Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs are still taken aback by the emptiness where Mitch Marner used to sit in the locker room. However, with the 2025–26 NHL season approaching, they can’t afford to stand idle with their arms crossed. According to reports, moves are expected in The Six.
There is now a big question mark floating over the Maple Leafs. Especially over Matthews and his production. After all, this next NHL campaign will be the captain’s first without Marner skating on his wing. Now, there is room for concerns in Toronto on how to fill the void.
Nobody can deny that both Marner and the Buds needed a fresh start in the NHL. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Toronto now has a vacancy in the top six. Of course, there are several names who could fill in.
Yet, none that can guarantee the kind of point production Marner provided—at least in hindsight. Unless GM Brad Treliving and the brass have a trick up their sleeves. According to a report in the league, that might be the case.
“The front office is still looking for that upgrade up front,” The Athletic’s James Mirtle stated. “I don’t expect Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua to be it for forward adds.”
Addressing the elephant in the room
As Treliving attended the NHL‘s GM/coaches meeting in Detroit, he spoke with reporters and it didn’t take long before questions about Marner’s departure arose. On that note, the 56-year-old executive voiced a sincere admission about Toronto’s mindset.
“We’re going to miss him, but everyone moves on, right?” Treliving said about Marner, via The Athletic. “We’ve got some guys that are looking for a bit of a bigger bite of the apple. We’ve got some new players that will be interesting to see where they fit.“
Making something clear
Many fans in Hogtown hoped for the Leafs to immediately replace Marner with another superstar to help out Matthews and the rest of the team. Still, that was never the plan for the Leafs. If anything, parting ways with the former fourth-overall meant the Buds could now split Marner’s salary across the rest of the lineup.
“But you’re not just going to go out and replace him. You’ve got to do it by the aggregate — and then keep phoning around,” Treliving admitted. “We’ve got a couple of young guys that will be interesting to see where they’re at, especially with Cowan, and you’ve got Maccelli coming in, and Nick Roy, and Joshua.”
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Whatever path the Leafs decide to take, it will ultimately come down to whether or not Matthews and company complete the mission. If Toronto doesn’t hoist the Stanley Cup, then it might be all in vain. Perhaps it’s an unfair treatment, but that’s how it works in Hogtown.