Leafs talk 3

12 Apr 2026 14:13:05
So after last night if things don't change we would finish 5th worst so heading into the draft lottery we would be picking 5th if.... and it's a big if we don't draft higher or the worst thing, we get bumped by one or two teams out of the top 5 and lose that pick to Boston.

Say nothing changes.... I am sure everyone will have a ton of conflicting choices for their picks for our 1st and our next pick which is a 3rd rounder at 69th. I will list my two picks and reasonning and see who everyone else comes up with and why?

If we picked 5th I would pick Maholtra hands down. I know there is a lot of D-men available, but we also need to get depth at Centre and quickly and he is hands down the best Centre available. We do have Danford and Chadwick and possibly Villeneuve in the pipeline.

Then with the 3rd round pick I look at a sleeper that is ranked 74th a very good overage draft elegible offensive defenseman who also showed at the WJC's that he is in the same class and caliber of the rest of the class and those already drafted and... he is also very good defensively.

12 Apr 2026 14:31:47
Sorry, never got to finish the post. Someone came to the door. The player I was referring to for Leafs 3rd round pick is Ethan McKenzie.

13 Apr 2026 16:37:12
Don’t forget what right now looks as though we will get L. A.’s 2nd round pick from the Laughton trade. They look like they will make the playoffs so the 3rd becomes the 2nd. 🤞

13 Apr 2026 17:36:25
Yep. But I never count those Chickens before they are hatched.

11 Apr 2026 23:19:03
Just freaking lose, boys. Dumbest franchise in all of sports if we don’t get this too 5 pick. No one in this world can make sense of them playing to win right now. Absolutely crazy that it is gonna come down to the wire. Villeneuve should of been playing for a month by now.

12 Apr 2026 21:14:32
They can’t even tank right.
They will finish 5th last.
Then lose one spot on the lottery.
Handing Boston.
Minten and the 6th overall pick.

The Legacy of Tredeadthing.
The Lunatic.

11 Apr 2026 15:23:55
I see the Leafs and the Devils have both asked and been given to talk to Sunny Mehta, the Assistant GM in Florida. If the Leafs hired him, they should try and convince Brent Burns to sign for one year and finish his career in Toronto.

Then you would have 2 of the most interesting men in the world with the Leafs as a GM and a player. Sunny Mehta truly is a very interesting dude. Watched an interview with him on HNIC Punjabi and what a genuine breath of fresh air.

11 Apr 2026 23:24:45
I want to see a good hockey guy get the GM job, believes in hard nose hockey. Stop hiring these lawyers to run a man’s team in the toughest sport out there.

12 Apr 2026 14:34:26
Mehtra recognizes that type of team you are referring to, Clarky. It was his analytics that transformed much of that Panther team into a hard nosed team. Paul Maurice speaks extremely high of him.

12 Apr 2026 18:22:54
Also not that big a fan of analytics. We need personality, character and heart. Where are those traits under the analytics section? Let Sunny be president and get a hockey guy as GM.

12 Apr 2026 18:38:25
What kind of hockey guy do you mean? What type of past GM we have had here would be a good comparison for us to look for?

10 Apr 2026 07:59:33
Poll of the Day:
It seems Berube was impressed by the play of Islanders Matthew Schaefer. After an article on this, you have to love whoever came up with the Poll asking if Berube should use Schaefer in a top six role? 😂

09 Apr 2026 22:14:08
Well, this Draft Race just got a little more interesting.

If it was a Horse Race the announcer would be saying "And around the final turn they come folks... it is a tight race going back and forth with Stenberg, McKenna Verhoeff all within a head of each other, so get ready to cash in your Triactor bets if you bet them in any combination.

But wait!!!! From the back of the back charging down the straightaway like a freight train and closing ground on the leaders in a hurry is Malholtra... Get ready to hang onto those Tickets."

He is lighting it up in the playoffs even more than his already outstanding regular season with 12 points in 5 games.

10 Apr 2026 08:34:14
I wouldn’t read to much into it. That team he’s on is stacked and they weren’t playing a good team. Yes he’s a good player but he will be right around 5th overall and no the Leafs shouldn’t take any forward.

10 Apr 2026 12:11:19
Oh, I know they are stacked. However, watching 3 of their 5 playoff games, one thing stood out to me. The best player on the ice every game was not the already drafted players. It was Maholtra who doesn’t turn 18 until June. Not only was he the best offensively but in every part of that 85’ x 200’ ice surface. He is extremely smart without the puck and he is very strong physically as well.

Do not be surprised if any team looking for a Centre takes him in the top 5 or goes off the board somewhat like Anaheim did with their Sennecke draft pick. He reminds me very much of a better skating Younger version of Ron Francis or Jonathan Toews with better hands. I am looking forward to watching more of him through the playoffs.

09 Apr 2026 19:07:00
I don't get the Domi hate, people expect him to be Clark sorry to tell you, we aren't getting a Clark for Domi's price tag, he chips in here and there and stands up for his team, takes stupid penalties sometimes but honestly. He's be one of the last players on this team I'd trade, he bleeds blue and that's rare these days.

09 Apr 2026 20:20:01
I hole heartily agree with this comment.

10 Apr 2026 02:38:32
I'm not saying he isn't tradeable, but if people think Domi is the biggest problem, then the problems are larger than many think. I am not saying I wouldn't trade him, but it's not the most pressing issue Imo.

10 Apr 2026 08:37:32
The problem with someone like Domi is his best years are behind him. That piss and vinegar he shows every now and again the Leafs need that Domi more often. I remember in his early years he was an agitator always beaking at someone. Instead he a guy without a role on a not good team.

09 Apr 2026 14:51:02
Of course the Rumours are flying about for Ron Francis to be heading to the Leafs after he is stepping down in Seattle (Should say being asked to step down.)

