Alec Brownscombe

Morgan Rielly’s long-awaited bounce-back season never arrived in 2025-26. After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign, Rielly and then-GM Brad Treliving held what Treliving described as a “real, honest discussion” about the defenseman’s performance and the level he was capable of reaching. Rielly later acknowledged that he engaged in “healthy but challenging conversations” with several people, including […]

Dakota Joshua’s first season back in the organization that originally drafted him was a mixed bag. There were a few stretches when he looked like the heavy, effective bottom-six winger the Leafs thought they were acquiring, but a slow start and a major injury undermined his first season in Toronto. Joshua finished with 10 goals […]

Auston Matthews’ 2025-26 season made one thing abundantly clear: The Maple Leafs need their franchise player back. The flashes were still there. There were nights and stretches during the 2025-26 season when Auston Matthews looked like the player we all remember — the one capable of taking over games, pouring shots on goal, and beating […]

Assessing Chris Tanev’s first season in Toronto was fairly straightforward: He was exactly the player the Maple Leafs hoped they were acquiring. His second season basically never got off the ground. Tanev appeared in just 11 games in 2025-26, one of which lasted less than six minutes. He recorded two assists, averaged 17:58 per game, […]

The Maple Leafs are hoping that Emil Andrae can add a few much-needed elements to their blue line this upcoming season: youth/upside, mobility, and puck-moving ability. Whether Andrae — 24 years old and with only 107 NHL games to his name — can supply those elements consistently at the NHL level is still to be […]

The Jack Roslovic-Auston Matthews connection has been played up often since Roslovic signed in Toronto on July 1. The two played together for the USNTDP over a decade ago, finishing first and second in team scoring on a loaded roster that also included Matthew Tkachuk, Clayton Keller, and Tage Thompson. They remain friends, and Roslovic […]

Gavin McKenna could be anything from a supporting piece to a game-breaking star in his rookie season, and how the Maple Leafs manage the upside and uncertainty surrounding their new young star matters far beyond just 2026-27. A wide range of plausible outcomes exists for McKenna this season. In the dream scenario, McKenna follows a […]

The Maple Leafs’ UFA offseason additions up front made their priorities at the position pretty clear. After finishing as one of the league’s worst defensive teams in 2025-26 while deploying Auston Matthews like he’s Jordan Staal, the Leafs added Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, and Brandon Duhaime to their bottom six—a trio of veteran forwards who […]

Nick Paul’s final season in Tampa Bay was either an injury-riddled aberration or the first warning sign for a 31-year-old forward who had previously been quite healthy and consistent. After trading Dennis Hildeby, a 2027 fourth-round pick, and a 2028 third-round pick to acquire him, the Maple Leafs are betting on the former. Paul entered […]

Through the first 15 years of his NHL career, Sergei Bobrovsky built a stonewall Hall of Fame résumé. Two Vezina Trophies. Over 450 regular-season victories. Three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. Back-to-back championships. 44-21 with a .912 save percentage and six shutouts in 65 playoff appearances between 2023 and 2025. Evolving Hockey credited him with 41.25 […]