Leafs Talk Mobile

31 Aug 2026 19:20:14
Is it just me or is the NHL turning more and more into the NBA? I can’t believe all these players taking deals for almost 20% of their team's cap space. Makar making over 20M now, Celebrini, Carlsson, Kaprizov, to name a few.

That tells me they don’t care to win. Just want a payday. How are you suppose to build a well rounded team when one player eats up so much cap space? The days of the Crosby type players are a dying breed. Sad to see.

31 Aug 2026 21:04:18
Crosby took his bag on his first deal. He signed for 104m almost 20 years ago when the cap was much, much, lower. I'm not sure where this narrative comes from that he took some huge discount to win.

He just didn't.

JT is the guy that took a huge discount and only because he was older and already made his money. That's generally how it always goes.

01 Sep 2026 10:37:43
You mean his huge 12 year contract? He's never taken more than 8.7m.

01 Sep 2026 11:09:09
@Captlou and how much was 8.7 against the cap at the time in comparison? He didn't take a huge discount. That was 13.5% of the cap.

Before that 12 year deal he was on a 5 year deal worth 8.7 which was 15.3% of the cap.

Just because the cap was lower, doesn't mean he took a discount. He probably could have asked for a bit more, but let's not pretend he signed for a massive discount

01 Sep 2026 12:14:15
Makar’s contract doesn’t kick in until next season so his percentage of the team's cap would be 17.97 percent. The contract that Crosby signed then was 13.5 percent and may have been much higher had they not had Malkin whose contract was identical. Ovechkin’s that same year was 16.82 percent. The numbers are not that far off really. In fact Celebrini with next year's cap will be 16.56. I don’t see a close comparison at all to the NBA. The NHL has a hard cap and teams are working within the guidelines. The NBA has a soft cap with a luxury tax the teams pay that go over. Steph Curry earns $62,587,158 which is 37.9 percent of the league's $164.96 standard cap.

Their actual team salary is $221,121,390.

Nothing has really changed massively in the NHL as far as the top players' compensation levels. What has made things harder is the talent level of the rest of the players is razor thin on separation. There are so many very very good players it is hard for them to accept lower salaries to be 3rd line players. That is the juggling act for agents and GMs and reality will dictate eventually in the future more and more arbitration hearings will become the norm I think and players will have to accept that mid level salaries will have to come back in line.

01 Sep 2026 15:35:37
Sorry I meant Crosby and Malkins were 15.3 percent not 13.5. A little dislexic today lol.

01 Sep 2026 19:24:14
LL, so you think Celebrini takes the same amount next contract? Crosby 13.5% of the salary cap when he was at his best. Not 17-20%. That's a big difference when we are talking tens of millions of dollars.

01 Sep 2026 20:14:21
I just said Crosby was 15,3 and so was Malkin. If Malkin was not there he would have been possibly higher than Ovechkin at that time. One thing is written in stone. No player will be higher than 20%.

01 Sep 2026 20:17:17
@Clarky I doubt it, but if he signed for 5 years at 20yo then 12 years at 25, maybe he would.

Are you not taking into account that Crosby signed his 2 year 8.7m deal at thirty seven years old? He was close to 40 when he signed that deal. That is not even remotely the same.

Crosby maximized his earnings through his 20s and 30s until he was 37. You're now doing the revisionist history I see a lot with Crosby and saying Celebrini should do the same thing Crosby did at 37 except when Celebrini is 25.



I think the most apt comparison is if Makar is a top 4 D after his current deal he then signs at a discount after he made as much as he could.

The Crosby glazing as a leader based on his contract really befuddled me when he signed his current deal and it still does. He left no money on the table and people just look at the number.

If anything, McDavid could have asked for a max deal on a one year contract and probably gotten it. He took a large discount compared to his worth to try and win.

23 Aug 2026 01:19:54
Just thought I would write what my feelings are regarding one of the best voices of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey commentators, Mr Joe Bowen. God rest his soul.
They have found a replacement apparently, Todd Crocker.
I guess thats it thats all for the Holy Mackinaw tradition and all the good alls and laughs, I honestly thought out of respect and to carry on the Bowen tradition it would have been his son David Bowen who said he wanted to arry on the Holy Mackinaw tradition.

