The Toronto Maple Leafs have missed out on a long-rumored trade target. In another late-night trade on Friday, the Seattle Kraken sent Mason Marchment to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a second and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Marchment, 30, was a cap casualty of the Dallas Stars this past offseason. Dallas moved him to the Kraken to clear cap space for this season. Marchment, however, wasn’t a very good fit in Seattle. He had four goals and 13 points in 29 games. Not bad, but not quite what the Kraken had hoped to get.
That seeming lack of fit in Seattle was something the Maple Leafs were banking on. Ever since GM Brad Treliving discussed mixing things up in Toronto, speculation ran rampant about which players the team could target. Marchment was one of them. But now, the Blue Jackets seemed to have pulled off a heist of their own.
Given the fact that the Blue Jackets paid two draft picks, the question begs: Could the Maple Leafs have offered the same? Likely, yes. But the issue would have been cap space. The Blue Jackets took on Marchment’s full $4.5 million cap hit. That’s something the Maple Leafs could not have done.
The Maple Leafs currently have just under $4 million in cap space. However, that total includes Chris Tanev’s $4.5 million cap hit on LTIR. If and when Tanev returns, the Leafs would face a cap crunch.
Moreover, the talk has been about the Leafs looking to jettison some contracts. So, it seems unlikely that the Kraken would have wanted to take back Matias Maccelli or Max Domi. As such, the Maple Leafs’ cap situation has them in a tight spot this season.
Maple Leafs Don’t Have Many Assets to Part With
The Maple Leafs don’t have many assets to part with anyway. While the price for Marchment seems relatively low, it was due to the Blue Jackets taking on his full cap hit. Plus, the picks Columbus sent to Seattle weren’t theirs anyway.
The Blue Jackets sent a second-round pick that originally belonged to the Minnesota Wild. The fourth-rounder was the New York Rangers’ property. That’s a luxury the Maple Leafs don’t have. The Leafs could have sent their own second and fourth-rounders from the 2027 NHL Draft.
But again, that move would have made sense if the Maple Leafs were able to take on Marchment’s full cap hit.
What’s Next for Toronto’s Plans?
With Marchment off the board for now, the Maple Leafs will need to continue scouring the market to see what else is out there. Several names are making the rounds, but they don’t really seem like fits in Toronto.
The most important issue here would be for the Leafs to clear cap space before adding anyone else. That would be the biggest challenge facing the club. Unless the Maple Leafs can find contract-in, contract-out deals, they’ll have to make separate trades to unload contracts.
The trade market seems to be heating up at the moment. So, there’s a good chance the Maple Leafs could find willing trade partners. However, Brad Treliving will need to think outside the box.
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