The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2025 offseason featured significant roster changes, including the departure of star winger Mitch Marner, as the team aimed to retool its lineup with added depth.
They acquired forwards Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Matias Maccelli to bolster their roster. The Leafs also secured key extensions, signing Matthew Knies to a six-year contract with a $7.75M AAV, John Tavares to a four-year deal at $4.3 million AAV, and Steven Lorentz to a three-year contract at $1.35M AAV.
Despite these moves, the team still has a noticeable gap in its top-six forward group. NHL analyst Shayna Goldman of The Athletic rated her concern for the Toronto Maple Leafs at 8/10 in her latest article.
She identified two primary issues that hindered the team last season: their star players underperformed in the playoffs, and the bottom six lacked sufficient support. The additions of new faces address some of these concerns.
If the Maple Leafs can maximize the potential of these three players, who each faced challenges last season, it could resolve the bottom-six issue. However, the top six still has a significant gap with Mitch Marner’s departure.
"But there is still a Mitch Marner-sized hole in the top six. As flawed as his Maple Leafs tenure was, and though his regular-season caliber didn’t translate to a postseason environment consistently enough, he was still capable of putting up 100 points in the regular season. And there were some glimpses of that star potential in the playoffs," she wrote.
"For a team facing the pressure to finally go on a deep run, the offseason feels incomplete with that glaring hole in the top six."
Following Mitch Marner's trade to the Golden Knights, the team has been looking to fill the gap left in their top-six forward group. GM Brad Traliving has indicated that the top six is a priority, with the team reportedly exploring trade options and free agents to bolster their lineup.
Who could replace Mitch Marner as Auston Matthews' new linemate on Maple Leafs?
NHL analyst Mark Masters suggested Max Domi as an ideal replacement for Mitch Marner to play alongside Auston Matthews. Speaking on TSN, Masters noted that Domi and Matthews have good chemistry.
He acknowledged some hesitation, suggesting there might be reluctance to place either William Nylander or Domi in that role. Masters added that there is no perfect solution or player to fill that spot currently.
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"I'd put (Max) Domi there," Masters said. "He and Matthews work well. I'm sure there's some reluctance, right?” "Maybe you don't want Nylander there. Maybe you don't want Domi there, of course," Masters said. "But there's no perfect answer to the question right now. There's no perfect player to slot in there."
Mitch Marner departed the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending nine seasons with the club. The two-time NHL All-Star winger notched 741 career points through 221 goals and 520 assists.
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