With 61 players hitting waivers earlier today, the NHL roster crunch is in full swing - and one name that could catch the Toronto Maple Leafs’ eye is former Anaheim Ducks first-round pick Nathan Gaucher.
Gaucher is a 6-foot-3, 227-pound right-handed center, and he went to Anaheim in the first round in 2022. He has appeared in just three NHL games so far, but the AHL track record has started to build. After posting 19 points in 56 games in 2024-25, he improved to 29 points in 62 games last season.
That growth is part of what makes him worth watching. The Maple Leafs do not have a lot of right-handed centers in their system, so Gaucher at least checks a box. But Toronto also needs players who can help now, and that is where the fit gets shaky.
Even with his draft pedigree, Gaucher has not done enough at the NHL level to suggest he is ready to step into a role on this Leafs roster. Toronto is not treating this as a rebuilding season; it is a retool, and the bottom six has already been addressed with Colton Sissons, Nick Paul, Teddy Blueger, and Brandon Duhaime all brought in for those jobs.
At 22, Gaucher does not look close enough to take one of those spots, and the Toronto Marlies are already deep enough that they do not need another body added to the mix.
As for the rest of the waiver wire, there does not appear to be much there for Toronto to chase. The smarter play now is to keep an eye on the next round of cuts and get the roster sorted before opening night against the Montreal Canadiens.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Face One Costly Marchenko Question
Kirill Marchenkos future in Columbus has suddenly become a topic of real interest around the league, and Toronto is among the clubs being mentioned as a possible landing spot. The Blue Jackets forward has publicly requested a trade, even while reporting to training camp, which has only added to the intrigue for teams looking for scoring help. For the Maple Leafs, it is the sort of situation that naturally invites debate, because Marchenkos talent would fit into a market that is always searching for more offense.
The harder part for Toronto is the price. Any serious pursuit would almost certainly force the Maple Leafs to weigh young pieces such as Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, Harry Nansi, and Matthew Knies, the kind of names that make any trade conversation uncomfortable in a hurry. That is the tension now: Marchenko could give Toronto a useful boost, but only if the Leafs are willing to pay a cost that changes the calculus of what kind of deal makes sense for the present and the future. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Have A Chance To Create A Family Story Fans Will Love
The Rangers are putting Taylor Raddysh on waivers, and that gives the Maple Leafs a small but intriguing opening as roster decisions start to come into focus. Toronto has not made a waiver claim yet this offseason, but with those calls approaching, this is the kind of low-risk move teams around the league have to weigh carefully.
For the Leafs, the appeal goes beyond the depth chart. Taylor is the brother of Toronto player Darren Raddysh, which means a claim would create a family tie that fans would instantly latch onto. It is the sort of feel-good angle that can make a mundane transaction a little more interesting, even if the final decision still comes down to how the Leafs want to handle the rest of the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Former Leafs Just Landed In A Spot Toronto Can't Really Use
Several former Maple Leafs are among the names who surfaced on waivers as NHL clubs move to finalize their rosters ahead of the 2026-27 season deadline, a familiar point in the calendar when depth pieces start bouncing around the league. Steven Lorentz, Philippe Myers, Calle Rosen, Ilya Samsonov, Sam Lafferty, Henry Thrun and Sammy Blais are all in that group, giving teams 24 hours to decide whether they want to make a claim before those players are sent to their AHL affiliates.
For Toronto, the timing makes the whole thing more interesting but not especially practical. The Maple Leafs have limited roster and cap space after their recent signings, which means even a player with a familiar face or a useful fit has to clear more than just a quick look from the hockey ops staff. It is the kind of waiver window that can create a lot of noise around former Leafs, even when the path back to Toronto is harder than it looks. [Read more 🡒]