The offseason was long for the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, as the team lost seven straight games to end the 2025-26 campaign and hasn't won a game since March 30. Winning the NHL Draft Lottery and drafting Gavin McKenna has fortunately given many of us hope, but his arrival could mean the departure of a few longer-tenured players.
If you look through the entire Leafs roster, it's hard not to be optimistic for this year. The team has a legitimate number-one goalie, a top defenseman, and a healthy Auston Matthews, at least for now. Trade rumours involving Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly were talked about all summer, but nothing happened, so this roster will look pretty similar to last year, with obviously a few upgrades.
As a result, it still feels like there will be a few mainstream players on their way out by the end of this year, as newly appointed GM John Chayka will continue to make this roster his own. Let's look at three players who most likely won't be with the team at the end of the year.
1. Max Domi
The last name Domi has a long history in Toronto, but unfortunately Max's career hasn't gone as fondly as Tie's. They play completely different games, but after being such a highly touted draft pick and offensive superstar in junior, it's frustrating that the player hasn't translated to the pros.
Domi's $3.75M contract is an affordable contract in today's NHL, and there's definitely a trade market for him. He's a player who should be better suited in the top-six, although his grit could make him the perfect third-liner. With the arrival of Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, and McKenna, it pushes Domi far down the line-up when he returns from injury
Domi's complications from surgery make his timeline very uncertain this year, so even if he does come back healthy, it feels like Domi will be traded by the end of next year.
2. Anthony Stolarz
The Leafs added Samuel Hlavaj for goaltending depth, while Artur Akhtyamov is waiting in the wings to be the team's next star goalie, which makes Stolarz's time in Toronto uncertain. At a $3.75M AAV until 2030, Stolarz's contract is affordable for a backup goalie, but is still a little rich in Toronto, as Akhtyamov only makes $900K until 2029.
The Leafs could save roughly $3M by trading Stolarz, while potentially upgrading the position. It's quite possible though that the 32-year-old netminder stays in Toronto this year because he reverts back to the steady back-up goalie that he is, but it feels like he's the odd-man out. Although the Leafs traded Joseph Woll this offseason, Stolarz seems likely be gone by the end of the year too.
3. Morgan Rielly
Morgan Rielly's name was talked about all offseason, as his departure seemed imminent. As the longest-tenured Leaf, Rielly has been through a ton of ups and downs, and a change of scenery seemed promising for the 32-year-old.
Unfortunately, a trade never transpired, and Rielly returns to the Leafs with four years remaining on his contract. Speaking of his contract, his $7.5M AAV contract is rich, but is he really worth $13M less than Cale Makar? As the NHL salary cap rises, his deal gets better with every passing day, so a trade could be way easier this year than in the past.
A big hockey trade is always tough mid-season, but it feels like both parties want to make a deal sooner than later, so it wouldn't be shocking if Rielly is traded by the deadlien this year.
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