Once the new Toronto Maple Leafs front office, led by general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor of hockey operations Mats Sundin, completes the major decision of a coaching hire, their focus will shift to the equally important reshaping of a roster that severely underperformed in 2025-26.
The first major roster decision is how to handle the good fortune of landing the top overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. Next, will be dissecting a limited UFA pool that lacks premium talent.
Talk of Toronto pursuing top UFA forward Alex Tuch has already started, but the team should avoid the former Buffalo Sabres winger for multiple reasons.
Alex Tuch can be a big mistake for the Maple Leafs
Gavin McKenna is the consensus number-one choice for first pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. Ranked right behind the Nittany Lion is Ivar Stenberg, also a left-winger, who played with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League last season.
Stenberg is thought to be more of an immediate contributor starting next year, while McKenna is considered to have a higher ceiling. His playmaking skills could eventually make up for the loss of Mitch Marner. Either would fill a top-six role with Toronto, negating the need for Tuch.
Both would fill that role on an entry-level contract, while Tuch, as the top unrestricted free-agent forward available, is expected to receive a long-term deal with an average annual value of $8-10 million.
That is a giant risk for a player entering his thirties (age 30 on July 1) and whose best years may be behind him. The Maple Leafs are likely to get similar production from whichever forward they choose first overall at a much better hit to their salary cap. Spending on Tuch would be a gross mismanagement of resources.
While Tuch has scored thirty-plus goals in three of his last four seasons and is strong defensively, there is too much risk for the Leafs to add him to an aging roster. Also, he has middling numbers over five postseason appearances. He went pointless in a second-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto has enough experience with underperforming top-six forwards in the playoffs.
Chayka, Sundin, and the Maple Leafs must ask themselves why the Sabres haven't already secured his services for an up-and-coming Buffalo team. The fact that they haven't is telling.
A trade down in the NHL Draft is the only way pursuing Tuch might make sense. Should the Leafs trade down a couple of spots to collect more resources, they would likely then draft one of the top available defenseman to fill their most pressing need.
It's hard to imagine Chayka and Sundin taking such a giant gamble and deflating the fan base after the euphoria of winning the lottery. It would quickly ruin their improved perception among Leafs' fans after the positive momentum thus far in their tenure.
While the allure of adding a powerful winger like Tuch is understandable on the surface, the risks far outweigh the rewards for the new front office. Winning the Draft Lottery handed the Maple Leafs a rare, golden opportunity to reshape their future around a foundational piece.
Compromising that long-term flexibility for a costly, high-risk UFA signing would be a step backward. Instead of chasing big-name fixes in a weak free-agent market, Toronto must exercise discipline, protect its cap health, and return to contending from the draft floor up, and that means passing on Alex Tuch.
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