What's Next for the Toronto Maple Leafs?

By: Audrey Fields

Edited By: Kylie Augis

The Toronto Maple Leafs had a great record for the 2022 - 2023 regular season, and broke their curse of nearly two decades during the postseason. Despite making it past the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004, the Leafs weren’t able to keep the momentum or intensity going against the Florida Panthers. Now, in their offseason, they have some big decisions and changes ahead of them.

Management

After their second round exit, the Leafs fired their General Manager Kyle Dubas who had served as GM since 2018. There are currently dozens of rumors as to why Dubas was relieved from his position, but Kyle and his family issued a statement Tuesday morning discussing one of the main reasons for this departure: family. This leaves lots of room for the organization to look into different candidates for the job, with former Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving being one of the most talked about in the media up for consideration. There is no way to tell as of yet who is the Leafs’ organization’s top choice or if they have one yet, as this vacancy opened up just last Friday.

Courtesy of Sam Neumann

Players

Although their collective effort fell short in the postseason, there are several individual players of interest on the Leafs who may be making some changes. One of the major topics for discussion is what will happen with right winger Mitch Marner. The full no-movement clause of his contract does not go into action until July 1st, which means that until then Marner could be moved by the Leafs. Similarly, the Leafs’ center Auston Matthews’ contract can be signed for an extension on July 1st, and if there isn’t one the Leafs will likely look into trading him as well. All of the Core Four of Toronto, which include Marner and Matthews as well as William Nylander and John Tavares, are surrounded by many rumors and speculations as to their offseason decisions. There has been little confirmed or validated about these rumors, but with different deadlines rapidly approaching we are sure to get definitive answers soon.

Courtesy of Mark Blinch / Getty Images

Overall

In the 2022 - 2023 preseason, the Leafs were given +800 odds of winning the cup, placing above both the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights. Although preseason odds aren’t a good measure of how a team will perform throughout the regular and postseason, it just goes to show how anything and everything needs to be taken into account when it comes to a teams’ success. Not only is it important to have strong players on the ice, but the coaching and management of the franchise can be just as effective in the long run. It’s no secret that the Maple Leafs need to work on many aspects of the game if they hope to become a Stanley Cup contender anytime soon. This does not mean, however, that the feat would be impossible for Toronto in the coming years, so long as they start making the right moves starting this offseason.