The Toronto Maple Leafs had a busy offseason with the departure of a superstar and depth forwards. The Maple Leafs had a lot of decisions to make. They attempted to bring in a plethora of depth forwards; some have worked out, while others may not. However, the Maple Leafs made one mistake, and that was not re-signing a player who left for a divisional rival.
The Maple Leafs did not re-sign Pontus Holmberg, which may end up costing them. When Brad Treliving did not sign Holmberg back, the Tampa Bay Lightning jumped on a perfect opportunity. While Holmberg will not wow you with his scoring ability, he is the type of player every team wants in their bottom six. He is a hard-working forward who is not scared to go into the dirty areas, uses his speed efectively and can play critical minutes on the penalty kill. When the Maple Leafs did not re-sign the Swedish forward, it came as a surprise, as he had developed into a reliable forward over the past four seasons. Last season, he had a career high of 19 points playing in 68 games. This season with the Lightning, he is looking to smash that number. In 35 games, he has notched 13 points. This offseason, Holmberg signed a $1.55M AAV deal with the Lightning, which will prove to be great value over the course of the next two seasons.
Pontus Holmberg was recently selected to play at the 2026 Olympic Games for Team Sweden. Holmberg will be joining 10 other Lightning players in achieving this accomplishment. While that came as a surprise, it is a tribute to the type of player Holmberg is. It will be interesting to see how Holmberg plays while being in the spotlight. Holmberg has really excelled with a team that saw his value and is using him properly. The Maple Leafs had taken Holmberg in and out of the lineup rather than just giving him a proper chance to prove himself. Yes, the Maple Leafs had a lot of depth last season and would often rotate out players like Holmberg and Nick Robertson, but they should have given him more of a chance.
It is undeniable that the Maple Leafs have missed Holmberg this season. He is the type of player that every team wants in their lineup, and unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, they let him slip right through their hands. Holmberg has thrived in Jon Cooper's system in Tampa, and it may come back to haunt the Maple Leafs down the road.