Only three to five more games to go until the offseason. Only a matter of time before all focus in the hockey world can rightly shift back towards the Maple Leafs. Here are some thoughts until then.

Much has been made of the reported return for Matthew Knies that the Montreal Canadiens were offering at the trade deadline. It was time running out that prevented the deal from being completed in also an important note in this report. This report seeing the light of day, could point to the Canadiens or Maple Leafs wanting this information out there, either with the Canadiens wanting the league to know that they will pay a premium for emerging young talent. Or the Maple Leafs want to establish what it would take to start any conversation around their top talent.

From a Maple Leafs perspective, there isn’t anything compelling about this trade offer that seems like a boat was missed. Alexander Zharovsky is an interesting prospect, but he’s still a prospect. Maybe he’ll produce like Knies, but there is no guarantee. The 28th overall pick isn’t compelling at all. The Canadiens firsts don’t have the value they once did and will likely be picks in the 20s for the foreseeable future. The first two might give the Leafs interesting players, but they are not sure things and would require development time.

The additional prospect wasn’t one of Montreal’s top prospects. It was likely a player who was more of an interesting gamble than a bona fide talent.

It’s hard to imagine the Maple Leafs would want to revisit this deal with Montreal, but this information being out there might mean they’d revisit it with someone who has better draft picks. Utah, for example, is always a lazy suggestion as a landing spot for Knies, given his connection to Logan Cooley and his family living in that region of the United States.

The Leafs shouldn’t want to move Knies. He’s a promising talent with a unique skillset. His contract is great. You’d miss him the second he’s gone. The catch is that the Leafs need to build out a roster in areas that are a priority more than the wing. The flaw with the Canadiens deal was that it restocked the cupboards and nothing else. If the Maple Leafs received one substantial piece that could address a need, Knies is still an option to be shopped.

The Maple Leafs seem to be taking their time in finding a new coach. Maybe this is a good thing. There is a saying: don’t put the cart before the horse. That might not apply here.

Let’s assume the coach is the horse and the Maple Leafs roster is the cart. The Maple Leafs know they’ll need a horse to pull this cart, but at this point, there is no clue what the cart will look like, how it’s built, or what’s in it. Knowing what the cart is like goes a long way in picking out the right horse to pull it. John Chayka and Mats Sundin might have a strong idea of what they want for the cart, but there is also a strong likelihood they won’t end up with the cart they want in the short term. Maybe there is a coach who works best with that makeshift cart.

This analogy might now be a horse beaten to death, but the point remains: it’s a lot easier to find or replace a coach than to overhaul the roster. John Chayka might want to find out who will be on the ice before figuring out who is the right coach to lead them. That doesn’t mean stop interviewing, that just means that maybe a week into July, when the Maple Leafs know roughly what they are working with, to bring in the final piece of the puzzle. The Leafs building a team to Craig Berube’s system was a misstep, these seems like an easy way of avoiding that.

On the march towards free agency, there will be plenty of options to discuss. Here’s one of the more interesting bargain gambles.

Pavol Regenda is a Group 6 Unrestricted Free Agent. At 26, he hasn’t played the requisite number of games to remain a restricted free agent, and if the Sharks don’t sign him, he’s able to test the open market.

What makes Regenda interesting is that he had nine goals in 24 games last season, and he’s 6’4. He’s big, and he’s been able to put the puck in the net. He hits, and he shoots. Not bad qualities for a bottom six forward. There’s really not much more to him than that.

Regenda isn’t so much looking for a payday as he’s likely to be looking for a legitimate shot at a spot on an NHL roster. The Maple Leafs can give him that while fitting with the power forward heavy approach that Chayka leaned into with the Coyotes. He’s not a flashy option but a smart gamble.