Leafs Talk Mobile

29 Sep 2026 14:34:31
So.
Roslovic Mathews Marchenko
McKenna Tavares Nylander
Cowan Paul Scissions
MacEwen Blueger Duhaine

Reilly Raddysh
McCabe Tanev
OEL Stetcher

Bobrovski
Stolarz.

23 Sep 2026 01:07:55
I know it's not even reg. Season yet, but I really don't get the hype around Knies sometimes. He's a step behind on that top line most of the time when I watch and doesn't seem to read plays as quickly as some believe he does.

I still think he's a very good middle 6 winger on a good contract, but that MTL return should have been taken imo.

23 Sep 2026 13:04:55
Yeah, it is pre-season but he was as invisible in the first game as Reilly and in Reilly’s defense, he didn’t dress lol. Rifai dropped the gloves in defense Matthews and Nylander after Xhekaj was targeting them.

Knies could have laid out a few Canadians with some hits. The way he played, though, it begs the question: is he 100 percent healthy? Rifai was also excellent all night with and without the puck.

23 Sep 2026 17:24:27
@Suffering I also liked seeing Rifai step in, especially knowing he isn't winning the fight lol.

Knies is being painted as this big, tough, power forward. He's definitely got the effort, but I just don't see him as a top line player.

He's not a great skater and his IQ really isn't there sometimes.

Obviously hoping I'm wrong and he improves as time goes on, but this is a lot of what we saw all last season as well.

24 Sep 2026 12:00:03
Knies has never been quick. He has heavy feet. His first few steps are slow and it takes him a bit to get going, but his top end speed is quite good, so he can keep up when he gets going. He's not quite 24, so hopefully he can continue to work on his quickness. I would like to see more "in your face" from him.

A little nastier side come out. He's very good value, but his lack of quickness does limit him in cycling pucks etc. He's a very big body and quickness tends to be an average issue with big men. For the right package though, anyone can be traded.

24 Sep 2026 13:42:35
I think McKenna is going to get moved to the top line. He looks very good. Best player on the ice at times. He will be able to dish the puck to Matthews. Roslovic look good last night too.

24 Sep 2026 14:12:29
Like any player, Knies has his deficiencies, but I'm not that worried. That player brings a lot of different skill sets to the Leafs. Just because he's not a superstar doesn't mean he's not a good player. He's also only, what, 23?

25 Sep 2026 00:34:32
@Goat I guess we'll see as the year goes on.

Hope I'm wrong and Knies does rebound into a 1st line power forward.

25 Sep 2026 20:31:36
Blah blah blah. Knies will be fine. Yes, he didn’t look as per usual during the pre season games but he wasn’t throwing his body around like normal. But we need his skill set. We have a perimeter team and he is one of the few guys that will drive the net.

Gavin looks awesome, looks confident already. Gives me faith that we can trade Willy next year. Also, Cowan looks great too! He is like a buzz saw out there and looked great on the PK too.

26 Sep 2026 21:16:44
I'm still in the trade Knies boat, but it would have to be for a top pairing Dman.
I just think his lack of speed off the hop and his hockey IQ will limit him. He is still highly sought after, so IMO best to look for a trade now.

10 Sep 2026 10:07:30
The goat is back lol.

I gotta say it’s been nice seeing the Dubas top heavy roster philosophy disappear in Toronto. All contracts on the books look good… That being said, I would have liked to see the Leafs leave 1-2 spots open to give some of these kids on the Marlies a shot at making the club.



Groulx, Quillan and some others are NHL calibre but will not get a shot unless there’s a lot of injuries. I get having depth, but I also think stuff like this will hurt the Leafs in the long run with development and being able to sign free agents via CHL/NCAA.

What’s everyone’s thoughts on this?

11 Sep 2026 14:05:51
I think the animosity that is growing between Canada and the States due to political issues will have a greater impact on where players may want to play.
But yes, having some open competition instead of all spots penciled in would be a better set up and being able to attract free agents from those leagues.

04 Sep 2026 14:51:54
Anyone else concerned about the lack of someone to defend McKenna if he’s playing on either of our top lines? Knies maybe, but I feel we need a major deterrent. Ideas?

04 Sep 2026 13:38:22
Not really. Putting Ryan Reaves on the top line wouldn't stop Tkatchuk's/Bennet/Gudas was doing something dumb.

04 Sep 2026 18:33:30
You can't worry about that deterrent just for certain players. Best advice they can give him is to keep his head up and realize he is in the pros. Be aware of not only where the opposition is that want to hit him but be aware of the flow of his own teammates. Different size players different speed of players. Bedard can tell him what it is like when you take your off the play and look at the puck for a split second.

Best way to make them pay for trying to take a cheap shot is to avoid it by keeping head up and then making a good play right after it. It doesn't matter who you are if you try for a stupid hit and miss, every NHL coach will chew you out even if you are a Bennett or a Tkachuk.

