Leafs Talk

06 May 2026 01:53:50
Would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on who we should pick. I’m leaning towards a D-man. Chase Reid or Verheoff might be the way to go. We need a puck moving offensive D that can skate.

I look at it as who would you rather from MTL in playoffs if you can only pick one between Caulfied and Hudson. These D have way more impact on the game and very hard to acquire via a trade.

06 May 2026 02:29:28
You draft McKenna. No question about it. Throw a bag at Raddysh and hope he continues his play and becomes our number one.

06 May 2026 03:37:16
Definitely sign McKenna and trade Knies or Cowan, plus whatever else for a top pairing Dman.
Maybe trade with Dallas (need to make space for resigning Robertson), plus Dallas already has 2 solid LD Hieskanen & Bischel
Knies or Cowan, Carlo, Robertson and 2027 1st (Colorado)
For
Harley & Bourque.

06 May 2026 08:57:00
What??? McKenna is a complete stud you have to draft him. The only way I’d take a d is if we move down for a good haul from Vancouver and get a top prospect and the 3rd pick for 1. But still m taking McKenna 100 percent of the time.

06 May 2026 09:06:22
I was hoping the Leafs would of landed at 3 and it would have negated this conversation but you’re right the Leafs have never had that stud dman which is why I said trade out of number one but I can’t help to this what could McKenna be here in Toronto my biggest issue with him is he’s a winger.

05 May 2026 23:20:12
Wooo 1st pick.

02 May 2026 13:37:21
Well Suffering, Marner came through big in a series clinching game with 2 goals and an assist. Most on here would wish he did it for Toronto as well.
Torts said it was his best game of the series and that he looked comfortable on the ice.

I guess Torts wanted him to do more offensively after all, since his best game is the one he produced in.

02 May 2026 12:47:31
@RLF We sure Mitchy doesn't check this site? Lol.

I watched a lot of that game and he looked better than I have ever seen him in Toronto. If he keeps playing like that night in and night out he will win a cup in his career for sure.

02 May 2026 13:27:13
LL. Apparently he was checking into the Vegas sites for the last 3 years. lol

02 May 2026 14:37:43
Make fun of him all you want. He did something incredible this year though.... He outscored the whole complete team of the Leafs in the Playoffs by himself. lol lol

03 May 2026 05:44:31
@auffering, who made fun of him?

I commented that he will win a cup because he played such an epic game and I wish he did so with the Leafs. Where in that comment did you read any degradation towards Marner?

I enjoy your insights on many things, but you need to calm down with the high strung comments.

RLF and I made a joke about the guy, after commenting about his amazing game.

Chill buddy.

03 May 2026 11:24:49
I’m chill. My post was also in jest hence the lol. I wasn’t poking fun at you it was in reply to RLF with the checking the Vegas sites comments. I followed a fun poke with a fun poke. I have no issue with you guys at all. Now a few others on here make me roll my eyes. All good dudes. Enjoy the weekend.

01 May 2026 08:54:00
I can't be the only one here that's been watching these playoffs thinking about Marner.

Mitchy has been a non-factor through 5 games as one of the highest paid forwards in the NHL.

I understand why everyone is saying Mitch leaving is what tanked the Leafs, but watching his performance with a new team has to also show that even making the playoffs with Marner, nothing would have changed (not that he had a good reg.

season either though).

I am still happy with (in a round about way) getting a first for Marner's expiring contract. He's still the same choke artist that needs an elite centre in order to thrive, he was in Toronto.

01 May 2026 12:20:37
Agree with pretty much everything LL. Except, I actually don't understand how people would think Marner leaving would tank the Leafs. Put simply, the team underperformed. They should have been a solid enough team and not a bottom 5 team. Coaching may have had something to do with it, but this is on the players.

01 May 2026 12:50:09
@LeafsLife...Do you mean he is a non factor because of his point production? If so, then you have missed what Tortorella is doing. He has been movning Marner around from line to line as he line matches and has Marner playing in a shutdown roll and maxing him as well on the PK. He said when he got there that is what he wanted from Marner and he has bought into it. He might only in some people's eyes have 4 assists in 5 games but his last one when he and Howden tagged-teamed along the boards to turn the puck over for the OT winner by Howden was huge.

If you watch, there was no player on the ice as excited as Marner.

I agree with RLF that the onus in Toronto was on the players. I am not a Berube fan but he is not the one who has had Matthews Shooting percentage drop nor Matthews' Shot speed drop consistently in the last 4 years.

