3 storylines as we prepare for Toronto Maple Leafs Training Camp

Just last week it seemed as Toronto Maple Leafs training camp was an eternity away, however we are now less than three weeks away from the first exhibition game which takes place on Sunday September 22 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto against the Ottawa Senators.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be entering the season with some superficial changes as the captaincy was handed over to Auston Matthews by John Tavares, along with Craig Berube now taking charge behind the bench as the new head coach, but 99% of their roster remains the same.

Despite these two changes, there may be some bigger storylines that will get blown out of proportion at training camp.

Here are the top three topics that will be discussed too much over the next month.

Is Nick Robertson blowing an opportunity?

News broke this past summer when the agent for Nick Robertson claimed that his client who is a restricted free agent would not be signing a contract with the Maple Leafs and was requesting a trade.

While he still has a lot of room to improve the former Peterborough Pete forward had a bit of a breakout season in 2023-24 scoring 14-goals in 56 games, it appears as though he does not want to build on the year. Coming into the season there is no more Zach Hyman, Michael Bunting or Tyler Bertuzzi standing in the way, but despite having this enormous chance to be a mainstay in the line-up, Robertson has elected to not seize the opportunity.

Throughout camp there will be chatter about whether he will finally cave, sign a contract and report to the team or if he will hold out. The unfortunate part for Robertson is that his current value is not as high as what he is actually worth; it would be smart for management to sit back and wait for the player to come to them.

Mitch Marner Saga

Despite posting four straight season in which he was on pace for 100 points and being an elite defender, Mitch Marner is somehow underrated in the Toronto market right now.

Marner is entering the final year of his contract that would make him an unrestricted free agent next July. It is unknown the specifics around his contract demands, but the magic hands of Marner will likely be seeking a contract above what William Nylander is worth and it is unlikely Brad Treliving would surrender that much cap space to a player that tends to disapppear during tough times.

Will Easton Cowan stick with the team?

There is not a prospect in the NHL that had their stock rise as much as Mount Brydges native Easton Cowan last year.

Cowan is at the point where he may be to good for Major Junior Canadian hockey, but isn't allowed to play in the AHL. Regardless, that probably doesn't matter because it seems like Easton Cowan is a near certainty to make the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even if the logic is solid, you never know what the Leafs will do until they do it, so this will be one of the biggest topics in Training Camp until we know one way or the other.