04 Sep 2026 19:28:02
If the plan is to put Roslovic in the top 6, they don't really have a deterrent of any kind in their top 6 (not like they ever have). No one worries about Matthews, Nylander, JT, Roslovic or even Knies really. McKenna is obviously not going to deter anyone.
The only one with the speed to keep up and the will to engage would be Duhaime. And unless his puck skills magically got better this off-season, even with Matthews and McKenna for instance, he likely hits career highs of 10-15 goals and 30 ish points.

That puts JT with Willy and Knies. Roslovic goes to the 3rd line where I would assume he is with Paul and Cowan. 4th line of Joshua, Scissons and Blueger.
I have actually thought about this scenario before, but I doubt the Leafs would even consider it in pre-season.

04 Sep 2026 19:59:16
I was trying to make them tougher all off season, but Chayka didn’t listen. 1st player I would have went for is Anders Lee. Has the ability to put up 30 and won’t back down from absolutely anybody. Yea he is getting a little older but he has heart. The major organ that the Leafs are missing. That’s why I also suggested getting a sheriff on the back end, so if Bennett is taking liberties with McKenna, Logan Stanley could be on the ice to send a message back, but most people here want a soft team that puts up points in the regular season, unfortunately.

Not sure why, but I’m having a gut feeling this is going to be Reilly's best year as a Leaf, really thinking of picking him up for my fantasy teams too in the last round.

05 Sep 2026 21:01:16
@Clarky, What would you suggest? This team, to me, was extremely slow and heavy last year. They couldn't keep up with the pace of better teams.

I would also love to have a Tom Wilson, Tkathuk, type player on the top line, but those guys are so rare.

08 Sep 2026 20:17:32
@LL I did suggest Anders Lee would have been my target over Roslovic.
It’s funny to hear you say Tkachuk and Wilson are hard to get because they are so rare but you are willing to move Knies at 23yo.

09 Sep 2026 15:20:26
@Clarky I like Knies, but everyone has a price.

25 Aug 2026 00:07:16
Had a article pop up from a feed re: NHL Network ranking of top 20 centers in NHL. Is Connor Bedard the NHL's 16th best Center? After seeing the list my question would be is Auston Matthews the 8th best?

24 Aug 2026 23:16:15
No, Mathews was ranked far too high on that list in my view. Past accolades are fine if it's one down year, but 2 in a row with injuries mounting doesn't strike me as a top 10 centre at the moment.

I also didn't have Celebrini above Barkov or Drais either. That was an insane one to me.

24 Aug 2026 23:34:36
I would have had Barkov and Suzuki as a coin flip for #3 and #4. Suzuki is soooo good and soooo underated. It pains me as a Montreal life long hater to say that lol. But he is so good in his own end as well as being a offensive force that gets better each year.

One thing I did read a few weeks ago is that he is who Cowan has been skating with in London this summer. Can't think of a better player for Cowan to pick up some nuances from.

24 Aug 2026 23:42:29
@Suffering I 100% have Drais in the top 3. That guy is an absolute stud, but I can agree that defensively Brakov and Suzuki are much better defensively.

25 Aug 2026 13:19:09
So where do you have Mathews after the last two years? McDavid, MacKinnon, Drais, Celebrini, Suzuki, Eichel and Barkov have to be higher that Mathews on the list in whatever order I think. That's where you hit kind of the second tier of first line centres.

I probably do still have him in that 8th spot.

25 Aug 2026 15:29:33
I still have Sid in that top group as well. Celebrini is a beast imo. 115 points as a 19 year old. A little too loose with the puck, but he is just a kid. Honestly, with how Matthews has looked the past 2 seasons, how far behind him can guys like Sheifele, Hughes, Stutzle, Bedard, Point etc be? I think you could rank Matthews anywhere from just inside the top 10 to probably 16-17th, based on the past two seasons.

25 Aug 2026 17:07:59
@RLF Celebrini had one good year, that's the only thing. I do think he's going to be a stud going forward, but that's what Vancouver thought about EP40.

Forgot about Point. I'd have Point ahead of Mathews currently as well and Stutzle is a toss up.

Jack Hughes I personally think is barely top 20. Guy cannot stay healthy which makes it hard to get a read on how good he would be in a full season.

25 Aug 2026 19:31:55
Another player I would put above Matthews would be Sebastian Aho. The more I watch him I realize just how elite he is. Very very smart 2 way player. He bought in early to Rod Brindamour's system and is Mr.

Automatic for a paint a game no matter who his wingers are. His skill level is fantastic and in a different system (Their system works though as shown by their success) he would be hitting 95 to 100 points on other teams.

25 Aug 2026 20:15:18
LL. That's my point though. In many cases, it's really close with Matthews and a lot of centres who are outside what most would consider the top tier. As for Celebrini. He was almost a ppg as an 18 year old on what was a poor team until he arrived. He has transformed that team because he is that good imo.

26 Aug 2026 00:17:29
@RLF As I said, I also think Celebrini is a current/future superstar. I'm just always cautious of young guys or guys in career years.

26 Aug 2026 15:49:57
Point ahead of Matthews is weird to me, he was nearly useless last year.

18 Aug 2026 07:51:49
Good day lads.
I have followed this site for a while now and I finally broke down to write something.