01 May 2026 13:50:01
I have not watched every Vegas game, not going to pretend I have, but statistically speaking, it doesn't match up with a shut down role and being maxxed on the PK.
Marner is getting his 20+ mins a night. He has just over 7 mins of PK time in 5 games (about 1:30 per game), which isn't much. Compare that to over 20 mins of PP time (4 mins per game). His 5 on 5 zone starts are over 58% O-zone. Dowd, Scissions and Smith get heavily weighted D-zone starts at even strength. Marner has 0 even strength points. 2 assists on the PP and 2 assists on the PK (last 2 games).


He is getting shut down at even strength, which is pretty much what happened in Toronto and most complained about. Only 7 shots on net at even strength, 5 hits, 3 blocks, 1 takeaway and 2 giveaways. Those are not star stats by any means. Compare that to Eichel who has 6 even strength points in 5 games and 8 overall. It's not whether Marner is a good player imo, because he is. It's about whether he can up his game in the playoffs, which he doesn't. His point production drops off and he becomes very average at 5 on 5 play in the playoffs. That hasn't changed in Vegas so far.

01 May 2026 14:23:22
Torts loves him and is using him in 5 on 5 shutdown role. He is a +2 five on five. On specialty teams, he is doing a great job. Vegas has 3 PP goals; he assisted on 2 of them. On PK, they have 2 goals and he assisted on both.

People can love or hate him, but he has been given a role by Torts and, for such a hard coach to please, he is doing that role well. I have watched all the games and he is working and skating hard every shift.

01 May 2026 14:42:31
Suffering, would you pay a player $12.5M to be a shutdown guy? Of course not. I didn't say he has been a big liability, but like it or not, he is paid to produce. There is no way Vegas wouldn't want to see more production, creating more opportunities and game control from him.

He's getting over 20 mins a night. It isn't all just to shut the other team down 5 on 5 and be good on special teams. You can pay a guy half his money to do that. He is supposed to be one of the best playmakers in the League and in his prime.

01 May 2026 16:48:09
If the goal was to win a cup, I would use anyone in any position to do it regardless of salary. We are talking about Torts and his system is not and never has been freewheeling. Don’t forget that Vegas was in danger of falling out of the playoffs with a GAA of 3.07 under Cassidy.

Torts stepped in, got them into playoffs with GAA in last 8 games of 1.88.

You might not like Marner RLF but the point is Torts and his teammates there do.

01 May 2026 17:28:07
Suffering. When did I say I don't like Marner? I actually said he is a good player.
You understand the narrative you are trying to sell. Basically you are saying Vegas trades Roy to Toronto so they can give Marner 8 years at $12.5M and then turn him into the player they traded away to get him that was making $3M. Pretty sure that wasn't the plan.
His coach and teammates in Toronto seemed to like him too. Neither is Berube's system freewheeling.

Not sure what that has to do with him having no even strength points in 5 games and you somehow knowing that is what Vegas is happy with and his coach wants. I'm not in management meetings and the dressing room and neither are you. No one knows for certain, as much as you want to have me believe you know, that Vegas is happy with Marner not producing as long as he isn't getting beat defensively.

01 May 2026 19:07:55
Maybe I am a fool. But if they win this series, if I was coaching, I would love that he played how I told him to and was +2 on five on five even without points. But got us 2 shorthanded goals with his assists. A lot of players would not check their egos and do that role. He and Howden are doing their job to line match and let Eichel's line get some free reign to get their points. Eichel has one goal but no-one is calling for his head.

I remember last year when Marner had 13 points and 2 goals and Matthews had 11 points and 3 goals. All the fingers pointed at Marner but it was only a minor push back on the magic goal scorer Matthews. Crazy part is Marner is now playing his most intense hockey I have seen him play and people who are not even Vegas fans are criticizing his lack of production.

01 May 2026 21:24:16
It's that you are trying soooo hard to give him credit. You also just said he is now playing the most intense hockey you have ever seen him play and then complain Toronto fans got in him. You just admitted he is trying harder in Vegas. Eichel is no more a goal scorer than Marner. They both get 25-30 a year on average and both weigh heavily on assists for points.


You say I have bias against Marner, yet you are trying so hard to say a point producer who doesn't produce in the playoffs is somehow still playing a major role because of his defensive numbers. The bias is obvious my friend.

01 May 2026 21:37:47
Ok you win. He is playing horrible and they should bench him. That will teach him a lesson for playing 200 foot hockey in the playoffs as instructed. :o)

01 May 2026 22:00:40
Quick question for you RLF. How many points do you feel Marner should have right now in the playoffs to justify his contract?

