Leafs Trade Rumors

07 Jul 2026 12:34:49
Not sure if this is even worth while, but here goes.
Risky and lots of hurdles to cross as far as NMC's & M-NTC's.

To NJ
Stolarz $3.75M/ 4yrs
Rielly $7.5M/ 4yrs
Joshua $3.25M/ 2yrs
$14.5M out

To Toronto
Allen, Jake $1.8M/ 4yrs
Kovacevic $4.0M/ 4yrs
Mercer $4.M/ 1yr RFA
$9.8M in

Risky - Leafs
Allen will be 36 soon, so we are even more reliant on Bob being good & staying healthy. Two older goalies now.
Kovacevic had major knee surgery during the 2024/ 2025 playoffs & returned to Jersey in January this year, but did play all remaining games.

Risky - Devils
Stolarz being #1 golalie with his injury history.

Anyways, Leafs clear much needed cap space and are now under the cap.
They get more of a backup goalie behind Bob at a lower AAV.
They get another shutdown Dman who plays physical & can PK (PK Dman needed)
They get a young versatile RH player who can play any RW position, fill in at C and is a great 200 foot player.

Jersey gets their #1 goalie, who is a homegrown Jersey boy.
They get another puck moving Dman, which they are looking for to balance out their lines.
3 shutdown guys in Siegenthaler, Pesce & Dillon and now 3 puck moving guys in Hughes, Hamilton & Rielly.
Joshua should fit in seamlessly on 3LW with Glass & Rodrigues.

Hurdles
Rielly agreeing to waive for NJ, he has good history with Keefe so hopefully that sways his decision.
Stolarz 10 team no trade, which I'm sure he'd waive for his home town and the chance to be the #1 goalie.
Also Allen, Kovacevic & Joshua have to waive their M-NTC is either team us on their list.

***It's just crazy how many player's have some form of NTC.

Thoughts?

07 Jul 2026 13:21:03
Don’t like it for only saving $4.7m and making the team worse in the process. Better trades out there.

07 Jul 2026 13:27:21
The trade does not make the Leafs worse!

07 Jul 2026 14:52:17
Ignore my first response. What I should have said is no way Devils agree to this trade for that package. Mercer going nowhere. They would want to get rid of Hamilton for Rielly. Stolarz for Allen they would do for sure.

Their left side will be ridiculous in cap hits with Rielly and Hamilton there. Never happen. Then there is no cap relief for Leafs it would balance out taking on Hamilton and Allen for Stolarz and Rielly.

06 Jul 2026 22:18:34
Crazy trade idea---

Toronto get

Nate Schmidt
Julian Lutz ( Germany's McMann)
Utah 2027 2nd round pick

Utah receives

Morgan Rielly

Why not?

Caphit is ok now.

07 Jul 2026 00:24:03
Hard pass from Utah

07 Jul 2026 01:08:46
I’m still so upset we lost McMann. Would have fit perfectly on this team. Could of saved us from getting Roslovic too.

07 Jul 2026 01:30:47
Why would Utah give up 3 pieces for Morgan Rielly, a player Leafs are trying to dump?

06 Jul 2026 17:53:11
The Carlsson offer sheet has been a good discussion. I am staring it anew as it has gotten long to reach the bottom comments.

As I had posted; there is more to an offer sheet than just stealing a guy for cash. There can be hard feelings on the team that gets him. League ripple effects etc.
I don't have issue with Briere using a offer sheet and he can offer whatever he wants to. I still think it is a stupid amount to give Carlsson for 5 years of service. As well as, it is going to cost Briere on his own team in the long run.

The obvious reason, it is a ridiculous overpay even if Carlsson wanted $14-$15M (still ridiculous imo) Brier could have offered $15/$16 and still made Anaheim pay more than they wanted to. If Carlsson didn't think he was going to get it from Anaheim, he would have still likely signed a $15M offer sheet. But no, Briere had to go to $18M.

2. They are only paying Konecny $8.75M over the next 5 years. Hard to believe guys like him, Sanheim, Couturier, Tippet aren't going to have some hard feelings when they all have 4-5 years left and in most cases making $10-$12M less than a 21 year old they offer sheeted.

3. Zegras and Drysdale still need deals and I would think they just upped their ask and why wouldn't they when they saw what he offered Carlsson.

4. Michkov next year and Martone in two years need deals. Briere just set the tone for what he is willing to pay. If either/both are about point per game players at that time, how do they not ask for at least $15-18M or more. If Briere refuses and says $8M or $9M or $10M is his offer, that is a huge slap in the face and those guys will likely want out and rightfully so.

