We’ve officially reached the time of year when the conversation shifts from playoff hockey to offseason preparation. Well, at least for the Toronto Maple Leafs. We can’t imagine the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, or Carolina Hurricanes are there yet.

There won’t be a lot of talk around the Maple Leafs when the draft rolls around, unless they swing a big trade during the festivities. General manager Brad Treliving went all in at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of defenceman Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton, stripping them of their first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, and they don’t have their 2025 first-round pick, either, having parted with it to acquire Jake McCabe.

This doesn’t mean that the Leafs won’t be dipping their feet into the realm of prospects. Like any other NHL team, the offseason is a good time for them to pad their prospect pool a little bit, even if they’re not adding a big-name first-round pick to the group. There are a number of prospects who were drafted within the past couple of years who will see their rights expire, and the Buffalo Sabres have a couple of prospects who could be without a contract by the time summer rolls around. And, if they are, they could be of interest to the Maple Leafs. Let’s meet them.

Vilijami Marjala is as much of a playmaker as it gets. He was originally selected by the Sabres in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was playing for the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts at the time, with five goals and 27 points in 30 games during his draft year. He played one more season with Quebec before returning to his native Finland in 2022-23, where he’s spent the past three seasons playing for TPS Turku. He’s seen steady improvement each year, and actually displayed some strong goal-scoring instincts in 2023-24, with 17 goals and 40 points in 60 games. He also scored three goals and added nine points in nine games during the playoffs that year. His best season to date was this year, but the goal scoring took a step back while the assists boomed, finishing the season with eight goals and 52 points in 54 games. See what I mean about the playmaking thing?

Vilijarmi has the highest offensive ceiling of anybody at risk of having their rights lost, and taking a flier on somebody like this is always worth a shot, whether they pan out or not. No, signing the 22-year-old doesn’t mean he’s the next big thing or the final piece to building a Cup-winner, and this is rarely the case when you’re gambling on a prospect, but depth is always important in the farm system. The 6-foot, 176-pound winger could fill a similar void to what the Leafs hoped when they selected Ty Voit six picks earlier. Voit was the same type of prospect when drafted; undersized, but skillful offensively. He unfortunately faced a number of injuries after being drafted, and it doesn’t seem like he’s got much of a path to carving out a career with the Leafs, but if they want to boost their forward prospects on the left side, Vilijarmi would be an interesting player to check out.

Miedema is a completely different prospect from Marjala. The only similarity between the two is that they’re both left-wingers. Miedema hails from Fort George, BC, but has spent his entire junior career in the Ontario Hockey League. He started his tenure with the Windsor Spitfires, playing there for two seasons before he was sent to the Kingston Frontenacs in a package for former top-5 pick Shane Wright. His game has steadily grown towards the back half of his OHL career, posting career highs in 2024-25 with 23 goals and 57 points in 66 games. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, he makes his money on the physical side of the game, winning board battles and imposing his size on opponents to take away time and space.

Unlike Marjala, Miedema is somebody that the Leafs could sign, start in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies, and potentially call up to play on their fourth line. His ceiling doesn’t project him any higher than a third-line player, at least as of now, but not every prospect has to have the ceiling of a first-liner. If the Leafs can sign a young, energy player who can throw his body against their opponent and be hard to play against, even as a depth forward, they’ll be happy with the results, especially knowing he’ll be coming at a cheap price. And, of course, more competition in the minors is never a bad thing.

Neither of these players will be the next big thing, but the best-run organizations will always do their due diligence in every area of the game, and if they can sign a couple of young prospects with NHL ceilings for cheap, expect them to throw their hat in the ring for at least one of these two.