01 May 2026 22:25:20
Again, I never said he was playing horrible. It was about him not creating or producing much. Being a playoff non factor. Then you came in saying we are obviously missing how he is being used and how effective he really is and how everyone and the coach love how he is playing. Fact is, he is not producing in the playoffs again and people can't say it's a Toronto thing. If he is as motivated as you say, would have been nice to see him that way in Toronto.

Let's see if he produces in game 6/7 because he never did here. It's not just a points thing and you know that. I get you want me to say a certain points number so you can say he got those kind of points in Toronto and people still complained. You're looking for a gotcha moment, but don't consider 0 even strength points in 5 games as a valid argument that he is a offensive non factor again.

01 May 2026 23:15:08
You even just said "It's not just a points thing" but then you say it is the 0 even strength points. So then what is it he has to do to impress you? He is playing incredible defense and getting shorthanded points (none bigger than the assist in Overtime in Game 5 and power play points).



So are they calling to run Connor McDavid out of town because he had only two 5 on 5 points with no goals out of his 6 points and he was a -8 on 5 on 5?

02 May 2026 00:18:11
Nice try. I'm done.

29 Apr 2026 03:23:12
So it's going to be Sundin as president of hockey ops and Chayka as GM.

I never would have predicted this. Sending with zero experience and Chayka having been out of the league for years.

When people said they wanted to go in a different direction I guess Pelley agreed.

This could be the most insane, worst decision of upper management in Leafs history or a great, outside the box choice.

29 Apr 2026 15:40:40
If this ends up true, I would think we will also see an experienced advisor also hired.

30 Apr 2026 09:21:39
Truthfully Pelley will set this franchise back to before Auston Matthews. I sincerely hope we get Scott White over Chayka. Also sounding like Berube has a good chance of being back, which is another strike.

24 Apr 2026 13:29:46
Toronto should seriously consider giving Mark Jankowski a fair deal. He’d be a solid 4th-line center, good on the PK, and can slot in on the wing too. Plays a pretty mistake-free game, and that kind of reliability isn’t freee. I’d say around $1.8M x 4 years.

So what’s the verdict here? Is Jankowski actually a useless player, or are people underrating him?

24 Apr 2026 16:10:11
He has not earned more than $800,000 for the last 6 years why would you give him a million more per season? For 4 years.

25 Apr 2026 08:12:40
He’s not playing for $800k anymore. He had a strong season, and with the kind of tools Jankowski brings, you have to pay a bit for that. The cap is going up too, so locking him in as a 4C and PK guy for a few years would be an easy and sensible move. Toronto’s young centers are still a couple of years away from being NHL-ready, so they need to bring in a capable center through free agency or a trade.

Welcome, Jankowski... or at least hopefully welcome.

Also seen that Jason Robertson for William Nylander trade idea floating around… I’d be on board with that.

25 Apr 2026 12:03:04
So let's see. His salary going backwards for the last 6 years was 800,800,775,750,750,700 in thousands of course. He has had trouble staying healthy or playing full-time in the NHL without stints in the minors. Only the last 2 years has he not gone to the minors in those 6 years. He is a 4th line player. He had a decent year for a fourth liner but still again missed 14 games with injury.

I would give him a offer for $1 million which is a 25% increase but I am not giving him a 225% increase. For scoring .308 points a game. His career average is .300 points a game. So it's not like he blew up and found a big jump in scoring. $1 million is a fair offer for what he is and is going to be 32 at the start of the season.

25 Apr 2026 12:16:00
If you are looking for a player in that salary range that might accept a 1.8 or 2.0 million that will get a lot of interest, that can bring physicality and showed this year he can actually play some offense. Look at A.

J Greer from Florida. Free agent at $850.000 granted that is like earning $1.2 in Toronto, the Florida tax thing. So he may even have to get a hike to $2.5 in Toronto but he brings a big physical edge we are missing too.

25 Apr 2026 18:39:00
What about Teddy Blueger? At a similar price, he’s a smart, reliable option to handle the 4C role.

25 Apr 2026 21:03:51
Plays too soft. We need a 4th line that is fast but physical, they don't have to be high scoring but not weak defensively either, but other teams better lines are aware they are on the ice and nervous when we get home team line matching advantage at certain points in a game.

When Joshua is healthy with two similar players with him they can be that. Lorentz is good in that regard and as I said a Guy like A. J Greer can fill that role but he is also good enough to slot into the 3rd line as well to give toughness there as well.