5. Going after UFA's. You know they are going to want the moon from Philly as Briere just gave Carlsson the moon.

6.If Anaheim doesn't match, the draft capital Philly have lost makes it more difficult to add good players either by drafting or by trades. He just blew 4 years of top draft stock.

7. You know other GM's hate it as Briere just set a new AAV standard and it's not the same thing as Minny giving Kaprizov $17M to keep him.

8. It affects every teams cap going forward. If Matthews camp was thinking $17-$18M to stay, he is thinking more now. McDavid in Edmonton. No way McDavid takes less than $20M to stay and that would likely be considered a hometown discount now. It's like when Dubas handed out all the big contracts, the ripple effect went through the league and guys coming off their AAV started asking for long term big bucks.

Players are just getting more and more greedy and GM's in general are just stupid enough to pay young talent that really haven't taken a team to any great level of success anything they want.

06 Jul 2026 17:53:13
I did just did another post that is probably pretty buried now on that other thread. But it addresses how Briere and Jones built towards this while the rest of the league kind of lagged. In fairness to them, you mentioned they could have offered lower and got him. They were not the only team bidding.

06 Jul 2026 18:20:05
Yes, I read it and responded. All good.

Dregger reported that more teams were involved with actual offer sheets presented, but no one else has confirmed it and I believe it was also reported that Philly went way beyond what they thought would be offered or Anaheim would be willing to pay. Even Freidman reported that teams backed off when they heard his ask was $15M. Why I said they could have offered less and likely still got him.

06 Jul 2026 18:52:18
Friedman did write that he heard there was one team considering 7 years @ 17.5. Dregs and Friedman are pretty reliable. I have a pretty good hunch that team was also located in the same state as the Flyers. 😜

06 Jul 2026 19:10:25
Lol. I didn't see that from Friedman. That doesn't sound like a Dubas thing to do at all. 🤔

06 Jul 2026 19:24:48
I sensing sacrcasm re: a Dubas thing to do. When we know he might be mad he is the one not getting the heat for landing Carlsoon lol

06 Jul 2026 20:51:24
Well done boys 👊

Good, honest debate 👊

Just because you disagree w me doesn’t mean I think your stupid 👊

Now, having said that, let’s keep go’n 🤣😂

I made my argument against the Flyers earlier and I stand by it. Now, lets me focus on the players.

I guess where I’m struggling the most is not that Daniel Brière made the offer sheet it’s that he abused the system. “Yes”, he played within the rules but he exposed a major flaw in the system and took advantage of it and he pissed off everyone do’n so at all levels (players, GM’s and owners).

Ok, what are the players thinking. We’ll use McJesus, MacKinnon, Matthews and Kucherov to make my point. These players have poured their hearts and soles into their respective teams and communities. They have won multiple awards, medals, cups and represent their teams multiple times at all-star games for well over a decade. These guys in my opinion should be getting top dollar not Carlsson 🤷‍♂️. You telling me Carlsson should be making $5m+ more than the above players? Carlsson has only been in the NHL for 3x years!!!! What has Carlsson won 🤔. What has Carlsson sacrificed 🤔. NOTHING!!!!! I believe this offer sheet was a direct insult to the great players listed above and was a blatant abuse of the system.

* I have more arguments for:

• GM’s
• Owners
• next CBA

Daniel Brière just poked the Bear, opened a can or worms and threw rocks at the beehive all at the same time. In my opinion there is nothing positive about this offer sheet (not even for his own team). This is a bad day for hockey.

If there is any saving grace, the Ducks don’t match the offer sheet and it’s a one off.

06 Jul 2026 21:47:02
Well don’t forget McDavid and Matthews both after their 3rd year both got contracts that had them getting 15.7% and 14%? If their team's total cap. Carlsson will be 17% of Philly’s. None of us can read the future of course but Philly is gambling this move gets them a cup or 2. If they are right they are geniuses if not they look rediculous. Briere needed a centre apparently Matthews was one he wanted at one point and this was the route he took. It really should come as no surprise to anyone that a major offer sheet happened, it was talked about around the league for months it is just that it was Carlsson and not Robertson that caught everyone off guard.

What apparently drove them towards Carlsson was him actually outplaying McDavid in the playoff in that series. I asked my Nephew yesterday who had tickets in Edmonton to all the games how good was he. Hard sometimes to tell on T. V. He said is insanely good on and away from the puck.

06 Jul 2026 22:15:22
Whoever is paying Carlsson is screwed for a while. What’s Martone gonna want when his contract comes up? Not good.

