<p>The Maple Leafs need to upgrade prior to the trade deadline and while Brad Treliving isn&#8217;t likely to drastically overhaul his roster in the next six weeks, there are noticeable areas for improvement as well some potential fat that can be cut.</p>
<p>The Leafs aren&#8217;t exactly in a money in/money out situation when it comes to the trade deadline, but they are close. Presently with Jacob Quillan on the roster the Leafs only have $441k of LTIR cap relief available (according to PuckPedia on Jan 23, 2025). The Leafs presently have Max Pacioretty, John Tavares, and Anthony Stolarz on their injured reserve and the resulting demotions of Fraser Minten, Matt Murray, and Jacob Quillan would increase that space. The likely activation of Jani Hakanpaa from the LTIR, something that will occur either right before or right after the Four Nations break, will cut into both the space available and require another demotion as well.</p>
<p>Given that the Leafs have preferred having a 23-player roster throughout the season, it seems that at best Calle Jarnkrok&#8217;s LTIR relief is the best the Leafs have to work with for cap space and even that may be partially spent.</p>
<p>Here are the Leafs options for selling and potential teams that could be interested.</p>
<h2>Max Domi (13 team no trade clause)</h2>
<p>Max Domi&#8217;s nickname should be Cybertruck because he&#8217;s expensive and comes with a ton of buyer&#8217;s remorse.</p>
<p>That said, Max Domi was also signed for a reason. Brad Treliving really liked what he saw from the forward last season and throughout Domi&#8217;s career plenty of other GMs have found themselves in similar situations. There are some players that are great players no matter who is coaching them and who they play with, but Max Domi and Craig Berube are certainly not gelling. That doesn&#8217;t mean that Domi is washed up or done, just maybe that he should be done in Toronto.</p>
<p>A lot of the negativity around Domi&#8217;s performance is linked heavily to his play at centre and if history has taught us anything, prolonged stints of Domi at centre are bad news. Max Domi having to play in defensive situations is also bad news. If the Leafs keep him, there is still hope that Toronto can get out of him what they need, but with Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann looking capable and Max Pacioretty doing a lot of the non-scoring things that people would have hoped from Domi, the $3.75M in cap space has a lot more appeal than the player at this point.</p>
<p>The Leafs might be done with Domi but there are potentially some teams out there that have space in their top six forward group and see the potential for a playmaker joining their team.</p>
<p>The team that sticks out the most when it comes to a fit for Max Domi is the team he had his most successful recent campaign with, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks have plenty of cap space to spare and have come up light when it comes to finding a playmaker for Connor Bedard. In the absence of success with Connor Bedard, Domi reuniting with Tyler Bertuzzi or his former Chicago linemates is a possibility as well and as the Hawks sit in a three way tie for second last in the league in goals for per game, this was a pretty easy connecting of the dots.</p>
<p>The Ducks being last in the league in goals for is certainly something that points to them as a potential landing spot as well.</p>
<p>Other teams like the Kings or Canucks that find themselves in a playoff race but could use some more offence might be interesting as well. The Kings have a good handle on the defensive side of the puck and might be able to risk it a bit more on someone like Domi if they think his offence can get on track while the Canucks might be looking for someone to replace J.T. Miller in the lineup.</p>
<h2>Nick Robertson</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s entirely possible that this year is a great learning experience for Nick Robertson and he could put it all together for the Leafs next season. It&#8217;s also entirely possible that this is what Robertson is and that is good north/south skater with a quality wrist shot and not enough else to his game that excites a coach when things aren&#8217;t going right.</p>
<p>The Leafs of today have never been the right fit for Robertson. A decade ago, Robertson would have received all the opportunities in the world to play in the top six and would essentially be the Leafs leading goal scorer by default would have worked great for him. Now it is hard to envision a path to the top six that makes sense and his linemates are either going to overexpose his defensive shortcomings or not utilize his offensive strengths enough. His trade request always made sense.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s because of his offensive abilities there is a possibility that someone is interested in him and since half the league has a goals for per game under three, there will be calls for exploring offensive upgrades. It&#8217;s just the value attached to Robertson will be somewhat underwhelming.</p>
