salary cap sits about $2.75M over the $104M ceiling. Here are the three levers Toronto can pull before the Sept. 28 compliance deadline.

The Matthew Knies trade rumours got their firmest denial yet from Leafs AGM Ryan Hardy — and the Morgan Rielly answer was the more revealing one.

Celebrini's NHL-record $18.8M AAV moved the ceiling for elite forwards. Here's what it means for Auston Matthews' next contract with the Maple Leafs.

The remaining NHL free agents are down to Tarasenko, Laine and Bunting after Patrick Kane went back to Chicago. Toronto's cap sheet says wait until September.

The 2027 NHL free agent class added Jason Robertson to a group with Crosby, Makar, Kucherov and Quinn Hughes. For Toronto, it is a bill arriving early.

New CBA contract rules land September 16: shorter terms, no deferred salary, a 20 per cent variance cap, a 71 per cent floor. What it means for Toronto.

A Kirill Marchenko trade is the loudest rumour of the NHL summer, and Columbus beat writers have already knocked it down. Why the Leafs should still call.

The new CBA drops maximum term to seven years for re-signings. What that structural edge means for the Auston Matthews extension and Toronto's 2027 negotiation.

Jason Robertson's one-year, $12-million deal sets up the biggest UFA date of 2027. What Jason Robertson free agency means for the Maple Leafs and Matthews.

Patrik Laine is unsigned and down to tryout offers. At a projected $1-2.5 million, the Patrik Laine Maple Leafs bet is nearly free — Toronto should take it.

The NHL playoff salary cap is now permanent, and the new CBA caps LTIR relief. What it means for the Maple Leafs, Max Domi and John Chayka's deadline plans.

The Matthews-Nylander line dominated when Toronto used it. With Gavin McKenna available for Tavares, Jim Hiller has no good reason left to keep them apart.

Eeli Tolvanen and the Maple Leafs remain linked. The cap math that could clear room for a 20-goal winger — and why Detroit leads the race.

Mitch Marner's Maple Leafs agent says the club 'never protected' him and disputes the Carolina trade story — what the grievance means for Toronto.

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

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.

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.

Auston Matthews' commitment to the Maple Leafs held as his reported mid-July deadline passed with no change — the payoff for Chayka's summer of buying.

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.

Jim Hiller and the Maple Leafs signals a defence-first turn. Here's what his 1-3-1 system changes for the stars, the power play and Toronto's scoring.

Martin Biron's Maple Leafs Atlantic Division prediction has Toronto second. For a team that finished 8th and is trading Rielly, that's a tier too rich.

A Maple Leafs Trocheck trade is live again as John Chayka eyes the Rangers centre, but New York's Knies-level ask is the sticking point Toronto won't meet.

William Nylander gets a clean slate with the Maple Leafs after a tense 2025-26. He still scored 30 goals — here's why keeping him is the right call.

The Maple Leafs plan to put Gavin McKenna on the power play's first unit right away — Toronto's fix for a 15th-ranked group under Daniel Alfredsson.

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.

The Maple Leafs' right-shot winger problem leaves Nylander as the lone right shot up front. Why it matters and why Bjorkstrand is the obvious fix.

Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds sit at +6000 for 2026-27 — 19th in the NHL, behind five Atlantic teams. Why the market still doubts Toronto's retool.

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.

Toronto is counting on Auston Matthews to 'drive the bus.' Coming off a serious knee injury, the Maple Leafs captain's health is the season's biggest variable.

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.

Auston Matthews' knee injury is behind him after March MCL surgery — why a full offseason and a reshaped roster set up a bounce-back season for Toronto.

The Max Domi injury leaves the Leafs forward out indefinitely after back surgery complications. LTIR would free about $3.75M against a tight salary cap.

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

The Zach Werenski Maple Leafs trade is dead: Columbus kept its Norris winner, Toronto's Knies-and-Danford offer fell short, and the top-pairing hole remains.

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.

After the free agency spree, Maple Leafs cap space is gone and Toronto sits over the limit. Why a Rielly or Knies trade is now mandatory to fix a bottom-heavy roster.

The No. 1 pick dominated Maple Leafs development camp this week. Inside what Gavin McKenna showed, why it matters, and the Auston Matthews line question already being asked.

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.

Anders Lee is the Maple Leafs' top winger target for July 1. Why the net-front captain fits Toronto's core, the projected $6.6M deal, and the term risk.

Maple Leafs draft day has arrived: Toronto picks No. 1 overall tonight in Buffalo and is set to take Gavin McKenna, its first top pick since Matthews in 2016.

Opinion: the Maple Leafs shouldn't trade William Nylander. He wants to stay, his $11.5M deal ages well, and he's the bridge to the McKenna era.

The McKenna pick looks like a rebuild, but Chayka kept Matthews, Knies and Nylander and spent cap space. This is a Maple Leafs retool, not a teardown.

Auston Matthews has told John Chayka he's all in, per Pierre LeBrun, settling the summer's loudest Maple Leafs question: the captain is staying for 2026-27.

A Matthew Knies trade is 'not probable,' John Chayka said Friday. After Knies posted 66 points in 79 games, keeping Toronto's young winger is the correct call.

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

Mitch Marner's Stanley Cup Final ended in a 3-0 Game 6 loss as Carolina took the title. The ex-Leaf led playoff scoring, then went pointless.

Mitch Marner and Vegas face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, down 3-2 to Carolina. For Leafs fans, every shift is a reckoning with the trade.

A $104 million cap for 2026-27 makes the Maple Leafs' big contracts look better by the day — and hands Chayka real spending room. The risk is overusing it.

Should the Maple Leafs trade for Mason McTavish? The 23-year-old centre fits Toronto's $104M cap and Domi-thinned depth — but Anaheim's asking price is the catch.

Alex Tuch and the Maple Leafs are a logical fit. With $22M in space and a Marner-sized hole, here's why Toronto should chase the power forward on July 1.

Mitch Marner's Stanley Cup Final hat trick broke Maurice Richard's 69-year-old record, the fastest in Final history, as the former Leaf powers Vegas.

Chayka says Auston Matthews is 'a happy captain' who wants to win in Toronto. We break down what the GM's combine comments mean for the Maple Leafs future.

A Matthew Knies trade to the Canadiens reportedly came down to one minute at the deadline. What Montreal offered and why the new Leafs regime killed it.

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.

Auston Matthews' future became a talking point after a guarded presser answer. Separating confirmed facts from rumour, and what Chayka must get right.

Inside the Matthew Knies trade saga: the six-piece offer Toronto declined, the Chris Johnston bombshell, and why John Chayka refuses to sell.

Max Domi's back surgery complications leave him out indefinitely, gutting the Leafs' centre depth and forcing John Chayka to chase a centre this summer.