Toronto - Anyone
Any team- Anyone + Stanley Cup

I think this is what we all want. A real parade, not just the one we plan in our heads, would be unbelievable. A long time coming. I am not sure about all of you, but I am not old enough to have witnessed one. Sometimes I read posts on here and believe the person writing the post would rather the leafs lose to prove their idea of how to build a team is right. The leafs are what they are and they have a new direction. Hopefully Chayka gets it done. He seems to have a plan and I believe wholeheartedly that it is already better than Treliving’s vision. I am on board. Ted Lasso taught me to believe, so I will believe in this group. I hope the true leaf fans on this site will give this group a chance as well.

Having said that, if I had the job of GM, which is the fun part of this site, I would go after speed on the blue line. If you do a quick google search of the fastest D-men in the league you will see why. Draft them. I would say you are more likely to have an 18 year old grow or get stronger than you are drafting a big guy hoping you can make him fast. Personally I like the Andrae trade and I wouldn’t touch Stanley with a ten foot pole (Carlo 2.0). But if they do, I will cheer him on and hope I am wrong. The team last year couldn’t get out of their own zone with control and were in the box far too often because of it. Personally I believe that this is more important than any upgrade at 2/3C. I feel like if the D can’t join the play or start the play, it won’t matter who you have in the bottom six. They won’t get a chance to have an odd man rush because they start the shift in their own zone and don’t have any support or offence generated from the backend. Everything off a cycle that you need to earn isn’t a consistent way to rack up points.

Unfortunately I think the leafs will need to get creative. Knies is by far the most likely piece to get a solid D, but is he enough to get you a Sanderson type player? He probably gets you a younger more risky option from a team as they haven’t broken out yet, but I feel like he may be an overpay for anyone unproven. Let me say this first. I love Knies. I think he is a great player, but I also know that you need to give to get.

My question is, who do you think the best Dman the leafs could get if they offered a package of Knies, and maybe Colorados first? What team may actually say yes? Or what young potential D do you think you could get for a player like Cowan? May not be worth it, but let’s see what you think. Ignore cap if you must as shedding Reilly’s or Joshua’s cap could still happen in a separate deal.

As much as losing a good young player hurts, having a guy you can put out there more often on the backend and dictate play, raises the production of every forward group they go out with. That to me is how we find the most improvement in the bottom six’s production and for the team as a whole.

18 Aug 2026 13:43:10
Welcome. A number 1 D would be great, something as you know if you have been following, many have talked about. If you're offering up Knies and a 1st, my first thought is Werenski as far as possibly being available. My guess is he pops into many guys' minds.
As for the team make up this year, it will all come down to Matthews, Nylander, Knies, JT mostly upfront. Nothing new there. Need a healthy Tanev and a good season out of Raddysh on the back end for sure.

Then the big question in goal. Does Bob have enough left in the tank and can he and Stolarz be healthy enough to last a season and possibly playoffs?
Really, not much different than last season in many ways imo. If they all (most of the team sucked last year) have poor to brutal seasons again, then the moves Chayka made won't matter anymore than the moves Treliving made.

18 Aug 2026 20:13:57
I don't think any established d-man, even for Knies and the 1st, a team would part with. Any upcoming d-man would have to be supplemented with another player or two for Knies and the 1st. A team that comes to mind and did a long time back suggest the Isles. For him and that 1st, I would ask for Kashawn Aitcheson, and if he is not ready this year he will next year be that offensive d-man we have been looking for, along with being a vicious hitter.

As well, for that package you ask for Cal Ritchie, which would give you a player that will be a #2 Centre eventually but is versatile enough he plays the wing. He really came into his own down the stretch last year. Then you also ask for Cole Eiserman, who in his brief stretch in the AHL at the end of the year showed he is not far away from an NHL spot either. It's a big ask from the Isles but so is the give from the Leafs.

18 Aug 2026 23:29:56
Appreciate the thoughts. I probably would make both of these trades to be honest. Once again, not because I don’t really like Knies, but because I want to see how good our top guys can be when they are playing with someone who adds offence. Not just blocks shots and boxes out.

Both trades have their pros and cons. Werenski could be gone within a couple of years and the others are not proven. I would probably lean towards the trade with NYI, simply because it would yield three young cost controlled players who may fit with a McKenna window. Obviously caps would need to be taken into consideration.



As far as the team goes for this year, I am optimistic. Hiller could be the most impactful change that was done this offseason. The Leafs were brutal to watch last year. Chip and chase is a hard way to win in this league. I felt like Matthews really tried to buy into the system, but it was like asking Curry to stop shooting 3’s and post up. Against the way he learned to play the game and played all the way up. Hiller’s teams were not incredibly offensive in LA, but I am still hopeful a new voice brings back a little puck possession and a more entertaining brand of hockey for the fans.

19 Aug 2026 12:05:16
Yes Hiller might breath more life into the team, I think a undersung guy as well behind the bench will be John Gruden as well. Especially with any injuries and Marlie promotions when that occurs. The players coming up will have a face in the dressing room they feel some comfort with.

22 Aug 2026 01:35:55
By the way, @Anotherbeleafer, Good on you for breaking down and posting. Don't be a stranger on the site and keep posting.