What I’m hearing about the Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline: ‘Teams smell blood in the water’ – The Athletic

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ “roster management” scratches of Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on Wednesday caught the players as offguard as everyone else after head coach Craig Berube had said they’d ice a full lineup that night.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that Laughton, McMann and Ekman-Larsson were informed they’d be held out of a game Toronto went on to lose 4-3 in a shootout to the New Jersey Devils.

Still, even as Thursday began with general manager Brad Treliving taking calls on those three players and a number of their teammates, it wasn’t yet clear how active the Leafs would be ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

There was no lack of desire to start stockpiling future assets amid a season in which the Leafs have unexpectedly gone from a contender to an also-ran. They’ve made several players available for trade — many of whom have formally been on offer for a month, according to league sources. But the bidding has been slow. They weren’t sitting on any formal offers as of Thursday morning.

That may be viewed as a byproduct of a late-developing market, but it’s also come while the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators have started cashing in their chips for strong draft-pick returns in recent days.

That’s upped the temperature on the Leafs as they sit on the outside looking in.

They’ve got a little bit of everything to offer up to rival teams, from useful forwards on cheap, expiring contracts (McMann, Laughton) to a right-shot, bottom-six center (Nicolas Roy) to a versatile 20-minute-per-night defenseman (Ekman-Larsson) to a goaltender (Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll) and a slew of depth options that won’t come with any sticker shock when it comes to acquisition cost (Simon Benoit, Calle Järnkrok, Steven Lorentz and others).

The most valuable assets they’ve put in play are Ekman-Larsson, McMann, Laughton and Roy, who is under contract through the end of next season and carries an asking cost of a first-round pick. Whether the Leafs might garner a first-rounder — or perhaps multiple seconds — as part of a return for Ekman-Larsson or McMann will depend on the market.

Toronto can still retain salary on as many as three players in trades and owns ample cap room to take back a contract if it helps juice the return or get a deal across the finish line. Chris Tanev had core muscle surgery on Wednesday and is eligible for the season-ending long-term-injured-reserve designation, if a touch more cap room is needed, as well.

Meanwhile, the Leafs haven’t closed the door on signing McMann to a contract extension rather than trading him. There’s been ongoing dialogue between the player’s camp and Leafs management over the last week, according to league sources, but no apparent progress towards a new deal.

McMann is seemingly in a strong position to hold firm on his ask for a contract that exceeds $20 million in total value while sitting one goal shy of his second straight 20-goal season. The 2026 free-agent class is thin, the salary cap is due to take another meaningful jump to $104 million and he saw Kiefer Sherwood — a reasonable comparable in rate of production, albeit a more physical winger and better play driver — land a $28.75 million, five-year deal from the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

An extension for Laughton, the Leafs’ other pending unrestricted free agent of note, seems less likely.

While the 31-year-old native of nearby Oakville, Ont., would love to stay, and management has indicated a general willingness to keep him, there had been no serious contract negotiations before Laughton was held out of Wednesday’s game, according to league sources.

A high-character, no-maintenance veteran, Laughton would bring attractive depth to any team bracing for a playoff run. The Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings are among those who have poked around on him.

Then there is Ekman-Larsson, fresh off an appearance at the Milan Olympics with Sweden and due to welcome a new baby in the near future. He signed a four-year free-agent contract with the Leafs 20 months ago and doesn’t want to go anywhere. But he’s a positive-value asset having a strong season and only owns a 16-team no-trade list.

With other veteran defensemen already bringing back solid returns on this trade market — including MacKenzie Weegar and Tyler Myers, both of whom have term remaining on their contracts beyond this season, like Ekman-Larsson — the Leafs are exploring the market.

If everything falls into place, they could still be big sellers at this deadline.

But with the hours ticking away, it is far from a certainty.

One league source pointed out that in order to facilitate a deadline like the 2025 Boston Bruins had, “You need to have guys over a barrel.” Boston leveraged strong deals out of the Edmonton Oilers (Trent Frederic), the Avalanche (Charlie Coyle) and the Leafs (Brandon Carlo) a year ago because they held assets that were in short supply and found highly motivated buyers on the line.

“I don’t think he has teams,” the league source said of Treliving. “Other teams smell blood in the water there and won’t give in on return.”

Perhaps that will change once the market really heats up.

The Leafs can look to their own experience as buyers at last year’s deadline as an example of how things can evolve when the closing bell approaches. They had a right-shot defenseman at the top of their wish list last March and only turned their focus to Carlo in the final hour after exploring other options, ultimately hammering out a trade that sent prospect Fraser Minten, their 2026 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-rounder to a division rival with almost no time to spare.

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s a deal the Leafs wouldn’t do again.

This time around, they can only hope the shoe is on the other foot.