The Florida Panthers refuse to stop adding and Leafs fans should start taking notice

Florida acquired Garnet Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers in order to add more toughness and replace A.J. Greer, and Leafs fans should start to notice a pattern.

Thursday has been fairly quiet all things considered though we have seen the first trade of potentially several throughout the day as the Florida Panthers beefed up their bottom-six by acquiring Garnet Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2026 5th round pick and a 2027 4th round pick:

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Florida also receives Philadelphia's 2026 6th round pick in the deal meanwhile the Flyers are going to be retaining 50% of Hathaway's salary, meaning he will only cost the Panthers $1.2-million as a cap hit.

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Florida continues to add after disappointing 2025-26 season and show no signs of slowing down

It's just another piece that the Panthers added as they've already brought in Brady Tkachuk in a blockbuster with Ottawa, meanwhile they traded away RFA Mackie Samoskevich in order to make room for Tkachuk.

Combine that with a refreshed and healthy roster that will include Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, Sasha Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones...the list goes on and on and they aren't showing signs of slowing down.

One caveat is that they may not have Sergei Bobrovsky back in the fold, but with reports they could be pursuing Connor Hellebuyck; it's getting to fantasy draft levels of team building.

They still hold two second-round picks they can use as trade bait, and it's likely they'll pull off some stunner in the next 48 hours given Bill Zito's relentless pursuit of winning.

Maple Leafs need to start fighting fire with fire and make these types of quiet, yet savvy trade deals

This is where Toronto has to follow suit and start bringing in those guys who will be good role players and bring the heat and competitive edge necessary to make the playoffs in the stacked Atlantic Division.

Toronto could go after Greer in free agency, as he would be a cheap bottom-six forward who likely has a chip on his shoulders after Florida let him go.

Or they could look to make a trade for names like Adam Klapka, Yakov Trenin, or Lawson Crouse who would add a ton of physicality and toughness to the lineup at discounted rate (mid-tier picks to low-end prospects).

There's not going to be too many players left over if Toronto keeps waiting to make those big deals for guys like Morgan Rielly, Brandon Carlo, and Matthew Knies. Sure they will be blockbusters, but you need to fill out the bottom-six and role players too, so getting a leg up on other teams in your division would be a savvy move.

It won't cost them a lot in assets and if you can find players who can shutdown, annoy, and be a nuisance to the Tkachuk Brothers, Barkov etc - it may be the only way Toronto can compete next season.

While it isn't a flashy deal, the Panthers got tougher, meaner, and replaced a key part of their lineup with an identical player. It's their blueprint to win, and Toronto needs to pay attention.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
A Matthew Knies trade feels closer than ever but the return could be well worth it