06 Jul 2026 22:15:43
I can’t speak for RLF but I’m pretty sure he will appreciate as do I that you don’t consider us Stupid. Most of us have healthy and at times lively debates but we try not to insult. There is the odd one though that likes to insult. Can’t let them get to you.

06 Jul 2026 22:26:10
@Suffering

I do appreciate you! You debate both side with healthy arguments. The whole idea of this site (in my opinion) is to challenge each other.

You and many others make me a better hockey fan.

Cheers 🍻

07 Jul 2026 02:27:36
Thank you very much.

06 Jul 2026 00:05:21
Mintyukov
You and King must be eating the same 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴 sandwiches. Giving up Knies, Rielly, Quillan and Hopkins for Mintyukov, Killorn, and McQueen. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🥴🥴🥴🥴 Not only that, then sign him to $6m per for a guy the Ducks aren’t sold on at all and would be happy to unload.


Champishere2627

Champ u r da 💣!!!!

Signs for 7.2 for 5 years


My trade above stands… even with him now signed.

Then

Pittsburgh
Rielly
Joshua

Leafs
Rakell
Pickering

I await the champishere analysis… 😏

05 Jul 2026 23:25:37
Why am I apart of this battle???

😂🤣😂🤣😂

* Ducks would take that all day!!!!!

* My point is we could get waaaay more.

* Gotta let the dust settle between Flyer/Ducks before even thinking about any trade ideas.

* Sooooo much can change in the next week

05 Jul 2026 23:50:11
@LukeFox

Bravo!!!

You pretty much nailed the Mintyukov contract.

06 Jul 2026 00:00:35
So the Ducks are really up against it now. If they were to sign Carlsson that would leave them with just under $10 m and even at low end Hinds will still get $1,250,000 probably just because they are so low on d-men. So that leaves 8.75 to sign Gauthier and I can't see that happening for that number.

So I think they will have that $18 of Carlssons to spend and 4 1st round picks coming back in a few days. In which case they will be in the trade market for sure.

06 Jul 2026 00:16:15
@ Suffering

I soooo agree w you 👊.

06 Jul 2026 00:21:14
@Sufferingsince1967
I think they match on Carlsson.
And buy out on
Killorn, saves $4.17M on cap.
And/or
Vatrano, saves $4M on cap.

Then trade it, sign for someone else cheaper in FA to fill a LW spot or make a trade (maybe Joshua for a puck).

Bottom line is they have options for buy outs, so they can keep their top players.

06 Jul 2026 00:50:57
Never thought about the buyout options 🤔

Still can’t see the Ducks matching tho.

06 Jul 2026 01:03:46
@KINGmatty
Personally I think Anaheim matches. They have their young core set for the next few years and then have quite a few prospects who will be ready in 2/3 more years.
Losing Carlsson will be a dent in those plans IMO.

06 Jul 2026 01:25:09
@Tags I think the Flyers know Ducks have to match, I agree there. It is an insane overpay, but what option do you have? Finding a 1C and 1D are the hardest things to do in hockey. They have no choice.

Briere did this to he a something head, and it worked.

06 Jul 2026 01:35:44
Buyout Window started June 15 and ended June 30.

06 Jul 2026 01:46:03
Is there not a secondary buyout window?

If not, I would think they trade some guys and make space. Possibly lose the trades to make cap space.
I still think Anaheim matches though.

06 Jul 2026 01:51:50
Hope you guys are wrong. Not for me but for hockey. An offer sheet like this doesn’t just affect the Flyer and Ducks it affects the whole league. I do appreciate your thoughts tho… 👊

It’s too bad we’re even having this conversation. Not happy w Danial Briere and I’m sure all GM’s in the league are thinking the same.

06 Jul 2026 02:01:07
So they can't buy anyone out until next June.

06 Jul 2026 02:01:22
Definitely a D move.
I think you're right Suffering.
Anaheim could have had a second buy out window is a player filed for salary arbitration, but doesn't seem like anyone did.

06 Jul 2026 02:07:16
Secondary window only applies to players that have gone through arbitration in the off season and they have a 48 hour window.

06 Jul 2026 02:07:50
I would not accept if your Anaheim. You’re going to set the precedent for this era and you’re going to do it by paying Leo 18M? Take the 4 1sts, trade a couple if they want to be win now. Can’t win with guys that are all about the money. Leo at 18, Kaprizov at 17M, it’s just selfish. It becomes more about the individuals and less and out the team.

Hard to make a well rounded team when 1 guy eats up 15% or more of the team's salary. Just my opinion. I’ll always think of that Boston team back in 2012 when no one was making over 8M. Just an unselfish group that all had the same goal in mind.

