The Toronto Maple Leafs will open training camp on their 2025-26 season on Wednesday, without the presence of Mitch Marner for the first time in over a decade. The club unlike some recent campaigns, will have some lineup questions, including who will replace the departed winger on the top line, and where newcomers Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua will be plugged into the lineup.
While that should be enough drama for one camp, it continues to appear that Leafs GM Brad Treliving may not be done tinkering with his roster, even at this late date. There had been speculation that Toronto may have had interest in UFA blueliner Matt Grzelcyk (based on a mention from agent Darren Ferris on a recent podcast), the former Bruin has signed a PTO with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Another report, from TSN’s Darren Dreger, indicated that the Leafs might have interest in former Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube. Drafted by Treliving in 2016, the 27-year-old had consecutive 18-goal seasons in Calgary in 2022 and 2023, but struggled the following year (3 goals, 4 assists in 43 games) before being suspended by the NHL.
Dreger indicates that three members of the 2018 Team Canada World Junior squad who were found not guilty of sexual assault (Dube, former New Jersey center Michael McLeod, and goalie Carter Hart), are likely not going to have any problem finding NHL jobs, and that Dube could be a candidate to potentially fill a top-six role with the Leafs.
If this player was just a generic unrestricted free agent, it might be something that Treliving should explore, but the stigma of signing one of these players, especially in the biggest hockey media market in the NHL, is something that would make the distraction the club endured with Marner last season pale in comparison. Even if Dube or McLeod will willing to sign at an NHL-minimum prove-it deal, it is not a good idea.
A player who has been linked to the Leafs all summer in free agent Jack Roslovic is curiously still unsigned. Roslovic, 28, scored 22 goals in Carolina last season and can play both center and wing, which has been the reason of his being connected to clubs like Vancouver in search of center depth. There has been speculation that the former US National Development Program teammate of Auston Matthews is waiting for Toronto to clear cap space to enable him to be signed.
The status of center David Kampf, wingers Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson are still up in the air as camp is about to open. It is possible that Treliving will only pull the trigger on a Roslovic signing after moving one of the three forwards.