I find that not giving David Bowen a shot at the commentator role and being next to Jim Ralph in the booth is total disrespect and disgusting. I heard Crocker before and David Bowen is a way better announcer and more lively. Any thoughts from anyone on this situation?

23 Aug 2026 01:22:09
The game is changing. Not many people listen to the broadcast Bowen is a part of. I personally only do because I like the duo I grew up with.

I'll miss Bowen, but in all reality, Amazon or some other company will take over rights and put someone else in within 10 years and it won't matter.

23 Aug 2026 21:45:55
@ Jaymo777 I have to disagree with your language on this decision. The Leafs did auditions and while I am sure some would have thought it kind of neat to continue the lineage of using a Bowen to replace a Bowen. But for you to say using David Bowen (Who also auditioned) and to use Todd Crocker is " total disrespect and disgusting", was off base.

You showed very low class and to steal your words "Total dispespect to Tood Crocker. I guy who has been broadcasting since 1997 in the AHL riding those buses waiting and hoping to get his chance. He has earned this and I wish him all the best.

P.S. Joe Bowen is still alive so let's say "God Bless him" not "God Bless his soul".

25 Aug 2026 20:19:15
Yes, for one Bowen is alive as suffering said. Rest his soul is for those who are no longer with us. They picked who they thought was best. You may be right that David would be better, but he shouldn't just be given the job because of his dad. I don't see any disrespect here.

14 Aug 2026 04:19:47
Since it's the most boring time in hockey news, the Jays are something and we can only hear about Kawhi so much; I'm sure everyone has heard the chiropractor interview about Mathews at this point.

I think to a certain extent it's being read into to much, but at the same time if wr actuat take a step back, Mathews has not been the same player since that 69g season.

Some of this is Berube and his defensive style, much akin to myself expecting a dip in McDavid's production, but something had not looked right in 2 years. I think we have all watched this with Mathews and wondered what it is.

Mathews was on a 50g pace with Johnson and Kapanen, two guys that are not even NHL players after leaving his side and he suddenly dropped off a cliff.

I know everyone wants to say "This is because Marner propped him up" but if this is a Thornton/Cheechoo situation, then Marner should have 100pts no matter who he is beside and msking them look better. What I saw from Marner was very different. He lost his centre and fell off a cliff. Mathews fell off a cliff no matter who he has.

What's the injury? If it's something that is going to hamper his career then we all know it's a rebuild around McKenna, but I wouldn't necessarily blame anyone for the failure in success beyond Dubas and Shanny as everyone else inherited a far inferior superstar.

14 Aug 2026 20:15:58
Good post. It is worrisome how much Matthews looks like an average 1st line centre over a top end one. And it's not just less goals to me. It's that he doesn't look dominant most games. He rarely looks like the most dangerous player on the ice.
I agree with where the biggest blame lies. Most seem to forget what Treliving inherited. Including that when Shanny fired Dubas, he called the core and told them not to worry, they won't be traded no matter who replaces Dubas.

Hard to blame Treliving for not trading Marner before his no trade kicked in because he couldn't even if he wanted to. I'm not trying to defend Tre, he made mistakes, but I'm not blaming him for what he wasn't responsible for, which includes a diminished superstar centre as you said.

14 Aug 2026 23:03:16
The thing with Matthews that drives me and others as well on here is that penchant for immediately skating away from a scrum. I get it that he has had injury issues, but he has always been this way regarding the scrums. So many times he has done this and one of his teammates has to contend with 2 players because it is now 5 players on the opposition to 4 on the Leafs.



The NHL does have an unwritten code that if you at least grab another player and tell them "My shoulder or my back is acting up" they will lightly grab you and you both go to the outside of the scrum action and they respect that you are hurt and nothing transpires. But the way he literally scoots away is embarrassing and not a good look at all for a Captain at all.

15 Aug 2026 00:32:16
@Suffering I have never liked how a monster of a man does not physically impose himself either, but that has nothing to do with how dropped off a cliff 2 years ago. He hasn't looked like a top 5 player in the world like he was when he was winning rockets and a Hart+Lindsay.

@RLF I also liked some of what Tre did even though he made a couple bad 1st round pick trades. Unlike some, I do not believe Minten will be something that haunts us for years to come. I'm more worried about Hildeby winning a Vezina than that.

