With the Toronto Maple Leafs letting go of star winger Mitch Marner via a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, the team will undoubtedly have a different look and feel heading into the 2025–26 season. The Leafs’ top line, on which Marner was a fixture at the right wing, will require a replacement to play alongside captain and star centre, Auston Matthews, and his presumed left-wing co-star, 22-year-old Matthew Knies.
But who will Craig Berube ultimately choose to replace Marner on the first line? Here are the four options that make the most sense, as well as the option that the Leafs will most likely go with.
William Nylander
Out of all the options that we will go over, William Nylander is the one that most fans have pointed to as the ideal replacement for Marner on the top line, and for good reason. With Matthews having a down year in scoring (33 goals and 78 points in 67 games), mostly due to injury, Nylander took another step in the goal department, putting up 45 goals in 82 games— a career high for the Swede.
While he didn’t put up the same assist totals that Marner did last season—Nylander had just 39 compared to Marner’s 75—Nylander has shown elite skill in setting up his teammates, registering a career high 58 assists in 2023–24. That passing ability, along with his elite speed and scoring, would make Nylander a worthy replacement for Marner on the Leafs’ top line.
Additionally, on the financial end of things, Nylander is entering the second year of an eight-year deal that pays him an average annual value of $11.5M per season. That makes him the second-highest-paid player on the team behind Matthews, and the Leafs may want to give Nylander an increased role to get the most out of the deal.
Bobby McMann
Bobby McMann was relatively unknown coming into the 2023–24 season, but that quickly changed when he scored 15 goals in 56 games that season. While McMann did slow down production-wise last year, he still managed to put up a career-best 20 goals and 34 points in 74 games, making himself a near-permanent fixture on the Leafs’ third line in the process.
McMann may not be the elite scorer that Nylander is, but he majorly stepped up last season while only averaging 14:30 minutes of ice time per game. If the Leafs want to have Nylander on the second line to spread out their star power, McMann could be a good addition to the top line, given his solid speed and ability to affect solid play on the ice, as shown by his plus-12 plus/minus rating last season.
One area of concern with moving McMann to the top line right wing spot is that he would be thrown into a much bigger role where he would be up against the opponent’s best defencemen. While that more powerful opposition could result in McMann taking a big step this season, it could also expose him as a weak link on the first line.
Max Domi
The third option for Marner’s replacement on the top line, Max Domi, has primarily played at the centre position on the Leafs’ third line, but he has seen some success playing on the wing next to Matthews, setting up the Leafs’ captain with his excellent passing ability. This passing was his primary strength for the Buds in the past two seasons, contributing 33 assists in 2024–25 and 47 in 2023–24, so if he can bring that to the Leafs’ No. 1 line to set up Knies and Matthews, it could be a good move for the team.
Domi also plays with a lot of grit and physicality, much like Knies, so having both of them together on the top line could make for a very imposing first group for the Leafs.
But while Domi could be an interesting fit on the first line, it is important to note that losing him as a centre on a lower line could be an issue. Additionally, like with McMann, having to play against the opposing team’s best defenders every game could expose Domi as an outlier on the top line.
Matias Maccelli
Newly acquired winger Matias Maccelli also seems like a good fit, if he can get back to his level of play from two seasons ago. He’s the most Marner-like player in the forward corps, with great vision and passing ability.
The big question for Maccelli is how he can get back on track after a tough year in 2024–25. His production fell off a cliff, dropping from 57 points to just 18, and he actually found himself on the outside looking in on Utah.
If he can get back to form and produce 50–60 points, he’s a perfect fit beside Matthews. He’s defensively responsible, gets the puck to the middle of the ice, and will be the most natural replacement for Marner on the top line.
Who should it be?
While McMann and Domi are both excellent players in their own right, and Maccelli has potential, Nylander is clearly the best choice to replace Marner on the top line. He was the team’s top goal scorer last season, and he would add a nice dose of speed and finesse to the team’s top unit.
Pairing Nylander with Knies and Matthews would not only give Nylander the potential to reach new career heights, but it could also do the same for his linemates, given Nylander’s underrated ability to set up his teammates. And when it comes to playoff time, Nylander, who has been the team’s best playoff performer since the start of the 2020s, would certainly be a welcome addition up top.
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