Following a decent start to the 2026-27 NHL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently in a huge rut. The Maple Leafs have dropped six straight games following a nail-biting 1-0 loss at the hands of their former head coach Mike Babcock and the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. Coupled with a Detroit Red Wings win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, the Leafs officially sit in the Atlantic Division basement.
At this rate if the struggles keep piling up, Toronto will likely need to make some major changes as a fallout of their current turmoil. As a result, we will take a look at 3 Maple Leafs that could be gone from the team by next month.
Morgan Rielly
One way to light a fire under the current Leafs squad is to deal a key player from the roster to shake things up. Of course Auston Matthews won’t be going anywhere for now, nor will John Tavares given the team-friendly deal and veteran leadership that he brings. Even with some premature trade-related rumors on William Nylander in recent days, he is too valuable to let go right now if the Leafs were to hope to still remain in contention.
As a result, Morgan Rielly becomes the prime candidate to be moved to jumpstart the current Maple Leafs team. Not only was Rielly among various trade rumors during this past offseason, NHL Trade Rumors also has it that the Leafs are still continuing to listen to offers for their longest-serving defenseman. This season, the 32-year-old veteran blueliner has recorded 12 assists in 19 games with Toronto and would be appealing to teams looking to add some offensive flare from the back end while yielding to some defensive deficiencies. As for the Maple Leafs, it can serve aa a huge wake up call to the squad that no one is safe as one of their star players would be moved.
Gavin McKenna
First and foremost, we aren’t saying that the Maple Leafs will be trading away their No. 1 pick in Gavin McKenna by the yesr’s end. Although if it was for someone like a Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, or even the recently rumored Nikita Kucherov, then maybe there could be a slight possibility. But getting back to the current reality, if the Maple Leafs continue to head downhill in the coming weeks, McKenna could actually be better served playing for the Marlies.
Instead of playing just around 13 minutes a night in sheltered minutes with the Maple Leafs, there’s no question that the young 18-year-old rookie would get big top line minutes with the Marlies. Not only that, McKenna would get all the opportunity to grow his scoring abilities and further develop his defensive game as well to complement his offensive acumen. Ultimately, that could make him a more complete and effective player in the long run for the Leafs.
In addition, Toronto would have the option to release McKenna to join Team Canada at the World Juniors to give him the chance to rebuild his confidence in a winning environment. Then after getting that much-needed competitive experience, come back to the Leafs in the new year to bring his game to another level to help the team. Either way, it is something the Maple Leafs should seriously consider if they are going nowhere fast.
Jim Hiller
Finally, he may have only been behind the Leafs bench for less than two months, but Jim Hiller could be in the hot seat pretty soon if Toronto doesn’t turn things around soon. To put things in perspective, with a dismal 8-12-2 record so far this year, the Maple Leafs are actually BEHIND last season’s pace as they posted a 9-10-3 record through their first 22 games in 2025–26 and we all know how that season turned out. On top of that, whatever structure or strategy that Hiller has been implementing, it hasn’t been working for the Leafs, especially with their current losing skid.
More importantly, the Maple Leafs head coach has made some questionable coaching decisions that has come under scrutiny from the Leafs fans and media. Whether it be benching McKenna for significant chunks of time, the load management with Chris Tanev, the continual deployment of a struggling Sergei Bobrovsky, or even just baffling lineup changes, Hiller has faced the criticism for his moves that didn’t end up working too well.
As a result, if Toronto isn’t able to right the ship in due time, Hiller could easily become one of the shortest tenured Leafs coach since Peter Horachek, who took over interim for the fired Randy Carlyle to finish off the 2014-15 season. Hopefully, Hiller manages to figure things out soon before it’s too late.
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