The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a big summer. After losing to the Florida Panthers in the playoffs, they executed a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. Mitch Marner was sent out with Nicolas Roy coming back to Toronto. Pressure is mounting for Auston Matthews and company as they look forward to the new season.
Elliotte Friedman is convinced that the offseason would have played out differently if the Maple Leafs had won their series against the (eventual) Stanley Cup Champions.
Elliotte Friedman on Mitch Marner Leaving the Maple Leafs
Marner, 28, played his last game with the Maple Leafs this past postseason. Game 7 was his last time putting on a Toronto uniform. On the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman revealed that some have believed that Marner was planning to leave a long time before the playoffs started.
“There are other players who feel that when Marner didn’t sign last summer, that the writing was on the wall,” Friedman said to his co-host, Kyle Bukauskas. “My position is this: if they beat Florida in the second round, which they should have done, I don’t see how Mitch Marner isn’t in Toronto.”
Every player has the dream of winning the Stanley Cup. So when you fall short, speculation begins.
Before the Playoffs, Marner Didn’t Want to Leave
Before Friedman offered his thoughts, Bukauskas reported on a few conversations he had with William Nylander. Those conversations centered around Marner and his future with the Maple Leafs.
Bukauskas spoke to Nylander after Game 7 against Florida to ask if he thought Marner was going to leave, and Nylander said no. Bukauskas noted that Nylander was in a similar position a year prior.
“At one point in the year, he (Nylander) did ask him (Marner), ‘What are you thinking?’ And he said to him, ‘My plan is (I’m) here to stay,’” Bukauskas revealed to Friedman. “Then, even when the season was over, he asked him again, and Marner said, ‘I want to stay here, but let’s see what happens.’ So, at that point, he was still hopeful that maybe something was going to get done.”
“But after the season, the tone had changed a little bit. Now, the door was open, maybe he would be going elsewhere. Of course, he ends up in Vegas.”
Somewhere in the postseason, something changed.
Which Maple Leafs Player Will Replace Marner?
With Marner in the rearview, the focus is on the 2025-26 season.
The goaltending is set with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz between the pipes. The defense is virtually set. However, they could add a depth player or two before game one of the regular season.
The forward group has the most question marks. The Maple Leafs acquired several players, with a few more on their radar.
The talk right now is that one of Easton Cowan, Matias Maccelli, or Nylander could receive an opportunity on the top line. Given the circumstances surrounding the team, there is a good chance this becomes the story of training camp.
Barring a last-minute signing or trade, this looks to be the group that the Maple Leafs begin camp with. For the Maple Leafs, the “what if” scenarios are a thing of the past, and the focus is on the here and now.
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