NHL Trade Rumors: Insider links $27,500,000 34-year-old veteran to Maple Leafs following playoff elimination

In the wake of the Toronto Maple Leafs' postseason elimination on Sunday, when they lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference second round to the Florida Panthers on home ice, speculation is on the rise about what new faces could appear on Toronto’s top line next season.

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman offered his opinion on which players he thinks could be a good fit on the Maple Leafs next season as the team grapples with yet another disappointing postseason departure.

On Monday’s episode of Sportsnet’s “32 Thoughts: The Podcast,” Friedman offered a somewhat surprising name of a veteran he can envision on the roster: 34-year-old Jonathan Marchessault. The 2023 Conn Smythe winner with the Golden Knights, Marchessault, inked a five-year, $27.5 million deal with Nashville after playing for Vegas for seven seasons.

"I want to say I'm throwing this purely at the wall,” Friedman said (28:58). “Okay, I'm doing this with no knowledge. I don't even know that the player would want to do this. Jonathan Marchessault.

“So again, it's just me throwing stuff. I freely admit it's purely out of the top of my head. Tough year in Nashville; they need to make some changes. You know, he's 34 years old, four more years fierce competitor, I don't know, depending how it all shakes out. That was another name that jumped into my head" (29:25).

A veteran of 12 NHL seasons, Marchessault spent the 2024-25 campaign in Nashville, skating in 78 games in his debut season with the Predators and collecting 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists).

NHL: Nashville Predators at Vegas Golden Knights - Source: Imagn

The Florida Panthers will play the host Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

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Toronto Maple Leafs lose seventh straight Game 7

The Panthers’ 6-1 rout of the Maple Leafs on Sunday marked Toronto’s seventh-straight Game 7 loss, and fifth straight scoring only one goal.

The Maple Leafs' 6-1 blowout loss to the Panthers represented Toronto's ninth consecutive postseason loss, as well as another early exit, as the team has failed to reach the conference final in over 20 years (2002, vs. Carolina).

To further rub salt into the deep wound, Toronto entered the playoffs as the top seed in the Atlantic Division with 108 points, and Sunday's five-goal setback equaled the greatest Game 7 goal differential in league history. Two of Toronto’s top linemen, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, are eligible to become unrestricted free agents in July.