You already know how I felt about Dubas/Shanny as well. They handed out these monster contracts and now Chayka/Tre can't do much beyond tinker around the edges. Chayka had a better chance as a GM because Marner was gone, but Tre really inherited nothing.

Turning Marner into a 1st when he was 1 week from UFA was one of the best things I've seen.

Matthews has not looked dangerous at all. He looks slow, his release doesn't look the same, he was never a fighter or one for scums as Suffering mentioned, but he used to win board battles and was great defensively in the middle of the ice on the back check and now he just looks like he's always chasing the play.

If Matthews is not a number one centre this year the way he was for the first (almost) decade here, then it's time to ask everyone over 25 if they want a trade and try to make it a quick turnaround with JT as 1C to help McKenna along if JT is ok to stay.

16 Aug 2026 15:30:14
LL. Agreed for the most part. And yes, him never wanting to engage in any scrums etc. bothers me. I have said for years that the main issue with the Leafs core, including JT and Rielly, is that none of them have a mean streak at all.

Hard to win a Cup when your top players are all adverse to engaging physically in anything other than a few body checks or battling for position.

16 Aug 2026 17:17:52
@RLF I at least give Mo credit, he's not a mean guy, but he's been in a few fights, cross checked some guys, etc.

I have never seen MNM or JT do so.

16 Aug 2026 18:45:43
LL. Yes, Mo has, but he has to force himself to do so, which is very rare because I don't think it is really in him to do that in any way naturally. I give him credit for trying at least. Out of 5 stars, 1 of them has very rarely engaged in that way. It's embarrassing, really.

16 Aug 2026 22:26:11
@RLF I'm fine with a leader forcing himself into uncomfortable spots. Wish the rest would do it.

17 Aug 2026 12:09:38
I agree he has. Doing it only a couple of times over 10+ years is better than nothing, but he obviously isn't comfortable with it. Better than the rest? Sure. I wouldn't say that he has established himself that way compared to the rest.

He was willing a couple of times, but doesn't keep doing it as needed. They all act afraid of that stuff and other teams sense it.

17 Aug 2026 15:30:16
@leafslife. A big part of Matthew’s falling off the cliff is where he started taking his shots from after the 69 goal year. A few guys who are more on top of the analytics pointed out to me that he started taking shots from further away and rushing the shots as he was now being time pressured by back checking wingers on gap control. The rushing took away his accuracy and speed of the shots as well as allowing that fraction extra for goaltenders to react.

The year he got 69 he took a lot of after and before the goal hits and he obviously was not fond of the physical price so he adjusted to get further away from that.

We know he is more fragile now but had he imposed himself more physically (not even dropping the gloves just laying out a few guys ) early on he could created more space for himself. That’s what allowed Ovie and Stamkos to do their thing. Stamkos even after all his injuries still plays physical to get his part of the rink.

Once I started looking a few games from the last few years I could see what they were talking about. He just didn’t look right shooting from further away.Maybe he makes some adjustments this year, just nervous how the knee bounces back.

18 Aug 2026 13:52:58
I'm pretty sure we had some discussion son here last year about Matthews shooting from farther out and that his shot didn't have as much zip on it. As far as not getting hit as much, yea he has been shying away. It was pretty much assumed because he was playing through injury and we often discussed why the Leafs didn't just sit him at the start of last season until he was healthy instead of playing him when he was a shell of himself.

The scary thing is if the supposed injury is not something that can really "heal" and therefore never really be his prior self. What if it is chronic back issues that never really heal? Add that to the knee injury and what will Matthews be going forward is definitely a concern as you said. He is playing like a lower end #1 centre instead of a high end one already. If he falls off more, we have a #2 centre in him who will want #1 money probably.

18 Aug 2026 16:07:07
The other question as well RLF is whether that Knies knee issue is resolved? I haven’t seen any reports of how his off season training has gone. If anyone has, please share. I’m just nervous if it re-occurs, does it turn into surgery possibly? We know what he can bring offensively, but if that knee hampers him defensively and plays through it.

There might have to be some line shuffling to shelter him. Cross our fingers on him and Matthews on the injury front.

