When it comes to sought-after trade assets, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ cupboard is pretty bare. Gone are their first- and second-round picks in the 2026 Draft; gone is their first-rounder in 2027; gone are two of their top prospects in Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin. Easton Cowan? Forget about it. He’s not going anywhere. 

So if GM Brad Treliving is intent on boosting the troops with a viable addition, what does he have to offer up in a trade that other teams would be interested in?

Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet took on that challenge, and landed on three forwards who “might have more value to a team other than Toronto”:Bobby McMann

Coming off a 20-goal season last year, and at least close to that pace this season, McMann could, at least, get an opposing GM to stay on the phone line for a bit to listen to what Brad Treliving has to say. 

“For whatever reason, Bobby McMann has never seemed to fully gain (head coach Craig) Berube’s approval,” writes Dixon. It all started with a healthy scratch for McMann in Berube’s first game behind the bench last season, and has continued into watching him shifted from line to line, while still averaging just 14:30 of ice time despite a 20-goal campaign. 

McMann is on an expiring deal at a mere $1.35M cap hit, so he could certainly hold value to other teams. 

Nick Robertson

The unrealized potential would be the drawing card here. Just turned 24, Robertson has never panned out to match his second-round draft pedigree, partly because of injuries earlier in his career, and a lack of true opportunities with the Leafs. He actually had a nice stretch last month where he scored 5 goals and had 10 points in 11 games, while his ice time climbed to career-highs of nearly 15 minutes a night through that span.

Was that little glimpse enough to pique the interest of other GMs? 

Matias Maccelli

This just hasn’t worked. One of the Maple Leafs’ offseason additions who was supposed to help contribute to the offense after the loss of Mitch Marner, Maccelli has looked closer to the 18-point player from a disastrous 2024-25 with Utah than the promising 57-point player of a year earlier. He’s now been a healthy scratch for a few games, and has just 9 points in 22 games in 13:12 average TOI. 

Maccelli is also on an expiring contract ($3.425M cap hit), and if they could find a team that still sees that potential in him, it would be beneficial to use him as trade bait.

But as Dixon notes, don’t expect a hefty return. 

Photo: © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images