Although it may be almost six weeks away from the NHL trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs actually need to start considering their options prior to the deadline. That is because with the Olympics taking place during the month of February, the NHL will have a roster freeze between February 4 until February 22, preventing any transactions to take place during that time frame. As a result, the Leafs essentially just over three and a half weeks instead to prepare for any moves that they want to make any upgrades for the playoff push.
In order to bolster their roster, Toronto will likely need to part ways with some key players. After all, you can’t expect to get quality without giving up some quality in return. As a result, we will take a look at 3 Maple Leafs players that could be moved at the trade deadline to net Toronto the necessary assets for another Stanley Cup run.
G Anthony Stolarz
Nobody would have saw this coming for Anthony Stolarz prior to the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. After all, Stolarz was vital for the Leafs’ success last year, posting a 21-8-3 record with a sparkling 2.14 GAA and .926 save percentage over 34 games played in helping Toronto reach the second round of the NHL Playoffs.
However, Stolarz had a disastrous start to his current year, compiling a 6-5-1 record with an unsightly 3.51 GAA and .884 save percentage in just 13 games for the Maple Leafs. It also didn’t help that he would end up spending over two months on the injured reserve due to an upper-body injury, taking away his opportunity to correct his struggles and turn things around right away.
During his time on the IR, rookie goaltender Dennis Hildeby had surprised many observers by filling in nicely in his absence, registering five wins along with a tidy 2.84 GAA and .912 save percentage. With Hildeby forming a solid tandem with starter Joseph Woll, some have speculated that with the excess of goalies, the Leafs could move Stolarz In a trade to net them some valuable assets due to the weak goalie market. In particular, those that expect him to recapture his old form will definitely be interested in picking him up. But how Toronto will proceed with the 32-year-old veteran will likely depend on his performance in the upcoming weeks following his return from injury on Friday, which doesn’t look so good so far.
D Ben Danford
One of the key things that prospective teams will likely look for in return from the Maple Leafs are controllable assets that they could use for their future. Normally, that would consist of draft picks, but with Toronto having depleted quite a bit of those resources in recent years, including their first round picks in the upcoming two seasons, their strongest trade chips will now likely fall on the shoulders of top prospects that they currently own. One of those promising players include top defenseman prospect Ben Danford.
Taken in the first round from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by the Leafs, Danford isn’t your typical offensive juggernaut from the back end, having registered just 95 points in over 212 games playing in juniors. However, those that are looking for a defense-first defender that is tough to play against, he would be the man. Known for his strong gap control, physical play and puck movement, Danford would complement well with any offensively-minded defensive partner on the ice.
With the Leafs likely wanting to hold onto promising rookie Easton Cowan as much as they can, Danford becomes their top prospect available that teams would be calling for. Especially after a solid performance at the World Junior Hockey Championships in which he helped Team Canada bring home the bronze medal, showing that he could play confidently on the biggest stage.
F Easton Cowan
But as much as the Maple Leafs don’t want to move Cowan, they may not have a choice when all is said and done. That is because he currently represents the Leafs’ best trade chip after showing that he is ready for the NHL with his play so far this season. Of course, Cowan would have his hiccups here and there along the way, like the game-ending play in overtime in the match against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday. Nevertheless, he has matured various aspects of his game to fit in comfortably on the Leafs’ middle six, as well as being a contributor on the team’s second power play unit.
With seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 39 games played so far this year, that is decent output for a first-year player in the NHL. But given that Cowan has posted 165 points in 100 games for the London Knights during his previous two seasons, leading them to back-to-back OHL titles and a 2025 Memorial Cup win, he has the potential to develop into a bonafide top-six contributor as well as being a proven winner.
The Leafs certainly sees that in the young 20-year-old forward, but unfortunately so do other teams in the NHL as well. As a result, if Toronto is looking to add a true difference-maker to put them over the top, it will be hard to envision that they could accomplish it without giving up their best young asset in Cowan in the process.