Typically, by this point in the NHL offseason, teams have secured the meat of what their roster will look like for the upcoming season, with any lingering questions to answer and holes to address existing on the periphery of the depth chart (such as adding Dakota Joshua). That may or may not be the case at this point for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Amidst rumours surrounding the likes of Erik Karlsson and questions over whether general manager (GM) Brad Treliving may still try to swing a big trade, it’s unclear whether the club’s roster is mostly set or if more moves are on the horizon.
If the current iteration of the Maple Leafs is something close to the end product – at least as it pertains to opening night of the 2025-26 season – then there are clearly some holes. That’s what happens when a player of Mitch Marner’s caliber walks out the door and no corresponding star player walks in. Whether those holes are filled via trade or the club attempts to address them internally is the question that will frame the rest of Toronto’s summer (or at least until moves are made).
What makes the supposed pursuit of Karlsson so curious, however, is that it is among the forward corps that those holes are the most glaring. Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies and John Tavares are set for the top-six, but Marner’s departure leaves a noticeable gap. There’s probably room for one of Bobby McMann or Max Domi to find a role on the top two lines as well, although that still feels a little thin amidst what should be the most offensively potent part of the lineup.
The good news regarding the top-six conundrum is that the Maple Leafs still have options at their disposal. Barring some surprising late offseason player movement, here are some of the most notable and likely ones:
Matias Maccelli
Is Matias Maccelli a viable replacement for Marner? Certainly not. However, a key element of Toronto’s acquisition of the former Utah Mammoth forward seems to be predicated on seeing if his playmaking can be better weaponized alongside the likes of Matthews, Nylander, Knies and Tavares rather than Jack McBain and Lawson Crouse. In that sense, perhaps the 24-year-old’s new team can help elevate him to become a viable top-six mainstay.
While many roles amongst the Maple Leafs’ current roster seem to be largely established, Maccelli’s bears watching. If Toronto gets the 2023-24 version of the winger that recorded 17 goals and 57 points as an Arizona Coyote, he will likely have the chance to stick with the club’s star players up front. If he suffers through another bumpy, inconsistent season as he did in 2024-25, the team probably can’t trust him much outside of a depth role.
While not the same caliber of player, it’s hard to ignore that – apart from the penalty-killing, Maccelli brings a similar skill set to what Marner offered the Maple Leafs for many years. That skill set has obviously worked within the chemistry of the team, at least at the elite level that Marner offered. Maccelli isn’t expected to fill those skates, but even filling a ‘Marner lite’ role would make Maccelli an asset on the top lines.
A Forward Moving Up the Depth Chart
Beyond Maccelli, it’s tough to see many established NHLers on the Maple Leafs’ roster with the high-end skill to carve out a regular place among the top-six. That doesn’t, however, mean there isn’t a guy who could either thrive as a complementary piece to some of Toronto’s stars or see some untapped potential unlocked by playing alongside them.
Assuming no further forward additions are forthcoming, you can figure that any middle-six option in the ranks might get some consideration. McMann is coming off of a 20-goal campaign in what was his first full season in the NHL. Domi once scored 28 goals, although that was a number of years ago. If restricted free agent Nicholas Robertson ultimately returns to the Maple Leafs, he might be worth one more shot – he is, after all, still only 23 years of age.
Filling top-six spots from within isn’t the most exciting option available, but it would be the simplest. It would also help create opportunities for the current glut of forwards further down the lineup. Perhaps most significantly, it would leave the club free to address the top of their forward ranks as we get closer to playoff time. A top-six of Matthews, Nylander, Knies, Tavares, Maccellli and Domi, for instance, would probably be sufficient to maintain a postseason position while leaving room to upgrade before the trade deadline.
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Easton Cowan
Okay, now let’s get a little crazier. Easton Cowan just turned 20 in late May, but why can’t he cement a place with the Maple Leafs this fall? The 28th pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft has achieved everything possible at the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) level, winning two league titles and a Memorial Cup, while earning OHL and Memorial Cup MVP honours along the way. As a training camp invitee last season, he made his share of mistakes during an up-and-down camp but also demonstrated tantalizing flashes of skill.
Cowan remains a popular subject of trade speculation, as is typically the case for the top prospect of a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. But in focusing on his own capacity to play a meaningful role on the 2025-26 Maple Leafs, he does have a path towards earning a spot with a strong camp and getting the opportunity to play alongside talented teammates who could help maximize his considerable skill.
The Marner parallels would make for a tasty narrative under this scenario. Like Marner, Cowan would have transitioned from a championship London Knights team directly to the Maple Leafs. Marner posted 19 goals and 61 points in 77 games during his rookie season, so expectations for Cowan could escalate pretty quickly should he make the big club. That the Mount Bridges, ON native would, in a sense, be replacing the new Vegas Golden Knight would just make things that much more interesting.
An Outside Addition
Even after adding the likes of Maccelli, Joshua, Nicolas Roy, Michael Pezzetta and numerous depth players, there are subsequent options for adding more talent from outside of the organization to address the top of the forward corps should Treliving choose to pursue them. While the Karlsson rumours obviously don’t jibe with bolstering the team up front, there has been buzz around a Nazem Kadri reunion and some speculation that the Pittsburgh Penguins and GM Kyle Dubas could be open to moving Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust.
Of course, you can’t have a conversation about acquiring players without considering both the cap implications and the acquisition cost involved. Even after adding Joshua, the Maple Leafs have just under $3 million in cap space, not enough to absorb the salary of an impact player but a strong starting point before needing to create additional space.
In terms of trade assets, Toronto has stood firm to date on being unwilling to part with Cowan. They do, however, have a large collection of depth forwards and could see if teams might be interested in any of David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok or even Robertson. Furthermore, the Maple Leafs’ blue line depth has invited speculation on the potential of a defenceman being dangled, with Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo having faced trade rumours of late.
As currently comprised, the Maple Leafs do not have a complete, fully fleshed-out roster. Heck, they may not have one by the time the regular season opens on Oct. 8, either. Treliving and the front office have options at their disposal, but also know they have enough talent to not feel pressured to rush into addressing the top-six. As the summer rolls along and the calendar hits August, it looks increasingly likely that the club will wait to see what they have before making any further big moves. That being said, a Cowan promotion or a Kadri homecoming could be pretty exciting, too.
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