One Offseason Mistake Could Cripple the Maple Leafs for Years to Come
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
There's one offseason change for the Maple Leafs that will impact their future for years to come, and one that should have been figured out long ago.
It's no surprise the 2025-26 season is going to look a lot different for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Not only are they going to be without a Team President, but they will also be without Mitch Marner, who is all but assured to be leaving when he becomes a free agent.
Though it is going to be tough for this season, what about next year? The year after? They can do their best to replace him with a player like Sam Bennett but is that really worth a potential $10M+ commitment?
Let's break it down a bit, and see why losing Mitch Marner won't just hurt in the short-term, but potentially long-term as well.
Mitch Marner May Have Been Better Than Auston Matthews...At Times
Look, there's no denying Matthews' talent, but if you had to look at who was a true catalyst for the offense, it's gotta be Marner.
Taking stats out of the equation for one moment, if you look at this season alone; it was Marner's team no question. Matthews couldn't stay healthy (a factor throughout his career) and Marner led them through a lot of tough bumps in the road.
The team was 10-5-0 this year when Matthews was gone, and it seems like Marner becomes a completely different player when he's in charge. Even as early as last season, we saw the positive aspects when #34 was hurt.
Is Matthews a bad player? Heavens no, and he's dealt with his fair share of bad luck and role changes throughout the last little bit along with those injuries.
It would seem the team bands together without Matthews, but often fall back on Marner even though they have other stars; the onus always seems to fall on him.
But if we do look at stats, they are fairly similar in terms of point production however Matthews has 180 more goals, obviously helped by his multiple 60+ goal seasons.
It's hard to say that Marner is better at face value, but it seems the intangibles we can't see on the scoresheet tend to come out when he's without his line mate.
The two are intrinsically linked, and if you had to guess at face value, you'd assume that Auston Matthews had a sidekick in Mitch Marner, able to feed him passes and make sure he was able to impact the game at any chance.
Though it seems like perhaps he was riding Marner's coattails, and reaped the benefits while Marner stood in the shadows.
But Don't Go Rushing To Replace Him Yet
So while Marner steps out of the shadows and goes to run an offense of his own, Toronto has to shift gears towards some other free agents, and they should absolutely go hard to commit to someone like Sam Bennett right?
Well, not exactly.
Though the two have been linked for quite some time, there's no reason for the Maple Leafs to rush out to replace Marner with Bennett, especially if you're looking for production.
They are not the same player, and Toronto is already going to take an offensive hit with Craig Berube's play style. Bennett has never reached over 55 (he just hit 51 this season).
Marner doubled that output even with a lesser offensive focus, so it's a bit ridiculous to think all of a sudden Bennett drops an 80-90 point season.
There is a culture change potentially with the team, and depending on who they bring in could make or break them for years.
Committing seven or eight years for Bennett, who is already in his prime seems a bit crazy. He's a defensive genius and a nasty bit of work on the ice, but is that worth handicapping your cap?
Toronto already has several defenders on big deals that sees them into their late 30's and potentially their 40's. Do you add an aging John Tavares back, along with a couple of veterans that might be a band-aid solution?
You're already dealing with a Matthew Knies contract situation, and don't forget the little caveat of 2026's free agency class; one that could include Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Cale Makar.
Plus, let's be honest here: Bennett thrives in a Paul Maurice system and might benefit a bit more from playing in Florida than he would in Toronto (wink wink).
Is jumping the gun to win now the answer? It's not like Matthews and Nylander are going anywhere; same with Knies if they lock him up.
Toronto will have $40M in projected cap for Summer 2026, and biting into that pie while it's still baking isn't conducive to their health.
Basically, they need to learn to be patient. This year is going to suck without Marner, or at least it might feel that way.
But we don't know how this team will pull together without him until they have a full season to do so.
Though if they do nothing this season, miss out on premium free agents next summer, and continue to fail even harder in the face of adversity?
Perhaps they should have just paid Marner more than Auston Matthews all along, and their ineptitude will be felt for years to come; especially if they start to tumble.
| POLL | ||
MAI 26 | 584 ANSWERS One Offseason Mistake Could Cripple the Maple Leafs for Years to Come Is Toront going to regret not having Mitch Marner? | ||
| Yes absolutely! | 367 | 62.8 % |
| No way get rid of him! | 217 | 37.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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