With the NHL Olympic break now over, the Toronto Maple Leafs are back on the ice and preparing for the stretch run.
As the league's roster freeze is set to expire and the NHL trade deadline rapidly approaches, attention will quickly shift from international play to potential roster moves.
With the regular-season schedule resuming this week, expect trade speculation to intensify around Toronto as the Leafs' management, specifically general manager Brad Treliving, evaluates whether a deal is needed to bolster the lineup for a playoff push or the team should become sellers and acquire assets for a retool in 2026-27.
The Next Four Games Could Shape Leafs' Trade Deadline Strategy
The Maple Leafs find themselves six points behind the Boston Bruins for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference as the NHL gets back in action this week. Toronto is nine points out of a top-three position within the division and among a cluster of teams currently out of the playoffs with only twenty-five games left on the schedule.
United States team captain Auston Matthews, fresh off an exciting overtime, gold-medal clinching victory over Team Canada, will return to his regular job with the Maple Leafs as they resume play on Wednesday, February 25, with a visit to the Atlantic division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
Next up for the Leafs is a match with the equally desperate Florida Panthers on Thursday as part of a back-to-back set in the Sunshine State. After the brief trip to Florida, the Maple Leafs return home to face the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, February 28, and the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, March 2.
While the Maple Leafs' remaining schedule is not daunting, they likely need to attain a minimum of thirty or more points (.600 hockey or better) for any hope of reaching the playoffs. If they lose two or more of their next four games, their playoff odds become minuscule.
After the next four games, Toronto's playoff outlook should come into sharper focus, and with it, a clearer direction at the deadline. Whether the Maple Leafs improve their position or stumble further in the standings will significantly influence how aggressive they choose to be.
That would leave GM Treliving a narrow three-to-four-day window between March 3 (after facing Philadelphia) and the March 6 trade deadline to weigh the strongest offers for trade chips such as Bobby McMann or even one of the club's three goaltenders, or instead opt to hold onto assets and double down on a playoff push during the season's decisive stretch run.
Don't expect the Maple Leafs to make an immediate splash the moment the NHL roster freeze ends, but the next week will be telling, and questions around their roster will begin to get answered.