Why no one is safe during the Maple Leafs' hectic 2026 summer reset
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
This has a chance to be a crazy offseason for the Toronto Maple Leafs. New GM, new coach, new President, new roster...and potentially no Auston Matthews.
The season thus far for the Maple Leafs can be summed up as something that will go down as one of the most miserable times in recent memory. Not only is the team failing on the ice, but mismanagement and a season-ending injury to their captain all but sealed the deal on things this year.
They know that things need to change and with that comes making some difficult (or rather not so difficult) choices.
It's something the team is going to need to pay attention to dearly and in this crazy landscape of the NHL world - anything can happen.
According to Elliotte Friedman, that's exactly what's about to go down:
When you consider the direction of the franchise, it's going to be you know, this has a chance to be a crazy offseason. I think it really does. And I don't know what Matthews is going to decide. I haven't had the opportunity to speak to him about it.
But, I mean, with where some of these teams are at and where they could go, it could be a really wild offseason.
But, I mean, with where some of these teams are at and where they could go, it could be a really wild offseason.
Wild offseason you say? Well for the fans at home that means they are going to have July 1 circled in Sharpie on their calendar as they want to see who the big names are either jumping teams via free agency or trades.
Why the Matthews decision could trigger the nuclear shake-up Friedman is predicting
Matthews just underwent surgery so he'll be in line to recover and come back for 2026-27.
The only question is, will he be a member of the Maple Leafs?
After getting knocked out by Radko Gudas and seeing nobody stick up for him, Matthews is going to think twice about how much effort he puts in when things get hairy for his teammates.
Not only that, but if the same group comes back with Craig Berube and Brad Treliving in charge (even with a short leash) what happens to Matthews' mentality when the team is on another seven-game losing skid and are sitting dozens of points out of the playoffs?
His choice to potentially entertain offers elsewhere would not only blow up the Maple Leafs, but change the landscape of the NHL for good. This is a guy who is arguably still the greatest scorer in the world and is closest to breaking Alex Ovechkin's record.
You can't afford to lose that based off of a poor roster and management. Firing Brad Treliving, Craig Berube, and instilling a new President like Chris Pronger or Doug Armstrong - maybe Matthews won't jump ship so quickly.
We're not sure what's going on but hopefully that status quo is dead
If the Maple Leafs don't figure out they need to change things up in a big way, they are going to lose a lot more than just their captain.
They are at risk of turning the entire fanbase against them, and if the team wanted to really ensure they lost more money they would raise ticket prices again next season.
Fans are tired of seeing Craig Berube runs the playbook while Brad Treliving mans the front office. It's time for a reality check and accept it's not good enough.
There's plenty of names who could come in at both levels who would make an instant impact both now and going forward. Doug Armstrong could be a new GM and President of Hockey Operations, meanwhile Chris Pronger could come in as President and hire someone like Jim Nill or even give Brandon Pridham the reins.
At the coaching level, the team needs to throw a blank cheque at Peter DeBoer to come in and transform the lineup, play players properly and maybe stop the neutering of Auston Matthews.
At the roster level, there has to be swift changes. Morgan Rielly is out the door, same with Max Domi, Brandon Carlo, Steven Lorentz, Simon Benoit, Philippe Myers, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Right there you need to revamp over half your defensive corps, including adding a true puck-mover, then the bottom and middle-six need to be given some type of help and overpaying for role players won't cut it.
Matthews stood around and watched as his teammates did nothing. If you think you're going to keep him with them still here you're sorely mistaken.
The Atlantic's sudden wave of new teams has left Toronto out to dry and makes a summer retool a necessity
Reminder of who is currently in the top-five for the Atlantic:
1. Buffalo (94)
2. Tampa Bay (90)
3. Montreal (86)
4. Boston (86)
5. Detroit (84)
2. Tampa Bay (90)
3. Montreal (86)
4. Boston (86)
5. Detroit (84)
What is this? 2005-06 all over again? Will Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin suddenly be fighting for the Calder?
Jokes aside, it's certainly a dogfight for first place, but it's a swift turnaround from years past. Sure, the Lightning are still up there but the Maple Leafs aren't, neither are the reigning champion Florida Panthers. Ottawa even is still holding strong only five points out of third.
But look at what they all did. They got younger, faster, and made serious changes. Buffalo fired their GM, actually started caring about the hockey team they put on the ice and are the best team in hockey besides Colorado.
Montreal suffered through a multi-year rebuild and look poised to dominate for the next decade. Boston went from 76 points last year and a team with a broken dynasty to someone who could be a dark horse contender for the Cup and Detroit is kicking around too with their ragtag group of players.
All these teams made changes one way or another and Toronto has to follow suit. There's no reason to keep the status quo if it doesn't work, and planning for the future is no easy feat.
Montreal didn't just get Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky given to them - they sucked, they got picks, and built a stronger team year after year.
This is the blueprint Toronto. There's no one hiding things from you, or pretending things are okay when they aren't. The proof is in the pudding; the teams who have struggled have come back stronger than ever.
If the Maple Leafs want to do something magical and rise from the ashes like a phoenix, then they need to make sure they've given themselves a proper path in which to soar.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Pete DeBoer puts the Maple Leafs and the NHL on notice as the elite coach enters the market
Pete DeBoer puts the Maple Leafs and the NHL on notice as the elite coach enters the market
Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
MARS 22|955 ANSWERS Why no one is safe during the Maple Leafs' hectic 2026 summer reset When do you think the Maple Leafs are going to start their rebuild? | ||
| Immediately End of Season | 516 | 54 % |
| July 1 | 133 | 13.9 % |
| End of Summer | 34 | 3.6 % |
| They Won't Change Anything | 272 | 28.5 % |
| List of polls | ||