{"id":468579,"date":"2026-02-23T20:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/468579\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T20:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:05:14","slug":"maple-leafs-week-ahead-schedule-storylines-gold-medal-hangover-riellys-future-deadline-decisions-the-hockey-writers-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/468579\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines \u2013 Gold Medal Hangover, Rielly\u2019s Future & Deadline Decisions – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina are officially in the books, and for the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>, the tournament provided a surreal split-screen reality. While captain Auston Matthews<\/a> was busy ending a 46-year gold medal drought for Team USA, the club he left behind in Toronto continued to slide down the Atlantic Division standings.<\/p>\n

Now, as the NHL roster freeze lifts today, Feb. 23, the focus shifts from international glory to domestic survival. With the March 6 Trade Deadline just twelve days away, General Manager Brad Treliving is under immense pressure to decide if this group is worth a \u201cretool\u201d or if a more aggressive \u201crebuild\u201d is the only logical path forward.<\/p>\n

Matthews\u2019 Golden Moment vs. Toronto\u2019s Reality<\/p>\n

There is no denying that Matthews has cemented his legacy. By leading the Americans to gold over Canada<\/a>, he silenced critics who questioned his ability to perform in high-stakes elimination games. However, the \u201cMilan Hangover\u201d is real. <\/p>\n

\"AustonAuston Matthews #34 of Team United States (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Matthews returns to a locker room that is reeling, and the scrutiny won\u2019t let up. The question now is whether his golden momentum can spark a miracle run in Toronto, or if his individual success will only highlight the team\u2019s collective failure this season.<\/p>\n

Rielly\u2019s Future With the Club<\/p>\n

The most significant storyline heading into the deadline involves Morgan Rielly<\/a>. As the longest-tenured player on the roster, Rielly has always been the heartbeat of the team, but the business of hockey is starting to catch up. Sources, including David Pagnotta<\/a>, suggest the Leafs have already had \u201cloose\u201d conversations with Rielly about his full no-move clause (NMC).<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0NHL Trade Bait List for 2026 Trade Deadline<\/a><\/p>\n

With Rielly struggling defensively and losing his power-play role, the team is at a crossroads. If he\u2019s willing to waive his NMC for a fresh start\u2014perhaps in Vancouver or San Jose\u2014it would free up the $7.5 million in cap space Treliving desperately needs to find a true number-one defenseman.<\/p>\n

Health Updates: Tanev and Joshua<\/p>\n

For the Leafs to have any chance of making noise in the final stretch, they need their veteran stabilizers.<\/p>\n

Chris Tanev:\u00a0Still a massive question mark. His groin injury has kept him out of the lineup for the better part of the season, and while he is skating<\/a>, a definitive return date remains elusive.<\/p>\n

Dakota Joshua:\u00a0There is light at the end of the tunnel here. Joshua is targeting a return during this week\u2019s Florida trip after recovering from a kidney laceration. His physical, north-south game is exactly what the Leafs\u2019 bottom-six has been missing.<\/p>\n

Trade Deadline: Sellers for the First Time?<\/p>\n

With the Leafs currently 13th in the Eastern Conference, the \u201cseller\u201d tag is becoming impossible to ignore. Beyond Rielly, the name gaining the most traction is Bobby McMann<\/a>. Having a career year while making just $1.35 million makes him an incredibly attractive asset for contenders like the Edmonton Oilers<\/a>. If the Leafs can\u2019t string together wins immediately following the break, expect Treliving to move pieces like McMann and potentially even a goaltender to restock the organization\u2019s draft capital.<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs Schedule: Feb. 23 \u2013 March 1<\/p>\n

The upcoming week is a gauntlet that will likely determine the franchise\u2019s direction for the next three years.<\/p>\n

DateTime (EST)OpponentVenueNotesWed, Feb. 257:30 PMat Tampa Bay LightningAmalie ArenaFirst game after Olympic break.Thu, Feb. 267:00 PMat Florida PanthersAmerant Bank ArenaBack-to-back against divisional heavyweights.Sat, Feb. 287:00 PMvs. Ottawa SenatorsScotiabank Arena\u201cBattle of Ontario\u201d could be the final straw.<\/p>\n

AI tools were used to support the creation or distribution of this content, however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of The Hockey Writers editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina are officially in the books, and for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[23057,3189,532,5,20,5172,885,4,66,31,5171],"class_list":["post-468579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-2026-nhl-trade-deadline","tag-2026-winter-olympics","tag-auston-matthews","tag-hockey","tag-maple-leafs","tag-mapleleafs","tag-morgan-rielly","tag-nhl","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-torontomapleleafs"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116121750361510069","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}