2026-27 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion | Official: Sundin & Chayka to lead front office
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
I think Sissons, Paul, and Joshua can all contribute more offensively given the right opportunity. Mushy middle is gone. It's nice to remove offensive-only guys from lines 3 and 4.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Well-known member
The general depression and apathy they displayed under Treliving/Berube should be alleviated.
Bender
Well-known member
I can see Bob really not working out which definitely does scare me but at the very least you have players willing to muck it up and not just stand around when their captain gets his knee obliterated.
The other thing I like is that they're all two year deals. If they aren't good next year we can pivot off of a large number of these contracts pretty painlessly and can start the rebuild in earnest. We don't have our picks for two years, but unless we hand Boston or Philly Landon Du Pont then eating the next two to have McKenna is the best outcome of a very crappy Treliving timeline.
Last edited:
I think it depends on how Puckpedia calculates that age. I think they still have Jarnkrok, and Stetcher in there, as well as Zach McEwen. You replace those players with a McKenna, Danford, and Quillan, and that starts to bring that number down. Also, if you replace Stolarz with AA, that would also bring that number down. I think they would be more middle of the pack with those numbers. The second oldest team currently is Vegas, and they just went to a cup final, so it can't be all bad to be old.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Well-known member
Not playing The G.Mac on the PP?
I mean, he's gotta make the team first. You think we are just handing out first line PP minutes to any old 18 phenom?
Bender
Well-known member
I do think it's hard to compare the two though. We are definitely going to have to pivot in a couple of years just on the basis of how short these contracts are. It's going to be a fascinating couple of years at least.
I'm not crazy about the top-6/bottom-6 method, especially against some of the other top teams in the East. But for whatever its worth, I do think this is a group of players better suited to going that route than we've seen in the past here.
But I don't think it's a guarantee that's how our lines end up looking. Chayka was rather complimentary of Roslovic's ability to play centre, and obviously of course he's going to say that to the media but if we take him at his word there then there's a chance the middle-6 looks something like:
Paul-Roslovic-Nylander
McKenna-Tavares-Sissons
Each line there has a (potential in one case) game-breaking talent, a guy who can definitely score some goals, and a defensive/physical presence.
That leaves Knies and Cowan to play with Matthews, a line that I thought deserved a much longer look together this past season. And of course the defensive face-off eating 4th line with Blueger & co.
But I don't think it's a guarantee that's how our lines end up looking. Chayka was rather complimentary of Roslovic's ability to play centre, and obviously of course he's going to say that to the media but if we take him at his word there then there's a chance the middle-6 looks something like:
Paul-Roslovic-Nylander
McKenna-Tavares-Sissons
Each line there has a (potential in one case) game-breaking talent, a guy who can definitely score some goals, and a defensive/physical presence.
That leaves Knies and Cowan to play with Matthews, a line that I thought deserved a much longer look together this past season. And of course the defensive face-off eating 4th line with Blueger & co.
herman
Well-known member
He is also not under contract.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Well-known member
I guess technically, he doesn't even have a contract yet.
I don't think that is news.
CBJ are in the same boat as the Leafs are with Matthews and the Oilers are with McDavid. Next July 1 they are all eligible to re-sign for more years. CBJ and the Leafs would like to recover assets if their star is going to walk. Oilers will be hoping their star doesn't walk.
As I've said before, the sooner the player makes the decision to move on, the more his team can get back in a trade. We see more evidence of that with the compensation bantered about for Werenski moving with 2 years left on his deal or Brady moving with 2 years left on his deal.
Maybe the media circus in Columbus makes him want to leave by the deadline. If he's leaving, his team would prefer that he does sooner because their return will be more and they're not winning a Cup any time soon.
As of yesterday, the Leafs are in a similar boat - this is not a Cup contender.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
Joshua had as many 5v5 goals as Knies, 1 less then McMann in less games. Paul has scored 20 a few times.
Joshua was on that desired power forward trajectory before his cancer scare. Hopefully, he can stay in the lineup long enough to define his role.
ChatGPT says (note the Hart trophy winner....):
predict nhl26/27 final standings
With most of the major offseason still to unfold, this is necessarily speculative. Recent trades and free-agent moves (including Edmonton's retooling and Toronto's continued roster changes) could shift these rankings before opening night.
Eastern Wild Cards
Western Wild Cards
predict nhl26/27 final standings
With most of the major offseason still to unfold, this is necessarily speculative. Recent trades and free-agent moves (including Edmonton's retooling and Toronto's continued roster changes) could shift these rankings before opening night.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida Panthers | 112 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 107 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 104 |
| 4 | Ottawa Senators | 98 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 95 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 86 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 84 |
| 8 | Boston Bruins | 76 |
Metropolitan Division
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carolina Hurricanes | 114 |
| 2 | New Jersey Devils | 108 |
| 3 | Washington Capitals | 101 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 98 |
| 5 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 92 |
| 6 | New York Islanders | 89 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 79 |
- Ottawa (98)
- NY Rangers (98)
Western Conference
Central Division
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Stars | 111 |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 109 |
| 3 | Winnipeg Jets | 105 |
| 4 | Utah Mammoth | 99 |
| 5 | Minnesota Wild | 97 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | 91 |
| 7 | Nashville Predators | 83 |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 79 |
Pacific Division
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegas Golden Knights | 110 |
| 2 | Edmonton Oilers | 107 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Kings | 103 |
| 4 | Vancouver Canucks | 95 |
| 5 | Calgary Flames | 92 |
| 6 | Anaheim Ducks | 88 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | 84 |
| 8 | Seattle Kraken | 80 |
- Utah (99)
- Minnesota (97)
Award predictions
- Presidents' Trophy: Carolina Hurricanes (114 pts)
- Art Ross: Connor McDavid
- Rocket Richard: Auston Matthews
- Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
- Vezina Trophy: Connor Hellebuyck
- Calder Trophy: A top 2026 draft pick (too early to call)
2027 Stanley Cup Playoff prediction
Conference Finals- Carolina defeats Toronto
- Colorado defeats Vegas
- Colorado Avalanche defeat Carolina Hurricanes in 6 games
Biggest surprises
- Ottawa firmly establishes itself as a playoff team.
- Boston misses the playoffs by a comfortable margin as its retool continues.
- Chicago improves but still falls short.
- San Jose takes a step forward but narrowly misses the postseason despite its young core continuing to develop.
- a "most likely" standings,
- a "bold predictions" version with bigger surprises, or
- a projection using advanced metrics (expected goals, aging curves, and roster value) rather than intuition.