The Toronto Maple Leafs pre-season is in full swing, and with the NHL regular season right around the corner, speculation over which players will and won't make the final roster has begun.
With four pre-season games now under their belt, a lot of the easy cuts have been made already, or will be made in the coming days.
But making the final cuts? That'll be a little tougher, especially with the Leafs off-season prioritizing depth over star players.
Let's take a deep dive into who's on the bubble for the 2025-26 Leafs roster, and who will ultimately end up on the Toronto Marlies when it's all said and done.
Which Maple Leafs forwards miss the cut?
To make things easy, we can look at DailyFaceoff's projected Leafs lines for opening day, and while these are very subject to change, it'll at least give us an idea of what the team could look like.
Line 1: Knies-Matthews-Domi
Line 2: McMann-Tavares-Nylander
Line 3: Joshua-Roy-Maccelli
Line 4: Lorentz-Laughton-Cowan
The notable players left off these lines include depth forwards David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok, and new addition Michael Pezzetta, as well as potential top-sixer Nick Robertson.
Look at the mock roster from DailyFaceoff, the only real obvious guy on the roster who could be cut is Easton Cowan, who has had a solid but unspectacular pre-season to date. In Cowan's case, it could even be better for his development to play for the Marlies, this season, but I could be wrong on that.
I also have a tough time seeing Michael Pezzetta cracking the roster. He could end up being a likeable, "energy guy" much like Steven Lorentz, but I would bet on him starting with the Marlies this year.
If we remove Cowan and Pezzetta from the equation, that leaves Kampf, Jarnkrok, and Robertson to fight for one spot this year on the Leafs.
Ideally, at least in my opinion, that spot goes to Nick Robertson.
Both Kampf and Jarnkrok bring very little in terms of offense anymore, which the Leafs need. Especially considering they only scored four goals in their final four playoff games last year (losing three of them).
As well as the loss of Mitch Marner playing a factor, the Leafs need goals above anything, and Robertson can help provide those.
On top of this, both Kampf and Jarnkrok carry cap hits of over $2 million, and dumping those contracts would be ideal. Both are veteran players who are fine PKers and fourth liners, but are nowhere near worth their contract anymore.
In short, I'd take Robertson on the team before Kampf, Jarnkrok, Pezzetta, and even Cowan. Now is Robertson going to prove his worth on line four?
Likely not, but I'd give him a chance to prove his worth higher in the lineup this year. If he can't, then finding another fourth line player to replace him shouldn't be an issue.
This season will finally tell if Robertson can earn his spot in a scoring role on the Leafs, or if it's finally time to let go.