The Maple Leafs have finally confirmed their 2026-27 roster after a flurry of moves including a blockbuster deal for Kirill Marchenko.
On Monday, there was a deadline of 5PM for teams to get their rosters finalized before the start of the 2026-27 season, and in the nick of time the Maple Leafs got theirs in.
Not without some last-minute fireworks though as the team acquired Kirill Marchenko along with Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood in exchange for Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrae and a conditional second-round pick.
Maple Leafs 2026-27 roster is now set
After all that chaos, the team has now got their roster for the 2026-27 season and compared to last year it's absolutely night and day:
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While the team is currently over the cap, the roster is going to have both Max Domi and Merzlikins on LTIR, as the main goal in acquiring the Columbus goalie was for the strict purpose of adding him to the LTIR and open up more in-season flexibility.
The roster also includes Dakota Joshua and Nick Blankenburg, depth players who will have a role at some point with the team.
Is this lineup worthy of a playoff spot?
Marchenko rounds out a top-six that has some serious potential. It's unknown if he is shooting straight to the top line but if he is, then having Auston Matthews and Marchenko on the same line - that's scary.
Marchenko is an elite skater with incredible possession numbers and someone who is one of the best 5v5 players on the planet. He's able to get the puck and create magic; either by himself or by setting up his teammates.
That top-six also includes Gavin McKenna, John Tavares, and William Nylander, so there's no shortage of scoring potential. The bottom-six is also vastly improved, and the additions of Nick Paul and Colton Sissons will only make them stronger in the postseason.
On the blue-line, the team is pretty much the same group as last year but with the added benefit of having Darren Raddysh take charge of the offensive part of things.
Goaltending is still a bit of a question mark, but so far both Anthony Stolarz and Sergei Bobrovsky have looked great so there's a lot of hope in the crease despite some concerns.
Will this make the Maple Leafs a guaranteed playoff team? No, and as we've seen before even the biggest teams can run into a string of bad luck. But it makes them infinitely more dangerous and provides a lineup full of speed, scoring and excitement - something fans have craved for the past two years.
Do you think the Maple Leafs are a playoff contender?
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