The Maple Leafs are staring at two very different roster questions, but they point to the same larger problem: how to squeeze more value out of the pieces already in house.
Morgan Rielly is the veteran in the spotlight, and the issue is no longer whether he can still help Toronto. It’s how he should be used.
His defensive shortcomings are more visible now, his role on the power play may not be as secure, and younger defencemen are pushing for more ice time. Even so, Rielly still brings puck movement, vision and the ability to jump into the play and create offence.
The real question is whether the Leafs are thinking about him in the right lane.
That’s why the Dustin Byfuglien comparison has been floated, even if the two players are not similar in any broad sense. The idea is not to convert Rielly into a full-time forward.
It’s to consider whether Toronto could occasionally deploy him as an offensive-minded winger in the right spots. That could mean starting him in the offensive zone against bottom-six competition, letting him lean on his passing and instincts instead of the heavier defensive load he carries as a defenceman.
It could also mean trying him in a different role on the power play if he is no longer the obvious first-unit quarterback.
None of that changes the basic reality of his contract. Rielly has two more seasons left at a $7.5-million cap hit, along with full no-move protection.
Toronto is not simply going to move on from that deal. But the Leafs may be able to find a more useful version of Morgan Rielly by changing the job description.
The other question is younger, and maybe more urgent in a different way: Easton Cowan.
Montreal has been aggressive about locking up young players before they fully hit their earning power. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, and Ivan Demidov are all examples of Kent Hughes getting ahead of the salary curve.
There is risk in that approach, because not every young player turns into what the team expects. But when it works, the payoff can be huge.
That is the lane Cowan now occupies in Toronto. The Leafs do not need to rush into a long-term deal, and they definitely should not pay him like a proven star before he has earned it. But if the organization believes he is headed toward becoming a key part of the next core, there is a case for acting before his value climbs any higher.
A strong NHL season would only strengthen his hand. Once Cowan starts looking like a legitimate top-six forward, Toronto would be negotiating based on what he already is rather than what he might become. That is exactly the point where Montreal’s model becomes relevant.
For years, the Leafs have paid their stars after they proved their worth. That makes sense, but it also leaves less room to build around them. With Cowan, Toronto may have a chance to do something different and pay for some of the upside before the market catches up.
In the end, both situations come back to the same idea. Rielly may need a different role.
Cowan may need a different kind of contract strategy. And the larger lesson for the Maple Leafs is pretty clear: sometimes the smartest move is not finding new players, but finding new ways to use the ones you already have.
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Leafs Prospect Miroslav Holinka May Force His Way Into The NHL
Miroslav Holinka has already done enough to make people in the Leafs organization take notice. Drafted 151st overall in 2024, the young forward followed a strong junior season with 37 goals and 80 points in 59 games, then got a taste of pro hockey when he debuted with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL last season and picked up his first point in that lone appearance.
Now ranked eighth on Daily Faceoffs Maple Leafs prospect list, Holinka is headed for a bigger role in the AHL next season, and that matters because Torontos pipeline is always about more than just patience. If he keeps progressing at this pace, he could start pressing for NHL consideration sooner rather than later, with his path shaped by both his own development and whatever openings emerge on the Leafs roster. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Have A Low-Risk Winger Worth Watching In Camp
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Drouins stock has been uneven, which is exactly why the opportunity feels so manageable for the Leafs. He was bought out by the St. Louis Blues after a low-scoring 2025-26 season, but he also put together productive years in 2023-24 and 2024-25. If he comes in and looks like the kind of depth piece Toronto can use, the next step could be a contract. [Read more 🡒]
Colton Sissons Sees One Big Reason Leafs Can Click Fast
Colton Sissons is already looking at his move to Toronto as more than just a change of address. After signing with the Maple Leafs, he said he is excited to join a Canadian market again, and the transition feels especially natural as he spends the offseason away from Toronto before eventually making the move. He also noted that he does not have deep prior connections with many of his new teammates, but he does have plenty of experience seeing this group from the other bench.
Sissons read on the Leafs is shaped as much by what he has seen as by what he is walking into. He pointed to the new team dynamics and the leagues updated schedule format as factors that could help the group settle in quickly, while his time competing against key Toronto players gave him a first-hand sense of how familiar the core already is with one another. For a player arriving fresh, the challenge now is fitting into that rhythm without disrupting it. [Read more 🡒]