The Toronto Maple Leafs faced a major lineup shakeup the moment that Mitch Marner walked out the door to Vegas. With Marner's sign-and-trade to the Golden Knights, the Leafs need to find a new right winger to flank Auston Matthews and join Matthew Knies on the top line.
While Maple Leafs' general manager Brad Treliving traded for Matias Maccelli, external options dried up quickly in free agency, and the team is still in search of other trade options. It may take time for other trade possibilities to develop, so it is essential to explore internal candidates.
Toronto has a few intriguing choices, and multiple players will likely be allowed to display their offensive skill and chemistry with the Leafs' franchise player, starting in training camp and through the regular season.
Here's a breakdown of the best in-house contenders for the job-and why one name stands out above the rest.
William Nylander
There is no debating that William Nylander is now the Maple Leafs' second-best player. The silky-smooth winger has scored over forty goals in three consecutive seasons. He has scored eighty or more points in four straight years.
While he played with Matthews earlier in his career, and loading up to make a super line with the team's two best scorers is tempting, Nylander is a play-driver who likes to possess the puck.
Including him with Knies and Matthews would hinder the Maple Leafs' forward depth. The offense on the team's second line would suffer. It would also make life easier for opposing coaches to create a checking line to stifle the Leafs.
Matthews and Nylander will get plenty of opportunities together on the team's first power play unit. Playing them together at 5-on-5 should be limited to late-period or late-game situations.
Nick Robertson
Nick Robertson is an interesting option. He, along with Knies, is a young, talented player with the bulk of their career ahead of them. If Robertson can put past bitterness between him and the Maple Leafs aside, he has the opportunity to be a more integral part of the roster.
Should the winger show he can be trusted defensively, the Leafs should provide him a chance to play within the top six forwards and the team's top players. Robertson is unsuited for a checking role and has never had the chance to play with the team's offensive stars.
In third and fourth-line duty, he has scored twenty-six even-strength goals (out of twenty-nine total) over the past two seasons. At some point this season, he should be given a prolonged look within the top two lines to see what his ceiling is.
Matias Maccelli
Maccelli, a former fourth-round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes/Utah Mammoth, was a low-risk pickup by Treliving. He fell out of favor last year with the Mammoth but he had seventeen goals and fifty-seven points during the 2023-2024 season.
Matthews has experience playing with another team's castoff during his Leafs career. Michael Bunting scored a career-best twenty-three goals in back-to-back seasons playing alongside the Leafs' captain in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
Maccelli will likely be given a significant opportunity to play with Matthews and Knies, but he is not the best option.
Max Domi
Max Domi has had mixed success over his first two years as a Leaf. He has alternated between playing the wing and center depending on team needs. He is a low-end second-line center and doesn't play strong enough defense to play a checking line role at either position.
He is better suited to playing the wing with strong defensive players like Matthews and Knies. Domi likes to pass, sometimes to his detriment. WIth Marner now off the roster, Domi is the Maple Leafs' best setup man.
During the 2024-2025 season, Domi had the second most primary assists (19) on the team after Marner. When Matthews scored sixty-nine goals during the 2023-2024 season, Domi was on his line most of that year.
Domi also has an element of spiciness to his game that Marner, Maccelli, and Robertson don't. Domi will be quick to respond should the opposition try to take any liberties with Matthews.
It will take time for the Maple Leafs to find a first-line alternative through the trade market. For now, Domi's passing ability, prior experience playing with Matthews, and feistiness make him the best, most logical choice to play on the team's top line.