This offseason has been a reminder that the Maple Leafs’ old roster keeps showing up all over the NHL. Some of the names landed real money.
Others settled for short-term deals. A few were easy to see coming, while others still sting a little for Toronto fans.
Mason Marchment is one of the more interesting cases. The Sharks gave him $6.75 million over five years, a hefty payday for a player the Leafs once moved on from early.
Toronto has taken heat for that decision, but Marchment’s path was never obvious. He came in as an undrafted free agent, and his eventual breakout with the Panthers was not something anyone could have penciled in at the time.
He has since settled in as a dependable middle-six forward. After a slow start in Seattle, he found his game once he was traded to Columbus, putting up 15 goals and 32 points in 39 games.
It would have been nice for Toronto to have him back, but not at that number.
Bobby McMann’s exit was a tougher one emotionally, even if it made sense in the end. He was a fan favourite for years, and his departure came out of a rough Leafs season that made a lot of decisions unavoidable.
McMann’s climb was the kind of grind Toronto fans always seem to appreciate: he signed with the Marlies out of the ECHL as an undrafted 24-year-old, then worked his way into the NHL and eventually broke through with the Leafs. Toronto had him on a $1.35 million by two-year extension, and he scored 20 goals in both seasons.
He priced himself out of the market, but the Leafs still got a strong return on the investment. They developed him into a regular, used him at a team-friendly number, and turned his departure into a second- and fourth-round pick instead of losing him for nothing.
Ilya Mikheyev’s deal with Tampa Bay, worth $3.85 million over four years, fits the same general theme of teams betting on speed and utility. He was a useful piece on the Leafs from 2021 to 2023, giving them middle-six value with pace and defensive reliability.
His offensive game never fully took off outside of that breakout Toronto season, but he remained a solid player and looked good on a struggling Chicago club. The Lightning are banking on that same profile, hoping the speed and two-way play still translate into a winger who can push toward 20 goals.
Alex Kerfoot’s career seems permanently attached to the $3.5 million mark. After his $3.5 million by four-year Leafs deal ended, he signed for $3.5 million over three years with the Utah Mammoth, and now he’s on a $3.5 million by two-year contract with Nashville.
That number works because the role works: when healthy, he’s a dependable bottom-six centre. Toronto fans will always remember him for the Game 4 overtime winner against Tampa in 2023.
Scott Laughton’s new deal with the Kings checks in at $3.5 million over three years. He was another player fans liked, and like so many deadline additions, he stayed with the team that brought him in.
The fit is better in Los Angeles, but the price still feels rich for a fourth-line centre. The original trade for Laughton was a rough one, though Toronto at least avoided the nightmare version of the deal.
They didn’t lose Grebenkin and a first-round pick for nothing, and getting back a second-round pick softened the blow.
Matias Maccelli may be the one that makes Leafs fans think the longest. Toronto chose not to tender his $4.1 million qualifying offer, and at first that looked like a major misstep.
But the Islanders signed him for just $2.25 million on a one-year deal, which tells you plenty about his market. Players with his profile can be tricky to value because the offense can outweigh the defensive warts.
He looked solid in Toronto this season, and there’s a real case that he could have kept growing into a consistent top-six, 60-point type of player. That’s the one Toronto will be watching closely.
Luke Schenn’s one-year, $2.25 million deal with Vancouver is another sign of how much the league still values physical defenders. He never became the fifth overall pick the Leafs hoped for in 2008, but he built a long career anyway. Ten teams over 18 years says plenty about the kind of player he became.
Frederik Andersen’s one-year, $1 million deal with Edmonton is a different kind of story. He enters free agency as a Stanley Cup champion after helping Carolina win its first title.
He was excellent until the finals, where personal issues limited his availability, and Pyotr Kochetkov finished the job. Still, Andersen played a major role in that run, and after years of frustration, finally lifting the Cup had to feel good.
Now he gets a crack at solving Edmonton’s ongoing goalie problem. At that price, there’s almost no downside for the Oilers, and they might get a legitimate starter on the cheap.
There were plenty of other former Leafs changing teams too. Noel Acciari signed with Philadelphia for $2.8 million over two years.
Kasperi Kapanen went to Edmonton for $2.6 million on a one-year deal. Curtis Douglas joined Seattle for $1.25 million over two years.
Carl Grundstrom signed with Philadelphia for $1 million for one year. Sammy Blais landed in Ottawa for $925,000 for one year.
Nick Foligno signed with Minnesota for $900,000 for one year. Zach Aston-Reese went to Philadelphia for $875,000 over two years.
Sam Lafferty joined Florida for $850,000 for one year. Noah Gregor signed with Winnipeg for $850,000 for one year.
Zach Bogosian landed in Minnesota for $1.25 million for one year. Erik Gustafsson went to Los Angeles for $1 million for one year.
Justin Holl signed with Washington for $900,000 for one year. Henry Thrun joined Winnipeg for $850,000 for one year.
Calvin Pickard signed with Minnesota for $1 million for one year. David Rittich went to New Jersey for $1 million for one year.
That’s the NHL in a nutshell. Former Leafs keep finding new homes, some for real money and some for a quick reset.
Toronto can point to a lot of players it developed well, used well, and moved on from at the right time. But it still hurts to see familiar faces leave after everything they gave the team.
In Other News...
Steve Simmons Just Reopened The Ugliest Part Of The Marner Saga
Mitch Marners exit from Toronto was never going to fade quietly, and a fresh round of comments from his agent has only dragged the conversation back into the open. Darren Ferris recently blasted the Maple Leafs for how Marner was handled during his time with the club, pointing to concerns like missing bonuses and the fact that Marner was never seriously considered for the captaincy, which set off another familiar debate about how the organization managed one of its biggest stars.
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun then stepped in to push back, arguing that Marner did pretty well in Toronto by any reasonable measure and questioning why these complaints are surfacing now. Simmons also revisited long-discussed friction between Marner and Auston Matthews, while weaving in anecdotes about Marners family life, keeping the focus on just how messy the old relationship still looks whenever someone decides to reopen it. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Stir Trade Buzz As Veterans Tip Balance
The Maple Leafs have spent plenty of time trying to thread the needle between youth and experience, and that theme has come into sharper focus with Sergei Bobrovsky drawing attention as the sort of veteran presence that can steady a team when the games matter most. Around the league, the rise of younger players has changed how clubs build, but the playoff picture still tends to reward teams that can lean on seasoned hands and the habits that come with them.
Toronto is watching that balance closely because the same logic is driving trade chatter elsewhere, too. If the Winnipeg Jets ever decide to reset, Edmonton could be in the market for Mark Scheifele, and the kind of package that would make sense in that scenario would only underscore how much value contenders still place on established talent. For the Leafs, it is another reminder that the path to spring success often runs through veteran depth, even as the league keeps getting younger. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs First McKenna Look Suddenly Feels Less Straightforward
The first real glimpse of Gavin McKenna in Maple Leafs colors may not come as neatly as expected. As he works through the transition from Penn State to a full-time role with Toronto, his participation in the Prospect Showcase is still uncertain, and he has made it clear that a few basic details around his next step remain unsettled. Even something as simple as where he will be living in Toronto has not been finalized yet.
For a fan base eager to see how he fits into the organization, the timing matters. If McKenna misses the showcase, his first game action with the Leafs could shift to the preseason, where the pace and competition are a little less forgiving and the spotlight tends to sharpen quickly. It is not exactly the clean introduction Toronto had in mind, but it is the sort of early wrinkle that can shape the first impression of a highly watched prospect. [Read more 🡒]