The Toronto Maple Leafs are going through an offseason of change and there may be a number of veterans who will be traded.
After coming off of their worst season in a decade, the Maple Leafs have overhauled their front office. They’ve hired John Chayka to take over general manager duties and hired Leafs great and former longtime veteran Mats Sundin to be an Executive Adviser of Hockey Operations.
The new front office regime hasn’t taken long to put their imprint on things, trading for Tampa Bay Lightning star Darren Raddysh and unloading former goalie Joseph Woll. Those moves may not be the last, with names such as Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly being mentioned as potential names that could be traded.
Gavin McKenna Draft Pick Could Lead to More Leafs Trades
As Jeremy Tingley of The Leafs Nation mentions in his column of possible players that could be traded, left winger Nick Robertson is one of five names mentioned in the category of “Most Likely To Be Traded This Summer.” The 24-year-old Robertson — who was a draft pick of the Leafs back in 2019 — is coming off of a career season with 32 points and 16 goals, ranking sixth on the team in goals.
Tingley’s argument is that the Leafs are bound to select generational winger Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and mentions a roster overload at the position with Knies and Easton Cowan. That would leave Robertson as the odd man out.
Robertson is technically a restricted free agent this offseason, which would mean the Leafs would have to do a sign-and-trade with the 5-foot-9 winger.
“With Knies, Cowan and very likely McKenna at left wing, Robertson’s future with the Maple Leafs is in limbo,” said Tingley. “He’s a pending restricted free agent, and given he’s not suited for a third-line role, Chayka will be scrolling the trade market on Robertson to find a better situation for the player. Robertson admitted he doesn’t know if he’ll be back with the team, and at this point, all signs are pointing to an offseason deal.”
Why Nicholas Robertson Could Be Traded
It’s a major question mark as to who exactly the Leafs are going to move, but it’s clear that they’re reloading by moving key pieces. Robertson would make sense if they do retain Knies and Cowan given his youth and the fact that he’s coming off of a career season.
With that being said, Knies and Cowan are also possibilities to be moved, with Knies obviously the biggest name of them all. The 23-year-old Knies posted 23 goals and 66 total points last season, ranking fourth on the team in goals and third in total points.
Chayka left the open the possibility of evaluating “everything” while addressing trade rumors, but basically hinted that it would take a large overhaul to unload Knies.
“As my job as general manager, we’re gonna evaluate everything,” Chayka said. “The idea that we’re gonna improve the roster by moving, you know, a top young player, yeah, anything’s possible.
“I guess it’s not probable,” Chayka continued in regard to Knies. “But as we think about our team and, you know, how we improve, that’s a tough bar to hurdle.”
We’ll see what the Leafs end up doing, but if your name is not Auston Matthews or William Nylander, chances are there’s a possibility you could be traded if you’re currently on Toronto’s roster.
Maple Leafs’ 24-Year-Old Winger Considered ‘Most Likely To Be Traded’