This season hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite being in the top Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, things could be a lot better for Toronto. With Joseph Woll working his way back to working in tandem with Anthony Stolarz, the Maple Leafs just need to add more firepower to possess a threatening roster.
One trade target proposed by a former NHL defender might be precisely what the doctor ordered. The player in question is none other than Nick Schmaltz of the Utah Mammoth.
Former NHLer Urges Maple Leafs to Acquire Nick Schmaltz
To help with the Maple Leafs’ scoring, former NHL defenseman Jason Demers made a trade suggestion on X.
“If I’m the Toronto Maple Leafs, I’m trading for Nick Schmaltz yesterday,” Demers wrote during the Maple Leafs’ last game on November 3, 2025. “Little speed to go on the wing with Matthews and Knies …. I’m worried about them.”
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies have been a constant fixture for Toronto’s top line. The duo hasn’t been subpar by any stretch, but if both are having excellent seasons, it dramatically increases the Maple Leafs’ chances of making the postseason with full force.
Matthews has recorded 11 points in 13 games, while Knies has outperformed the captain by notching 16 points.
Schmaltz has been on a tear to begin the 2025-26 season. In 13 games (before Wednesday night), he has 18 points, eight of which are goals, while averaging a career-high 19:48.
Schmaltz vs Auston Matthews & Matthew Knies
According to NHL Edge data, the Maple Leafs have had a skater hit one of the top speeds (23.48 MPH). However, they only have 18 22+ MPH speed bursts to go along with 225 20-22 MPH speed bursts, and 1164 18-20 MPH speed bursts.
Compared to the rest of the NHL, they rank 13th in 22+ speed bursts, 28th in 20-22 speed bursts, and 29th in 18-20 speed bursts.
As far as Matthews and Knies’ speed is concerned, there is room for adding a winger who is fast on their feet. To date, it’s been a revolving door between Easton Cowan, Max Domi, Nick Robertson, and William Nylander (to name a few).
For Matthews, his max skating speed is 21.57, according to NHL Edge data. He has zero speed bursts of 22+ MPH, 10 speed bursts of 20-22 MPH, and 79 speed bursts of 18-20 MPH.
Knies, on the other hand, has a recorded max speed of 22.04 MPH. Additionally, he has one speed burst of 22+ MPH, 12 speed bursts of 20-22 MPH, and 66 speed bursts of 18-20 MPH.
Now, those numbers aren’t bad, but they also aren’t great.
Nick Schmaltz Brings the Speed
Schmaltz has a max speed of 22.31 MPH, the highest among him, Matthews, and Knies. He has two speed bursts of 22+ MPH, 25 speed bursts of 20-22 MPH, and 131 speed bursts of 18-20 MPH.
One thing that stands out is how many more speed bursts Schmaltz has had in each category, especially compared to Knies and Matthews.
Earlier in training camp, the speed of the Maple Leafs was identified as an area of concern. This concern has bled into the regular season, and now the team needs to take a step to address it.
One way or another, the Maple Leafs need to get faster, and acquiring Schmaltz would be a sure-fire way to accomplish that.
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