06 Jul 2026 02:21:11
Some are upset and others are realizing that RFA offer sheets, if you have the cap space and the draft prospects for compensation, are the way to make that one big move.

Here is a wild one to think about though..... Anaheim has the picks for compensation to do the same thing if they don't match. Vereek could use his next 4 years 1st rounders as compensation to do the same exact thing to another team.

He would have that $18,000,000 back and they could then do an offer sheet at Fantilli or Robertson in the $16 range, and it actually would not cost him any draft picks as he gives up his and inherits the Flyers next 4 years of 1sts. Who knows what is going through Verbeeks mind right now?

06 Jul 2026 02:40:04
Clarky.... Do you mean the 2010-2011 Cup champion Bruin team?

06 Jul 2026 02:44:56
@Clark17

I’m with you 100%

Nothing good about this whole offer sheet drama. Sooooo many things wrong w this on sooooo many levels.

Daniel Briere has pissed off a lot of people.

06 Jul 2026 02:57:51
The thing is KING... He is doing it to the guy that has pissed off way more people in the hockey world than anyone.

06 Jul 2026 03:06:14
@Suffering

I soooo get ur point about Verbeek. But this is bigger than that.

06 Jul 2026 03:15:30
Funny thing….

When my brothers and I moved out of our parents' house they turned to billeting.

Pat Verbeek’s son (Kyle) stayed at my parents' house in Mississauga while trying out for the OHL Ice Dogs.

He only lasted 2x days cuz he was allergic to the cats and got cut a few days later.

True story 🤣😂🤣

06 Jul 2026 03:24:03
In what way though? If he gets Carlsson he gets what he needs to take his team to a way bigger level than they were. A lot of people are angry but he has done nothing wrong, he has followed the Collective Bargaining Agreement to a full legality and what people are angry about is he was smart on saving his cap money and smart on saving his draft picks. He saw the opportunity and went for it. Don't forget there were reportedly according Darren Dreger 4 other teams that had presented formal offer sheets.

Those teams knew that Anaheim was offering $13 so they were all abover that. Everyone in hockey knows Verbeek is the hardest to negotiate with and agents despise him, so when he was offering $13 and started at the (9-11 range) and then blustered he would match anyone's offer, he put himself in the Bullseye. He should have just done the $14.5 to $15 Carlsson's camp wanted initially and Gauthier would not be looking for as lucrative a payday as with Carlsson getting $18.

06 Jul 2026 03:41:34
If it is the Money that people are upset about, then Briere is not the bad guy. The guy people should point the finger at for starting the overpayment for the league starting this off season. Kyle Davidson. When he made Bowen Byram the highest paid defenseman in the league that moved the needle.

Byram is a good defenseman but not a $12.5m defenseman. I saw him coming in around the $8.5 range. If he is worth $12.5 then Carlsson is worth the Offer for what he can bring to the table with the Flyers.

06 Jul 2026 12:02:15
Briere is working within the confines of the CBA. He has the cap space and draft capital do make the OS and I personally have zero issues with what he did.

06 Jul 2026 12:10:04
@Suffering

Love what ur do’n here. I know, just like me, you’re against matching this offer 👍. What your do’n here is challenging me on the premise of the offer 👍.

The Byram deal was handled horribly!!! Perfect example of hockey quicksand (one bad decision after another). When you make a trade for the 4th overall pick (potential superstar) in a stacked draft you better know what you’re getting yourself into (again, sign and trade). Giving up the 4th overall pick to a guy in his last year of his contract w no long term deal in hand gave Byram and his agent all the leverage. Kyle Davidson had to give Byram the money just to save face.


Ok, to the offer sheet, let’s start w the Flyers…...

How can the Flyers honestly compete for a Stanley Cup with all those eggs in one basket 🤔.

In my opinion you won’t be able to afford running 4x quality lines (forward/D-man). It’s gonna get harder and harder as the contract lives on. Look what the Leafs just paid to fill 3rd and 4th lines.

What if Michkov finally lives up to his 1st overall potential and has a breakout season 🤔. What’s the price tag for him now that you set the bar so high 🤔 (you Better sign him now before it’s too late) and if I’m Michkov I’m not signing until after the season done.

What’s Martone’s worth 🤔.

What if Carlsson takes a knee (Austin Matthews) and is out 6x months 🤔. “Yes” it will free up cap space but you’re limited to picking up expiring contracts and bidding for those expiring contract against teams that have 1st rounders in pocket.

Ok, so Carlsson has a great season and you wanna make moves to fill holes at the trade deadline (upgrades/injuries). How can you do that w no cap space and no 1st rounders 🤔.

