NHL Rumors: What Else is to Come with the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to dominate the NHL rumors even though their season ended this past Saturday at the hands of the Boston Bruins. There was so much speculation surrounding what the Maple Leafs would do with head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Well, on Thursday, we got the answer most expected that was coming. To no one’s surprise, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Sheldon Keefe before their management met with the media on Friday.

“Today’s decision was difficult. Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man; however, we determined a new voice is needed to help the team push through to reach our ultimate goal, General Manager Brad Treliving said in a statement. “We thank Sheldon for his hard work and dedication to the organization over the last nine years, and wish him and his family all the very best.”

Since Saturday, many questions have been surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially about their core four and what to do with Mitch Marner.

Marner is entering the final year of his contract at $10.903 million a season and is eligible to sign an extension on July 1st. On Monday, Marner stated he would like to remain with the club.

“That would be a goal,” Marner said. “I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. I’ve grown up here. We’ll start thinking about that now and try to figure something out.”

The question is, will Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs want to invest more money in the core with Auston Matthews and William Nylanders‘s new extensions about to kick in on July 1? And how will that go over with the fan base, considering his playoff production?

But it is time to break up the core, who have had one playoff series win since 2016. Something needs to change, as the Maple Leafs have issues with defence and goaltending.

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Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network to discuss the NHL Rumors and possible changes to the Maple Leafs roster.

“Look, there was talk before the playoffs even began that there could be some pretty serious changes in Toronto. Whether it’s behind, whether it’s up top, whether it’s on the roster. This formula isn’t working. 

And there were some moves that Brad Treliving had made that certainly helped. This team made the additions in the summer of guys like Domi and Bertuzzi. The additions throughout the season prior to the trade deadline Edmundson and Lyubushkin and Dewar and so on. So he started putting pieces together but it wouldn’t shock me at all especially now if a pretty sizable change occurs.

And if you’re looking at the roster, and you’re wondering how it’s going to come about, well, you’re not trading Austin Matthews. You’re not trading William Nyalnder, now that you’ve signed them to that contract. John Tavares is your captain, he’s got one year left on his deal. So I mean, you also have to know to move so he’s not gonna go anywhere. And then, while Mitch Marner does have no trade protection, he is now your most valuable tradable asset, and if those conversations pick up this summer, I, for one, would not be surprised whatsoever now, if they pull it off, who is this?

This is big Blockbuster-esque material. In the last six seasons, he either hit 90 points or has been on pace for 90 points over an 82-game span. So there’s a lot of talent here. Let’s not discredit that by any stretch, but if the Leafs want to make some serious adjustments, it’s going to come from beyond off the ice. It’s got to come on the ice as well, and Mitch will be a prime candidate for that.” 

Will it be easy? No. But nothing is impossible, even with Marner has a no-movement clause. We have seen other teams make tough decisions and move on from players.

Throw in the fact that the Maple Leafs need a new head coach, and there is a reason Toronto is the center of the hockey world. A name to watch is Craig Berube, who is also linked to the New Jersey Devils.

Moving forward, this is a situation to watch in our NHL Rumors on Full Press Hockey.