Leafs Getting “Kraken” On Being Sellers

The Toronto Maple Leafs put together another listless performance in a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, giving up a goal on the first shot and falling behind after allowing two goals in 31 seconds in the second period, a deficit that they never recovered from. Nick Robertson and Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto, and Anthony Stolarz allowed four goals on 21 shots in his second start since returning from the longest day-to-day injury in the history of day-to-day injuries. 

If Leafs management needed any more convincing of going down the road of a re-tool of their roster, the results of Thursday’s games should push them in that direction. Toronto entered the day trailing third place in the Atlantic Division and the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots by eight points. All three teams occupying those spots (Buffalo, Boston, and Montreal) won, as did conference foes Tampa Bay, New Jersey, the NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Carolina, and Washington. The Leafs now find themselves in second-last in the conference with 57 points,  10 points in back of the Sabres, Bruins, and Habs. 

Any sane observer of the Leafs current predicament has to come to the realization that any chance of the postseason is over with and that GM Brad Treliving has to shift his focus from a buying posture to being a seller, in an attempt to recoup as many assets as possible, but currently there are mixed signals of where the club’s hierarchy is willing to go. Darren Dreger on TSN’s Insider Trading Thursday indicated that Treliving and head coach Craig Berube are not quite ready to throw in the towel, but that was before the club fell behind double-digits in the playoff race. It could simply be a ploy by Leafs management to play hard to get in terms of some of the players who conceivably could become available, because denying their current situation is proof of being detached from reality. 

Conversely, on Friday’s 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman hinted that talks regarding Toronto players will intensify, but does not know whether anything major will happen before the Olympic roster freeze next Wednesday. Friedman believes that Treliving is going to put a lot of names out on the market to see what the level of interest is.   

One name that is getting more frequent mention is pending UFA winger Bobby McMann. According to the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, contract negotiations are at a status quo right now with McMann’s camp, and the results of this road trip will likely determine what path the Leafs take leading up to the trade deadline. Pagnotta indicates that the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings have interest.

The Oilers would be the most intriguing of destinations for the Wainwright, Alberta native, since GM Stan Bowman is looking for a top-six winger and has little to no cap space available, but McMann’s $1.35 million salary would make that less of a burden. The Oilers do not have a 2026 first-round pick, but do have their top pick in 2027, and young forward prospects like Issac Howard and Matthew Savoie that could intrigue the Leafs.