So your offence has a great season but your goalie suuuuck!! How do you fix this with no cap space and no 1st rounders 🤔


My point, “yes” some of the above arguments can be fixed but all the above challenges could have easily been avoided.

This contract is wrong on soooo many levels and this is just from the Flyers standpoint.

06 Jul 2026 12:33:39
@Tags97

I’m not arguing the CBA at all 🤷‍♂️ but since you brought this up this could potentially present problem go’n into the next round of negotiations.

06 Jul 2026 12:57:30
@KINGmatty
Agreed, many problems can be created moving forward, but at the same time this forces GMs to be more diligent and negotiate within the timelines.
As much as I hate Montreal, look at the Demidov signing $9.1M/8yrs done by Hughes on July 1st. Demidov would 100% be Offer Sheeted IMO.



Thank God Knies isn't an RFA this year. Leafs may have been in the same scenario, albeit, the amount wouldn't have been as high.

@Clarky17
Montreal is a great example of players taking less to build a solid, competitive and elite team.

06 Jul 2026 13:02:18
Zegras and Drysdale are going to Arbitration, which means they will be signed are still reasonable pricing. To do so might facilitate moving a body to squeeze in the cap. Other than that the only pressing contract next year would be Mitchkov. But that could be handled with next year's salary cap increase and again probably moving someone else. One thing the Flyers have is a big depth of good young forwards without even counting Jett Luchenko. They still have the Leafs' 1st-round pick as well as their own 2nd and multiple 3rds and 4ths for next year.

I can see at some point possibly during this year of them finding a taker for Couturier's contract and a combo of those picks, for future considerations. They are pretty well positioned for the future in these regards. From the sounds of it Briere and Keith Jones had been preparing for quite some time for something like this. Their biggest hole was for that #1 center. The question becomes will it be Carlsson or another target.

06 Jul 2026 13:15:59
@Tags97
@Clarky17

Couldn’t agree more when it comes to Montreal……BRAVO!!!!!

And they did all this before 💩 hit the fan 🤯

06 Jul 2026 16:25:17
I don't have issue with Briere using a offer sheet and he can offer whatever he wants to. I still think it is a stupid amount to give Carlsson for 5 years of service. The obvious reason, it is a ridiculous overpay. 2. They are only paying Konecny $8.75M over the next 5 years. Hard to believe guys like him, Sanheim, Couturier, Tippet aren't going to have some hard feelings when they all have 4-5 years left and in most cases making $10-$12M less than a 21 year old they offer sheeted.
3. Zegras and Drysdale still need deals and I would think they just upped their ask and why wouldn't they.

4. Michkov next year and Martone in two years need deals. Briere just set the tone for what he is willing to pay. If either/both are about point per game players at that time, how do they not ask for at least $15-18M. If Briere refuses and says $8M or $9M is his offer, that is a huge slap in the face and those guys will want out and rightfully so.
There are more factors to offer sheets than just trying to steal a guy for nothing but cash.

06 Jul 2026 11:19:04
@kmatty I see that post scrolled to comment hope I didn’t miss something important haha. I couldn’t agree more man best point so far, this offer sheet sets an extremely negative tone for the league moving forward. Don’t forget we got McKenna to sign in 3 yrs. To what! 25/30 a yr? I mean I hope we all learned from the old coree crap don’t pay these kids who’ve one nothing that much money right after their ELC expires but I doubt it.

This is bad league wide. Breire should be bared from the League for this it’s wrong and sets it back as whole for yrs. Unless he knows something we don’t. Like no more cap? Doubt that to but that moved was bad for everyone. 21yr old 68pts 18mil lol he’s good ya but wow. Kill it boys

06 Jul 2026 17:21:27
I guess what I am saying is that Keith Jones and Danny Briere in tandem started towards this 3 years ago by acquiring prospects and future drafts picks while hanging on to their own and keeping their Salary cap in line and looking towards their future cap as well. Some markets are livid they did this move but theiy built carefully to do it and those markets that are livid are probably more upset because their own teams were mismanaged in that manner.

Ours is the obviously the easiest for people on here to assess. But other markets are in the same boat. Ours perhaps worse than any though. There were 28 teams that had the 4 picks required for compensation to do the offer sheet. We were not one of them. The majority of those teams did not have cap available, the rest had cap available but had backed themselves into corners with that cap needed to extend players contracts. We can't even fathom doing a offer sheet on a player above $4,775,666 until the summer of 2028 unless we screw up and trade our 2029 first round by then.

