Playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs is one of the most common dreams across the continent. Every kid has fantasized about donning the blue and white, but only a select few ever accomplish that dream. However, it’s not for everyone. One of Connor McDavid’s newest Edmonton Oilers teammates may have been steered away from his childhood dream because of the precedent set by Mitch Marner. As a result, Auston Matthews might have missed out on a key weapon for the 2025-26 NHL season.
The Maple Leafs are trying to put the recent drama behind them, but that’s easier said than done. There’s simply something unique about the hockey franchise in Hogtown. For better or worse—and it can swing between the two with remarkable ease—hockey means so much more in The Six, and the pressure is higher because of it.
No one is exempt from the media and fans’ outcry after rough outings in Toronto. Not even hometown kids who grew up to became first round selections. Marner’s story with the Leafs was destined to be one that could fill up volumes. Ultimately, it did, but for the wrong reasons. Now, Marner is in Las Vegas and Matthews is in Toronto—desperate for answers.
Meanwhile, in the Canadian Prairies, the Oilers are retooling their roster around McDavid after yet another Stanley Cup Final collapse. There’s a certain Game of Thrones feel to this NHL offseason, with every franchise moving its pieces, hoping to strike gold when the season begins. Whether their claims to the throne—or in this case, the Stanley Cup—are legitimate is another story entirely.
West-bound
The Oilers have now welcomed a former enemy to their ranks: Andrew Mangiapane, who was drafted by and spent seven seasons with the Calgary Flames. Mangiapane, a Toronto native, was reportedly on the Maple Leafs’ radar, but he ultimately chose a different path. Seeing how things unfolded for another Ontarian, Mitch Marner, might have had something to do with it.
“Mangiapane is a Toronto kid, last I heard was he was maybe a little concerned about playing in this market as a local. It’s not for everybody,” Nick Kypreos said during an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.
Part II
When speaking of Ontarian natives who were forced out of the Maple Leafs after years of speculation, Nazem Kadri is a name that easily rolls off the tongue. Similarly to Marner, the former first-round pick by Toronto faced much backlash after the franchise’s collapses in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and was ultimately traded away.
Kadri found success immediately after being traded, joining a stacked Colorado Avalanche squad and helping them hoist the Stanley Cup in 2022. Now signed to a seven-year deal in Calgary, Kadri is once again the subject of rumors in the NHL—this time about a potential reunion with his hometown team.
SURVEY Where do you think Mangiapane would've fit better?
Where do you think Mangiapane would've fit better?
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“One name to keep an on eye on for Toronto is Nazem Kadri,” insider Elliotte Friedman stated. “I’m hearing that there are serious desires from both sides for a reunion.”