Photo credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
It’s time to start the summer checklist early for the Maple Leafs, and if they were proactive they could accelerate their retool with a trio of deals including one that finally gets rid of Morgan Rielly.
Well Leafs fans, the 2025-26 season is over and the playoffs are much like the kingdom in a fairy tale — far, far away. Right now, the team’s best hopes are to lose as many games as possible, secure as bad a position in the overall standings and cross every appendage that they get a top-five pick.
The homework starts now, and if the Maple Leafs are going to trust Brad Treliving to run the show, then he has a few deals he can make to actually turn things around that could solve a lot of headaches.
Dougie Hamilton cap dump (New Jersey Devils)
The name that’s popped up a lot for the Toronto Maple Leafs in trade rumours for several months is New Jersey Devils defenceman Dougie Hamilton. He’s open to a potential move, and GM Tom Fitzgerald has made it known he wants to deal a blueliner be it Hamilton or Simon Nemec.
Hamilton, 32, would be a fairly expensive upgrade given that he makes $9-million and asking for retention would already drive his price up — so taking it at full value lowers the asset cost to acquire him.
But he does have less trade protection come July 1, and if Toronto is willing to pay anyways for him; New Jersey could deal him if Toronto’s not on the restricted list.
In 58 games he has 26 points in a bit of a down season for the offensive blueliner, but has averaged nearly 38 points over his 14-year career which includes an average of 11 goals per season.
That would make him Toronto’s best offensive defender by far, but it’s beyond his scoring that gives him such an advantage. He’s 6-foot-6, a much better defender than Morgan Rielly and someone who makes quicker, crisper and frankly, better passes than him too.
Carlo – Hamilton
McCabe – Tanev
Ferraro – Ekman-Larsson
Bringing him in won’t be easy, but if the Maple Leafs were to take on the full contract, send away a couple of pieces like Matias Maccelli, William Villeneuve and a decent pick it could be more than enough to interest Fitzgerald into dealing Hamilton.
While you won’t be bringing in a young, fresh-faced player on the backend, at least you’re getting a much better #1, which allows you to deal Morgan Rielly elsewhere (more on that later).
Robert Thomas: Patience may pay off (St. Louis Blues)
The title for this entry stresses patience paying off, and that’s what happens for both St. Louis and Toronto.
The Blues and GM Doug Armstrong refused to trade Thomas at the deadline despite heavy rumours, and looks to potentially circle back to things this summer where a better deal is available.
Toronto can certainly provide a big offer to the Blues and might not be too hesitant to send someone like Easton Cowan the other way. If the team’s management wants the playoffs sooner than later, adding a centre in their prime is a good way to do it.
Thomas, 26, has 39 points in 45 games after dealing with some injury issues this season but has been a perennial 20-goal, 65-point producer throughout his career.
In 511 games he has 435 points (122 goals, 313 assists) not to mention great face-off numbers (51.6%), an above average Corsi rate (52.3%), and has a +0.8 goal differential in his career.
That’s someone who you instantly replace John Tavares with, and now that Nic Roy and Scott Laughton are out of town, it allows Tavares and Jacob Quillan to move down to the 3C and 4C.
Not to mention you finally add a proper playmaker on the power-play with a career 79 assists. You need someone to get pucks to Auston Matthews and he’s your guy.
Here’s how Thomas could fit into the top-six in Toronto:
Knies – Matthews – Nylander
Domi – Thomas – Joshua
Robertson – Tavares – Maccelli
Lorentz – Quillan – Groulx
That’s not too shabby and you still have a hyper-offensive third line that has the speed issue (Tavares) solved with two players woh can compensate for their slower-moving pivot.
Morgan Rielly: Waives NMC and waves goodbye to Toronto
Here’s a deal that doesn’t bring a player in, but instead ships one out. Rielly’s tenure in Toronto has been a thorn in the side of fans and management alike thanks to his dip in production and albatross of a contract.
Rielly was already given the heads up last year when they lost in the second round, and with an even worse finish this season — he’s going to have that talk again.
Maybe he should listen this time, because it would be best for him and for Toronto going forward. Rielly no longer fits in the timeline, he’s only going to get worse, and that contract doesn’t appreciate regardless of a rising cap ($7.5-million AAV).
A true team player, Rielly has never complained through his 13-year career; seeing the highs and the lows. But it’s time to realize when your time is over, and do your best to help on the way out.
Toronto will take on 50% of his salary to make it work, they have the money and the slots; they have to. You aren’t getting a haul for him but finding a middle-six forward, a top-4 defenceman and perhaps a fringe prospect would be enough to satiate a retool.
We’ll use the San Jose Sharks as an example as they were linked to Rielly earlier in the year. They could acquire Rielly for Philipp Kurashev, Mario Ferraro, and take a flyer on someone like Jett Woo.
Add in depth players like Philippe Myers and Simon Benoit then suddenly San Jose doesn’t have a defence shortage, and Toronto retools with role players they need — and frees up the money for the aforementioned Hamilton.
Carlo – Hamilton
McCabe – Tanev
Ferraro – Ekman-Larsson
Seeing the same lineup in both the Hamilton proposal and Rielly package shows this is the end game and nothing else really needs to change except the top offensive anchor.
It’s a defensive group that has a lot more shot-blocking and the addition of Hamilton’s transition offence will help defensively as well. It’s the balance Toronto needs and rids them of Rielly, and other pieces that need moving like Benoit.
Why Toronto needs to make at least one of these deals
Whether it’s finding a new replacement for John Tavares as the 2C, or finding a way out for Morgan Rielly (and his replacement) something needs to be done.
Toronto cannot afford to sit back and be patient when it comes to making serious changes, because if Brad Treliving doesn’t do anything then it’s likely he won’t be around to see when those changes finally happen.
It’s time for him to start making those calls.
Previously on Hockey Patrol