Will RFA offers become front and centre in the next CBA? Probably, but the players association will not be against how this was done. The owners might but the owners to be against it will have to look at how they have also allowed the Tax free Teams to thrive while other teams had that to fight against. Trust me... if those teams had not spend to the max one of them would have done a offer sheet of a couple million less that Carlsson would have jumped at because it actually would have been the equivalent of $20 million. The CBA needs to be tweaked on so many levels. Including the No trade contract rules to allow trades that will help both teams better, not sure how it would look but could include years of service etc. Anyway maybe Briere has upset some people in the league but the owner now need to look at the state of their teams Cap, prospects, draft picks and future cap and make decisions on whether they have the right management in place in this new generation of the NHL

Lets be honest....if we had any of our first round picks in the next 2 years I am sure that we would have been able to swing a trade to get a 1b Centreman to have in between Matthews and J.T. especially with the cap money we started with. I am not sure the direction we are headed as a franchise but one thing is for sure. We need to be very frugal with our cap and not spend to the limit and we need to guard all of our future 1st 2nd and 3rd round picks. Even if we were to in the future do offer sheets we need those.

My final thinking on the Philly thing is...this was there one year one shot to do this to take their team to another level and they went for it.

06 Jul 2026 17:41:46
@RLF. It wasn't that Philly was trying to steal him for nothing but cash. There were 4 other bidders from reports and their bid wasn't hugely bigger than the next lowest. But they have a pretty solid looking team that made the playoffs last year and look to be stronger again this year. As far as the hard feelings with the players.

I think players know there are certainly going to certain Tiers for salaries as it always has been but could have more separation moving ahead. Carlsson's contract is 17% of Philly's cap, not that much more than Matthews 15% of the Leafs cap at the time when he signed his last contract.

06 Jul 2026 18:12:59
Suffering. What I meant by "steal for cash" was that this wasn't a trade nor was he a UFA. Those are the normal paths to acquire a new player you don't draft. He was a RFA under Anaheim control. To my knowledge, no one has confirmed Dregger's 4 other team offer sheets submitted. Regardless, Freidman also reported that Carlsson was looking for about $15M. Talks had stalled with Anaheim, but there was lots of time before the season started and I am sure Verbeek was hoping for extra time to get a deal fair for the player and the team moving forward.

Philly went waaay above Carlsson's ask. That is what I mean by steal a player with cash. They didn't offer his ask, they offered $3M more per and only 5 years.
I am sure no Leaf fan would have been happy if another team offer sheeted Willy at say $9M when he held out or the year when Marner held out until camp, on July 1st someone offer sheeted $14M.

06 Jul 2026 19:04:23
@Henry77 I usually support your posts but for you say Briere should be barred? He did nothing at all illegal and dud due diligence to put his team in a position to be able to do that offer sheet. I repeat nothing illegal whatsoever. It’s not like he went looking for employment while already employed by another team and got suspended for a year or ran illegal private combines and cost his team a 2nd round and a 1st round pick by doing so.

He didn’t get barred. Nooooo he got a high paying job right here in Toronto.

07 Jul 2026 11:57:25
I see what you did there 😂🤣😂

05 Jul 2026 18:54:26
Pitts needs a goalie bad:

To Toronto: Rakell, Brazeau

To Pitts: Reilly, Stolarz, Andrae

Offer Sheet Mintuykov @4.5M X 4
Having both him and Andrae would be redundant IMO.
Sign Stanley!
To Islanders: Myers, 4th rd pick
To Leafs: Varlamov

Knies Matthews Rakell
Mckenna JT Nylander
Sissons Paul Brazeau
Cowan Blueger Duhaime
Roslovic Lorentz MacEwen - not a fan of the Roslovic pick up, not sure where he fits in the lineup.

OEL Raddysh
McCabe Tanev
Stanley Mintuykov
Stetcher, Myers

Bob
Varly
AA.

05 Jul 2026 19:38:34
Well I hate to say it. If Cowan is going to be on your 4th line I am every GM in the league calling to trade for him.

05 Jul 2026 20:12:48
I do think Pittsburgh is an option for Rielly. How can you pass playing w Crosby!!! But I’m not in the war room so I have no clue 😂.

I’m also hoping to see Cowan play 2nd or 3rd line w either Tavares or Paul as his 2x centres.

I’m ok w him playing with both, 2x seasoned vets w lots of knowledge to pass on.

And “yes” sign Stanley.

05 Jul 2026 20:28:57
Cowan played on the 4th line a fair bit last year with Laughton, and thought he looked good there. I’m thinking if we are taking tough defensive match up away from Matthews, then we need a solid 3rd line to go against other team's best and take a lot of D zone faceoffs.

That was my reasoning for starting him on the 4th line. It will change 100 times throughout the season anyway until they find some chemistry.

