Without a doubt the Toronto Maple Leafs will be heading into the 2026 offseason with major changes likely to be set on the agenda. After all, the Maple Leafs have put together one of their worst performances in over a decade this season and will likely see their consecutive playoff streak end at nine.
In terms of potential moves that will be made, don’t expect them to be just minor transactions to tinker the roster. In fact, one should expect some franchise-changing moves to take place to help get Toronto back in the right direction going forward. As a result, we will take a look at 3 key Maple Leafs that could surprisingly see their tenure with the club end this offseason.
3 key Maple Leafs that could surprisingly be gone this offseason
Craig Berube
It seems harsh to jump all over head coach Craig Berube right away as the scapegoat, especially after just his second season with the Leafs. But if the franchise were to change the passion, mindset and dynamics of team to get them back in their winning ways, it likely starts from the personnel behind the bench to get the message through. Berube may have led the Maple Leafs to much success during his first year with the organization, capturing a division title and making it to the second round of the playoffs. However, the huge drop off this season has made those accomplishments a distant memory for most Leafs fans.
On top of that, if taking a look at the numbers specifically, many aspects of the Maple Leafs game is trending downwards under the tutelage of Berube thus far. As a result, unless he has some type of miraculous plan to help turn things around, his hold on his spot behind the bench will be in huge jeopardy once the offseason hits.
Morgan Rielly
As the Maple Leafs mainstay on their blue line for over the past 13 years, Morgan Rielly has been through the ups and downs with the franchise. From their painful rebuild all the way back to their rise to prominence, Rielly had been through it all with Toronto and never wavered no matter what the circumstances were. In doing so, he has registered 96 goals and 450 assists for 546 total points in 943 career games with the Maple Leafs, ranking him just behind Leafs legend Borje Salming on the team all-time scoring list for defensemen.
However, much like his predecessor in Tomas Kaberle in the early 2000s, there always comes a time where the Maple Leafs need to move on to make the team better going forward and that time for Rielly may be approaching soon. After all, rumors had it that prospective teams had an interest in the Leafs defenseman this past trade deadline. Therefore, to ensure that Toronto can gain enough valuable assets in return, they should move Rielly while the demand is high, which would be in the coming months.
Auston MatthewsÂ
Finally, what better way to reshape the franchise than to potentially deal your most precious asset in Auston Matthews for a potential king’s ransom of a return. Matthews has done his fair share of work in helping the Maple Leafs become a perennial contender since his arrival in 2016. The 28-year-old center is already on pace to shatter many Leafs records along the way. In addition, without him, there is no question the team would be challenged to make the playoffs each season. However, Matthews has failed in getting Toronto over the hump to advance behind the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As a result, will he be the next Alexander Ovechkin and finally figure things out to bring the Leafs to the Holy Grail? Or would he be just the next Mike Gartner, great enough to be an all-time superstar scorer but never able to capture the Stanley Cup over his illustrious NHL career? No one knows at this point, but one thing is for sure. If the Maple Leafs moving Matthews this offseason could be anything similar to the haul the Quebec Nordiques once got for Eric Lindros that ended up helping the franchise’s Stanley Cup wins when they relocated to Colorado, then it is something that Toronto should seriously consider for the future success of the franchise.Â