I think Ron Francis was an amazing Hockey Player. One of my all time favourites. One position we do not want to hire him for is as General Manager. If he was hired as Team President he needs to be hired as a "Hands off" let the General Manager do his job President. He is an amazing judge of young talent at the draft stage, but in Carolina when he was General Manager the team did not make the playoffs at all in those 4 years.

In Seattle they have made it once in 6 years and that was 3 years ago.

As I said he is a great judge of young talent and getting good young players, but he never seems to be able to pull off any major trades. I think if he came to Toronto he would be a great as I said "Hands Off" president or... A great Director of Personnel.

10 Apr 2026 08:40:02
The only way we get a hands off president is if they hire an experienced GM which I don’t think is gonna happen. You can have a president whose involved but not one who falls in love with players like Shanny did.

06 Apr 2026 20:47:16
Pelley says the Leafs need to use their vast resources…. So give Cassidy whatever he wants. Same with Armstrong. TJ Hughes same.

07 Apr 2026 09:08:22
Reports say Cassidy doesn’t want the job and I don’t thing hiring a GM of a franchise that isn’t in a much better spot then the Leafs helps them in any way plus he’s under contract so Blues can just tell the Leafs to go pound sand. But also I don’t want to see the Leafs recycle another old man.

07 Apr 2026 17:36:39
Question about Army. What has he done that qualifies him as a top GM exactly? St. Louis hasn't exactly lit the world on fire since the Cup win (or before it) and we're mostly led by a goalie that was absolutely on fire. Having a hot goalie makes everyone look good.

04 Apr 2026 21:07:34
We cannot get anymore points this season. We have a serious contention on being bottom 5. Three teams below us have to pass us and they are only 2 points behind us and one of them is 1 point behind us. No OT, straight up losses for our last 6-7 games and we should be ok to land a top 5 draft pick.

04 Apr 2026 21:54:09
Hey Clarky! Yeah it is such a wild last couple of weeks. There are teams chargin to the bottom and others charging to get into the playoffs and some teams that are right there at both options not sure what to do lol.

It makes for great hockey to watch though for sure. 2 games tonight that will be like playoff games as they all try to climb the standings will be Winnipeg and Columbus...... and San Jose and Nashville.

04 Apr 2026 18:46:36
They are saying the Michigan Wolverines are a interesting group to be around right now. T. J. Hughes is the College free agent teams are targeting the most right now. The top 2 of the many suitors are Montreal and Toronto with Edmonton in the mix. So his one team mate and frequent linemate Nick Moldenhauer is trying to convince him to sign with him with the Leafs.

Another team mate and frequent linemate Michael Hage is trying to convince him to sign with him with the Canadie. And Zach Hyman being a Wolverine Alumni is trying to convince him to sign with Edmonton. He has other pursuers of course but it mush be hard to keep focused on the Frozen Four coming up next weekend with everyone waving chequebooks around so to speak.

05 Apr 2026 18:06:11
Habs will
Sign him
Hage is the draw.

06 Apr 2026 02:51:06
Moldenhauer is there for the Leafs, so hopefully he can persuade TJ to sign with Toronto.
The Leafs have more opportunities for TJ, as opposed to Montreal.

09 Apr 2026 02:44:24
Leafs stink.
Habs are on the rise.
Hughes Hage on the same line next year in Montreal with Kapanen.
Nice third line, sheltered minutes.

Leafs third line
Hughes Minten Cowan
Oh wait Minten was given away.
So Laughton, yeah that will get him to sign… 😂😂😂

04 Apr 2026 16:06:07
One post mentioned earlier about Buffalo up against the salary crunch for signing Tuch. I was just reading a article saying the two teams that might take a run at him would be Chicago and Columbus. Chicago I could see swinging it for sure as they do have lots of cap with really only one major player heading to RFA or UFA and that is Bedard.

Columbus though for all the Salary Cap they have which on tre surface looks massive has some major decisions to make. They either have to sign the following or spend to find replacements for them.

I will onaly mention the major key pieces as they will probably not go after their minor pieces.

Charlie Coyle UFA
Mason Marchment UFA
Boone Jenner UFA

Cole Sillinger RFA
Adam Fantilli RFA
Jet Greaves RFA

Then they do have to fill a few other spots.

So if they go after Tuch that will gobble up 25% of that $40 million cap. Will there be enough money to sign all of the above or replace with the same quality of player and the spare pieces?

05 Apr 2026 10:13:53
Honestly idk if any of their UFA’s are back. Coyle might cash in on a career year. Marchment probably wants to be elsewhere and Jenner just isn’t the player he once was. They will prioritize the RFA’s. As for Tuch, I think it’s all smoke screens and he will stay out. Why would he leave Buffalo now?

05 Apr 2026 14:20:33
One reason. $money. He may have grown up in Syracuse, but New York has a high state tax. Not to mention if they are 2 to 2.5 million apart and if Chicago came knocking with a number with a higher take home after taxes.

Which does he take? This will in all likelihood be his last NHL contract, so who can blame him for trying to max out the earnings on it?

05 Apr 2026 14:38:38
Marchment I think will want to stay with Columbus. Again. Money and chemistry with his linemates. His past 3 teams before Columbus were with Florida, Dallas, Seattle. All teams with no state tax. He had a 10 team no trade list and he obviously either waived it or didn't have Columbus on it. Coincidentally they have one of the absolute lowest state taxes without being tax free.

Coyle... yes he will get money for that year he has had, but he is also not a bad player to have as a big centreman who is comfortable playing Ist, 2nd or 3rd line are rare in the league.



I agree Boone Jenner is not what he once was, but he would probably do the home town discount to finish his career there. Even though he is not the player he was.....sadly he would still be tied for 5th in points on the Leafs. :o(