05 Jul 2026 20:36:12
But when Cowan got 18-19 minute shifts he finished with 8 points in 10 games and then translated that to the Marlies for the Playoffs. He is too good of a player to be buried on the 4th line getting 10 to 11 minutes a game.

He is obviously gifted and will look good on any line, but he is also too good to not be a 2nd or 3rd line player and eventually on the right mix of a team a 1st line winger. That blend of offense and smart defense.

05 Jul 2026 20:44:23
You’re 100% right about lines changing during the season. My point was just from a development standpoint. Who can we match Cowan w that will maximize his skill and knowledge?

05 Jul 2026 21:48:13
He looked good with J. T and Nylander and added a bit extra backchecking to the line. He wouldn't be a bad fit with Matthews and McKenna again for the extra backchecking he would add.

Then Knies could slot with J. T and Nylander. That would also give two inventive passers on the same line, with Matthews, and Cowan is not shy about working the boards either.

05 Jul 2026 22:53:54
No way they’d play Cowan on the 4th line.

05 Jul 2026 23:07:17
I’m one guy who wanted them to add Stanley as a 5/6 dman. To add some toughness to the back end. But I read an article saying he was looking for $5 million per season! Wtf, he’s a $2-$3 million dollar dman. I sure don’t think he’s worth $5.

06 Jul 2026 00:11:38
@Suffering and Matty, if in this instance we got Rakell and Brazeau, who’s spot could Cowan take in the top 6. If we make a 3rd line to go against other teams best lines like Chayka has mentioned in interviews (not having Matthews get the tough defensive matchups all the time), then I don’t think Cowan is ready for that role either.


I think Hiller roles 4 lines and Easton gets 2nd line PP. If an injury or someone isn’t playing well, he is there to step in. But this is all in the scenario that we made this trade. Seems if the roster stays the same, he will be competing with Roslovic and McKenna for a top 6 spot.

06 Jul 2026 00:20:55
@Marner4life (love the name)

Stanley asking for $5m???

I’m out!!!!

To bad, I want him too

06 Jul 2026 00:47:46
@clark17 (my fav player growing up)

My point when it comes to Rielly was he might wave his no trade clause to play in Pittsburgh and that’s all.

They have $17m to play with.

When it comes to Cowan, I couldn’t agree w you more. He’s a 2nd or 3rd liner with an opportunity to earn PP2 time.

06 Jul 2026 02:09:41
Offer sheet Mintyukov at 4.5??? That literally makes no sense. He would never accept that he’s gonna get 7 or 8 mil. And even if he did accept the Ducks would match it.

06 Jul 2026 08:17:31
Idiotic Reilly won’t wave

06 Jul 2026 13:39:06
@Mattyboy21

Nailed it!!!!!!

06 Jul 2026 16:19:55
If we were going with the players in the first post the switch I would make is

Knies Matthews Cowan

McKenna J.T. Nylander

Brazeau. Paul. Rakell

Sissons. Blueger. Duhaime


My logic is McKenna needs to start off on second line as I have mentioned in past to get him away from top checking lines until he is 100 percent adapted to the pros. So he will be Nylanders primary set up man. I took Rakell off Top line because with him and Knies and Matthews you have 3 players who are primarily shoot first,pass second guys. By moving him to 3rd line you actually have a pretty potent 3rd line that can be physical and score. Cowan other than McKenna is the most creative player we have do he can give grit as well as being the set up guy for Knies and Matthews. Roslovic …. Yes Roslovic. Where do you put a streaky scorer who doesn’t like physical play and is not good defensively?

05 Jul 2026 01:25:36
Seattle is trying to facilitate a trade for Shane Wright.
Leafs should at least attempt an offer. Wright's value is low right now. Also, Vince Dunn is in the final year of his deal.

Leafs trade
Morgan Rielly
Dakota Joshua
2nd in 2028

Kraken trade
Shane Wright
4th in 2027


Leafs get cap space, while sending Rielly closer to home.
Wright is a bit of a project at this point, but playing him on RW with one of the veteran centers gives him time to learn with insulation. Wright hopefully becomes a future 2C eventually.

Kraken get offensive defenseman as insurance in case Dunn wants a bazillion dollars or just refuses to resign. They can trade Dunn for a good return.

Joshua is unfortunately a cap dump at this point and the second is included because a to make up the value. (apparently Rielly has little value around the league)

Leafs then talk to Mintyukov's camp about an offer sheet. One year 4.775 million costs a second (which Leafs have). Promise him top 4 minutes and power play time to sweeten the deal.

If Mintyukov is acquired lines could look like this.

