All Signs Point to the Toronto Maple Leafs Doing Nothing This Offseason
If you think anyone of the core-four forwards will be traded this offseason, think again, because it's not going to happen.
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to reach their ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup, it feels as if nothing is going to change this offseason, except maybe the firing of their coach.
On Friday morning, newly appointed boss Keith Pelley is expected to speak to the media alongside Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving.
Sheldon Keefe is unlikely to attend, which means he's probably going to get fired, but does that really change anything? If the same players are on the ice at the start of next season, they may have a better regular season and win the President's Trophy with a new coach, but unless something drastic happens like a world-class goaltender arriving, they're just going to fall again early in the playoffs.
If I was Pelley, as much as the recent playoff failure hurts and the fanbase is screaming for change, I don't think I would make signifcant moves this offseason. With no-trade-clauses assigned to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, as well as a no-move-clause assigned to Morgan Rielly, you really can't make a significant move.
I know that hurts to hear as a Leafs fan, but let's spin some positivity. When Tavares and Marner come off the books in 2025, Matthews will be 28 years old and Nylander will be 29 years old. If those are your core pieces you're building around, you realistically have another five-year window with those players, and fortunately enough, they're both signed until 2028 and 2032 respectively, so there's plenty of time to win.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Will Probably Stand Pat, But That's OK
If you want to look at this negatively, then it's easy to point at the 2022-23 season as the team's biggest failure, not the 2023-24 campaign. During the Leafs run in 2023, their team was stacked. They had Ryan O'Reilly slotted in as the 3C and were a tight-knit group defensively. However, they ran into a buzz-saw in Sergei Bobrovsky and their season ended in five games against Florida.
If the Leafs were able to keep that formula together this year, they would had another chance at going far in the playoffs, but unfortunately Matthews, Marner and their eventual starting goalie Woll, were injured. Toronto wasn't really a great team this year, yet they took Boston to seven games and were a lucky break away from advancing to the Second Round.
I know we want the world to change, but I think we have to look to 2025-26 with hopes of getting lucky in the 2024-25 season. Tavares and Marner's contracts really don't allow them to be moved, but there is hope as the Leafs still have $18M in cap-space, with another $6M easily shed by trading David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan Reaves.
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As much as it hurts to think this way, because change desperately needs to happen, we all need to be patient for another few years because Matthews and Nylander can be the Batman and Robin to eventually guide this team to a Stanley Cup.