Two Maple Leafs stories are worth watching right now, and neither one starts with Auston Matthews or William Nylander. One is a fourth-round goalie prospect who may have more going for him than his draft slot says. The other is the next voice likely to carry Toronto hockey on the radio.
Patriks Plūminš is the kind of goalie who makes you look twice. Toronto took him 149th overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, and on paper he doesn’t fit the flashy mold.
He isn’t typically described as an especially athletic netminder. But he does something that can be just as valuable: he reads the game extremely well.
That’s a big part of why the Leafs are intrigued. At 6-foot-4, Plūminš already has the frame teams like in a goalie.
More importantly, he seems to play with a calm sense of timing. He tracks the puck well, sees the play developing and gets set early.
A lot of saves at that position come from being in the right spot before the shooter even pulls the trigger.
The numbers back that up. In 16 games in Latvia’s professional league, Plūminš put up a .927 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average.
He followed that with a strong U18 World Championship, finishing with a .947 save percentage and a 1.62 GAA in five games. None of that makes him a finished product - goalie development is unpredictable by nature - but it does make him a prospect worth paying attention to.
At this stage, the most reasonable idea of his upside is probably a future tandem role. That could change as he develops, but for a fourth-round pick, it’s a promising starting point.
The more immediate change for the organization is behind the microphone. After 44 years, Joe Bowen is out, and the Maple Leafs are expected to hand the radio job to Todd Crocker this season, with Jim Ralph alongside him. That is a massive shift, even if the name coming in is already familiar around the team.
Bowen called more than 3,800 Maple Leafs games before retiring after the 2025-26 season, and his voice was woven into the experience for generations of fans. No one is going to replace that directly. The real question is who can step in and make the job their own without feeling like a copy of what came before.
Crocker makes sense for that reason. He has spent years on Marlies broadcasts and knows the organization from the inside out, including many of the players who have moved up to Toronto.
He’s also already had a taste of the Maple Leafs’ biggest stage. In January 2025, he filled in for Bowen when Bowen took the night off to watch Notre Dame play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff, and Crocker called Toronto’s 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning with Ralph.
That appearance offered a useful preview of what’s ahead. Crocker doesn’t need to be Joe Bowen, because nobody could be. He just needs to build his own connection with the audience while bringing that sense of familiarity to the broadcast.
Taken together, these stories point to the same thing: the Maple Leafs are moving forward in more than one way. One part of the future is a goalie prospect whose game is built on anticipation and poise. The other is a new radio voice stepping into one of the most recognizable jobs in the sport.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Camp Suddenly Has A Bottom-Six Fight Fans Will Feel
Torontos training camp is shaping up as a real battleground for the bottom of the lineup, with multiple players vying for the same depth and energy roles. The Maple Leafs have clearly stockpiled options, adding names like Nick Paul, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, and Brandon Duhaime to make that part of the roster tougher and more competitive.
John Gruden, Brad Werenka and Daniel Alfredsson are also part of a new coaching mix that could change how those decisions are made. With fresh eyes evaluating the same crowded group, the Leafs are headed into camp with more than just spots up for grabs, and the pressure in those lower-six minutes figures to be every bit as intense as anything higher in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Power Play May Finally Have The Counter Fans Wanted
The Maple Leafs have spent plenty of time trying to make their power play less predictable, and the latest addition points directly at that problem. Darren Raddysh arrives with a useful calling card after scoring 10 power-play goals last season with Tampa Bay, giving Toronto a point shooter who can force penalty-kill units to respect something other than the usual looks down low and through the half wall.
With Auston Matthews and William Nylander already giving the Leafs high-end finishing talent, and a prospect like Gavin McKenna also in the mix, the group suddenly has more ways to stress defenders. The hope is that this turns the power play into something more versatile and harder to scout, instead of leaning on the same entries and same shot patterns that have made it easier to load up on Toronto in recent seasons. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Still Have One Affordable Scoring Gamble Worth Watching
Alexander Holtz remains the kind of low-cost scoring swing that can at least make sense for a Maple Leafs team looking to add some punch to its bottom six without spending much to do it. The former New Jersey Devils first-round pick has had limited offensive opportunity in the Vegas Golden Knights system, with modest goal production and limited ice time, but his shot and age still give him a profile that could appeal to a club hunting for depth scoring.
For Toronto, the attraction is straightforward: a forward with some finishing ability and a manageable contract who might benefit from a bigger role than he has found in Vegas. Whether the Golden Knights would even consider moving him is the real question, especially if they still believe there is more to unlock in his game. For the Leafs, though, he looks like one of the few affordable gambles worth keeping on the radar. [Read more 🡒]