Knies Matthews Roslovic

Mckenna Tavares Nylander

Cowen Paul Wright

Bluger Sissons Duhaime

Extras Lorentz MacEwan


McCabe Raddysh

Mintyukov Tanev

Andrea OEL

Extras Stecher Villenueve Danford

A lot of what if's, but maybe possible?
Thoughts?

05 Jul 2026 02:25:29
My biggest problem with that lineup is Roslovic on the 1st line.
Roslovic is, at best, a 3rd line olayer who is bad defensively.
Plus he is a shooter not a passer and Matthews needs passers.
That’s why McKenna needs to be on the 1st line with Matthews.
Knies is another shooter who doesn’t seem to mesh well with Matthews.
I was hoping to see a 1st line & 2nd line of;

McKenna - Matthews - Kane
Knies - Tavares - Nylander


Two elite passers with one of the better shooters in the League.
But Kane doesn’t seem to be interested in in the Leafs.

Then a 3rd line of Cowan - Paul - Duhaime.

05 Jul 2026 03:18:52
I see your point, was trying to spread out the talent. Could try a few different ways with the lineup from my prop. Such as

McKenna Matthews Nylander
Knies Tavares Roslovic

Or

McKenna Matthews Wright
Knies Tavares Nylander
Cowen Paul Roslovic

Hate to have 2 young ones with Matthews, but Wright has one hell of a motor on him and plays on the right side of the puck.

His troubles have been finishing and opportunity.

05 Jul 2026 15:44:43
Get realistic on your trades, as Reilly does not have the value to be the key piece in a trade for Wright!
Not even close!
Think!

05 Jul 2026 16:12:37
Thanks RealASStic Gm, your the best.

05 Jul 2026 16:29:28
Seattle's biggest issue last year was the inability to score, so if the Leafs wanted Wright, someone that can help in the goals/points department upfront is likely what they will be looking for.

Their 226 goals had them 4th last in the Western Conference. Not one team in the East had less goals.
Not sure the Leafs have anyone to offer other than likely something around Cowan.

05 Jul 2026 17:00:42
I believe the plan is to have Roslovic on Matthews right side. I know some ppl won’t like it, but he did put in 21g and started late last season, had no training camp. I believe he will surprise a lot of ppl this year with a full camp and be in full game shape.

05 Jul 2026 17:08:06
I will be more polite. JMaxx. It was reported that Reilly had 4 teams in the Western Conference he had on his list and Vancouver was not one of them. The top rumoured ones were San Jose, Anaheim, and Utah. The other was not named but speculated to be Vegas. San Jose has pretty much filled in their slots. Anaheim might have one slot left, but if they do match the Carlsson contract offer they might not have enough money to play with after signing Gauthier and Mintyukov. If they don't match the offer they have tons of money but might swing for the fences and go for a bigger name D-man than Reilly in a trade.

Utah also is pretty set at defense now and Vegas just realistically doesn't have the cap space at all. Reilly may have to adjust his teams if anything is to happen. Philly seems to be the front runner that wants him if the Western teams don't.

The other scenario is maybe he can be that passing set up defence partner for Raddysh's big shot. If they end up having chemistry who knows maybe that point total will climb?

05 Jul 2026 18:32:24
I believe Seattle is one of the teams cause there were rumours that his list included up to 6 teams not just 4.

05 Jul 2026 19:43:54
Where was that rumour reported?

05 Jul 2026 21:10:21
Just read an article from Markerzone that was posted 2x days ago. It’s quoting Chris Johnston (Sportsnet) as saying “only 3x teams now for Rielly as the Sharks are out”.

The writer of the article (David St-Jean) said……..

“Trying to trade an aging, high-cap defenseman off a bad team is a bit like selling a used car with a check-engine light on.

Buyers exist, but they're picky, and they know they hold the leverage.

Is Toronto's front office prepared to eat term or retain salary just to get a deal across the line? That question hasn't been answered publicly.”

05 Jul 2026 21:17:37
Not my words, I cheated!!! (Copy and paste)

😂🤣😂

I’m not smart enough to come up with an analogy like that 🤪🔨

05 Jul 2026 22:02:48
The more you look at the west teams there are few that have room for top 6 dmen. Calgary perhaps, although I again they are a rebuilding team so he probably would not consider there. Although I am positive Calgary will turn it around way faster than Vancouver.

05 Jul 2026 23:39:47
Couldn’t agree more about Calgary turning it around faster than Vancouver.

I do have a soft spot for Vancouver tho. Went to school w Manny Malhotra. He was a class act even back in high school as a teen. Solid dude!!!

06 Jul 2026 02:11:19
Ducks would match the offer sheet in 2 and a half seconds lol.