18 Aug 2026 17:18:28
Good point on Knies.

06 Aug 2026 00:50:39
What is with everyone and Logan Stanley lately around here?

Is this guy some kind of stud in people's minds? He's a third pairing/7th defenceman on most teams. He's not some savior, but I'm seeing his name constantly as if he's going to fix this D-corps in some way.



This reminds me of the Stetcher talk. The guy had a few good games and suddenly he can be a top 4 D.

Before Stetcher, it was Benoit. Some were pencilling in beside Rielly.

Before that, it was Justin Holl before everyone wanted him fired out of a cannon.

06 Aug 2026 13:41:04
@leafslife.... I think what blinded people somewhat was him having a year where he got more points than people expected from him. That and his size and that he fights. He is not exactly fighter that scares people though. He throws a few punches but then kind of uses his reach and height to wrestle and tie up until they either tumble to the ice or Refs break up.

Most of us over the years used to look at the main stats on a player and at first glance he had a breakout year point wise. However with teams all hiring multiple people with analytics backgrounds the info they put together about players now is crazy. I only just started delving into some of them over the past year hard. The one stat that has teams backing away from him is Net Penalties. The difference between Penalties Drawn and Penalties Taken. Out of 940 players in the league he is 939th with a -23 Only Zadorov is highter a -25 but Zadorov plays more minutes per game and also lays out a lot more Hits a lot more harder. Stanleys are because he gets caught out of position so uses his stick and reach and gets a lot of tripping and hooking penalties because of his footspeed not being able to to deal with fast forwards.

And his Net -23 is factoring in minor penalties so the fighting ones are not part of that.

06 Aug 2026 20:57:57
I don’t get why you wouldn’t want Stanley at a good price. You guys under estimate the value of having tough guys on your team. Helps change the culture. Star players play better when they feel protected. Plus I’m sick of seeing us get bullied and our goalies get run with no repercussions.

06 Aug 2026 23:13:45
I get your old time tough guy hockey thing Clarky. But he is a terrible defenseman. Plain and simple. Sorry. Just the cold hard facts. I don't care how cheap he is, he still has to not be a liability when he is on the ice.

06 Aug 2026 23:33:11
That’s a little dramatic. He is a +29 over his career and he would have been 2nd on our D in goals last year. How bad is he really? Knows his role and plays his 15 minutes a game without touching a second of PP time.

Having that sheriff on your back end goes a long way and the goalies will appreciate it. Yes I am old school and so are the GMs that are controlling the teams around us. Eat or be eaten.

06 Aug 2026 23:52:45
How bad? I already said. He takes more minor penalties by far than he draws. And who are all these big brutal teams in our division? You keep mentioning Florida, but who else is there running us out of the rink that we need a fighter than can't play defense without taking penalties because he can't keep up to the play?

07 Aug 2026 00:09:23
@Clarky I respect your opinion on things, and we have been back and forth a lot on these types of things. It seems more like just a fundamental disagreement.

Stanley is a subpar, 3rd pairing D. He is very poor at moving the puck and below average on D while taking a lot of penalties.

Chayka signed 2 guys in the bottom 6 that will fight if need be and Tre brought in Joshua. If nobody stands up for teammates at this point, I see it as a leadership issue instead of a personnel issue.

Everyone wamts to crap on Mo recently, but he cross checked a guy for a slap shot into an empty net. He has also been in fights for teammates even though he is very poor at fighting and it is not his "MO" (lol).

Moving out Rielly, who should be captain, will change the culture of this team more than anyrhing else (negatively) than anything else done.

He is always accountable, always gives his full effort, is always standing up for teammates before the "core 4" and has been here longer than anyone. He never complained about being captain, he never made excuses, he never said someone else was to blame.

If you want a TRUE culture shift, it does not come from new guys in the bottom of the lineup, but from guys like Mo being on this team. Stanley will take a bunch of penalties and punch someone because that's the only reason he is not an AHL player.

Just my opinion of course, but it reminds me a lot of Maurice leaving the Jets and then winning multiple cups. It isn't something that is changed by bottom 6 players or coaches, it's the core leadership of a team.

07 Aug 2026 00:15:13
Just all the teams we need to beat to make playoffs. TB, Boston, MTL - Xhekaj runs around trying to goat guys into fights every time we play them and he usually goes after Joshua because he thinks he is our tough guy based on his size.

