The Toronto Maple Leafs should bring back a few familiar faces at the NHL Trade Deadline this year.
2026 has been an incredible year for the Leafs thus far as all of their New Year's resolutions are working. With only one regulation loss in eight games, Toronto has gone from a potential seller to a buyer, as they've put themself back into a potential playoff spot.
Although the team has been winning a ton, the rest of the Atlantic Division has unfortunately been just as good, so they haven't made a ton of ground, but they're in striking position. Currently one point out of a playoff berth, the Leafs could use one or two moves to get them over the edge.
Instead of looking at a big splash like Dougie Hamilton or Artemi Panarin, the team should look at a few former teammates to join the roster.
Luke Schenn
Currently averaging just over 13 minutes of ice-time, Schenn is the perfect addition for this team. The team's right-side of their defense-core took a huge blow with the Chris Tanev injury and hasn't fully recovered since, so they're desperate for another right-handed d-man.
Schenn is 36-years-old now and is slow, but he's still 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, so his size and hockey IQ will go a long way on the team's blue-line. Troy Stecher has been a fantastic addition this year so he can still play on the team's second-pairing, but Schenn would be a great replacement for Philippe Myers on the third-pair.
He returned for the playoff run in 2023 and played well beside Morgan Rielly, so you can rely on Schenn to do the same thing this year and fit seemlessly into the line-up.
Michael Bunting
At $4.5M, Bunting is a little expensive, but the team could get creative with Calle Jarnkrok going the other way to make the math work. The Scarborough, ON native made a name for himself during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season with multiple 23 goal campaigns, looking great alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Although Bobby McMann and Max Domi have shined beside Matthews lately, Bunting's familiarity with the captain could be a welcomed sight. The team has found some nice depth with the Easton Cowan-Nic Roy-Nick Robertson line lately as well, but Bunting could be someone who can jump onto the top-line to replace McMann, when he eventually slows down.
We've seen this for three years now with McMann where he plays well for a month then dissapears so it's just a matter of time before that happens. As such, Bunting can help add a little more scoring and also be a face that Matthews is happy to play with down the stretch.
Nazem Kadri
With three years left at $7M AAV, it feels impossible to make this trade work. However, there's no other former player that fans would love to see more than Kadri.
Kadri was a polarizing player during his tenure in Toronto. The multiple 30-goal scorer was one of those players you hated to play against, but loved to have on your team, but he unfortunately played too close to the edge in back-to-back playoffs. After getting suspended on two occasions, the Leafs decided to trade Kadri to Colorado, where he ended up winning a Stanley Cup, showing Toronto fans what they were missing.
He never wanted to leave Toronto, which is what made his departure so difficult, so a reunion would make Brad Treliving win over the fanbase, regardless of how the season ended. Kadri is matured, so a suspension shouldn't happen again, plus he hasn't made the playoffs since 2022, so you have to assume he's hungry to get another ring. It's probably a pipe-dream, but Kadri returning to Toronto would be amazing, if they could make the money work.