Because we really don’t have someone to answer that bell. If you guys don’t think toughness is important in this game, then we are at a difference of opinion. In playoffs those are the guys that standout.

07 Aug 2026 00:22:47
Fun fact for you, since you love your facts. TB, Boston, Florida lead the NHL in PIMs last year. Panthers were 1st and 2nd in PIMs the 2 years they won the SC.

07 Aug 2026 01:18:36
Fun fact back at ya. This past year Carolina was 26th in penalty minutes and Vegas was 31st.

07 Aug 2026 14:46:41
It's not about pen minutes to me, but about team accountability and unity. Leafs have very little. It is hard to change culture when the top players do not buy into team toughness, but rather team protection of themselves. It's great to have an Olivier, but few exist. If Leafs don't have one, they have to have a team mentality that no one will push them around. They don't have it. Too often, the main core don't push back. As for Stanley, bottom pair NHL D imo.

Yes, he has his warts, but when he is on the ice, 5 on 5, goalies tend to have excellent save percentages. His mobility is an issue, but he does force lower danger shots and is good at clearing the crease and preventing second chances off rebounds. Is he worth the $4-$5M he apparently wanted? Of course not. $2M on a show me deal? I would probably do it if the Leafs plan on using him as a 6/7 D depending on play.

07 Aug 2026 21:43:26
Thanks RLF, that is a fair post. People were making him out be Bambi skates. He is good for what he brings to the table. I’d play him against the tougher teams and play Andrae against the more finesse/mobile teams.

But I definitely think he could make this team more confident. No, he isn’t an Olivier, but he is in the top 5% for tough guys in the league.

28 Jul 2026 01:23:14
Am I on an island here or would anyone else here rather pay Robertson 3.25M then pay Roslovic 4M? I feel Robertson is gonna come back to haunt us.

28 Jul 2026 01:54:16
I would have been fine keeping Robertson as well. In a better system he's probably a 20g scorer. I don't think he comes back to haunt us as in he's a superstar, but I can see him being a decent middle 6 guy.

28 Jul 2026 02:50:34
I don't know whether Roslovic will be better or not, but I'm happy Robertson is gone. He's a ME first player, not a team first guy.

28 Jul 2026 04:30:38
@Tags I really never saw Robertson as that kind of guy.

I always thought the effort was there, but he needed better mentorship when he was young.

28 Jul 2026 09:48:19
The thing that worries me the most about Roslovic is his career -46. He hasn’t been in the + for over 5x years now.

Definitely gonna miss Robertson's shot. That kid can finish. My knock on Robertson is he looked like a boy playing a man’s game.

28 Jul 2026 13:20:45
I didn't want either, simple as that.

28 Jul 2026 14:33:51
Robertson needed a change of scenery no matter what. I do think we could have done better with Roslovic and that $4 million. However... The saving grace is he has no restrictions for moving him at any point.

28 Jul 2026 15:24:21
@LeafsLife
My buddies nephew played on the Marlies with Robertson for a couple of years. He says Robertson is a selfish player, he's all about himself and just looks to score for himself. Btw it's not just his nephew who feels this way, many other players on the team have said the same thing.


Anyways, Robertson is now gone and I wish him the best of luck.
Roslovic is another story, and I'm not high on him either same as you guys feel. I would have loved Arvidsson, but that ship has sailed.
Let's hope Chayka has a couple more bullets in the chamber. We need another solid piece or two.

28 Jul 2026 20:51:35
@Tags I wouldn't have thought before you mentioned it. Good post.

28 Jul 2026 21:39:43
@Tags... I heard a similar thing in regards to his just wanting to shoot as much as possible to score. Similar thing a buddy of mine has a son that is in another organization and that was the book on him. Defenders now know to play him in that he will shoot most of the time, so they push him to shoot from bad angles and low percentage shots, which would drive coaches crazy.

They would tell him over and over to look towards passing more often, and it would separate the defenders more. But he would never listen and kept thinking he could replicate that 55 goal season from Junior.

31 Jul 2026 15:57:55
I mentioned about Robertson being selfish a long time ago and Tags backed it up with this information. He has always come across as a guy who thinks he deserves to be in the top 6 playing with the best players even if he isn't consistent enough in his play.