<p>Cap strapped teams like the Avalanche or Capitals might see some potential in Robertson they want to explore and they might have a player in mind that they want him to play with. The Capitals have a number of larger forwards that putting a 5&#8217;9 shooter with wouldn&#8217;t be a big deal, and the Avs with a lineup filled with Casey Mittelstadt, Valeri Nichushkin, and Jonathan Drouin show a willingness to take a gamble on bargain players with upside and believe they can turn them into something.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also likely that a would-be seller will want someone like Robertson included in a deal. Someone will have to play after they&#8217;ve dealt away all their rentals and having a player who could potentially score would be a bonus.</p>
<h2>David Kampf (10 team no trade clause)</h2>
<p>If David Kampf made half of what he is paid, there would probably be teams lining up around the block for him. He&#8217;d be a decent fourth line centre who you can trust on the penalty kill and given that you are firmly paying him as a fourth line centre there wouldn&#8217;t be a need to test him against competition he can&#8217;t handle and expect more from Kampf than what he&#8217;s capable of doing. Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe believed in Kampf too much and then Brad Treliving paid Kampf too much. If contracts didn&#8217;t matter no one would say a bad thing about him provided he stays on the fourth line.</p>
<p>The catch is also that the Leafs have Steven Lorentz, Connor Dewar, Pontus Holmberg, Fraser Minten, and eventually Calle Jarnkrok that all do the exact same thing as David Kampf and for less. Kampf looks like necessary cap space to shed, but it will be tough to find the team that sees him as the right fit at that price.</p>
<p>Kampf will likely be a salary dump, but if there is a savvy GM who wants to take advantage of the good that Kampf can do on the penalty kill, trading for the centre, retaining half of his salary and flipping him for a decent return is possible. Playoff bound teams like the Wild and Oilers could use some penalty killing help and if he is dealt to a team with retention space and a willingness to retain for a few years he could be moved.</p>
<p>Other than that, perhaps Sheldon Keefe misses his shutdown centre or Kyle Dubas still believes in Kampf.</p>
<h2>Ryan Reaves</h2>
<p>An expensive enforcer is a luxury the Leafs can&#8217;t afford. Things aren&#8217;t clicking so perfectly with the other 11 forwards that a spot can be spent on Reaves on a nightly basis and the fourth line is best spent on Craig Berube being able to retain three penalty killers out of Dewar, Lorentz, Holmberg, and Minten than putting Reaves in at the cost of capable defensive zone players that are limited amongst the Leafs forward group.</p>
<p>You can&#8217;t really make a case for Reaves over someone like Robertson either. He has something to bring to the second powerplay unit and at least in a spark of offence in the bottom six. Reaves is six minutes a night of hoping the puck doesn&#8217;t go near him and carefully curating the situation in which he plays. That might work for some teams needing a physical spark but with the Leafs getting more practical toughness from Knies, McMann, Lorentz, Dewar, and Pacioretty on a regular basis, Reaves is truly unnecessary.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s hard to imagine that teams are beating down the door to bring in Reaves, but perhaps the Utah Hockey Club that is looking to sell the game to a new market would like to bring in more of the physical/sideshow element that Reaves has. Maybe the Jets, who aren&#8217;t the toughest customers in the league would like a local boy to protect the Hart Trophy calibre goaltender if someone where to take liberties with him. I don&#8217;t know.</p>
<p>With Reaves, like a lot of the Leafs on this list is primarily a salary dump, but like Kampf and Domi before him, teams are still going to care about finding the right salary dump for them and Reaves who made a name for himself as a team first guy might be valued by another GM in the same way that Brad Treliving initially valued Reaves when he brought him into Toronto.</p>
<h2>Conor Timmins</h2>
<p>Timmins has received more than a fair look under Craig Berube, something he never really received from Sheldon Keefe. And while the Leafs seem to like him at least enough to rotate him through their bottom pairing and have him in the lineup on the majority of nights.</p>
<p>Timmins was the favoured option over Timothy Liljegren as the third pairing puck mover. Given the struggles of Liljegren to start the year, the increased cost, and Timmins strong start, it made sense. I don&#8217;t think it does anymore and as the trade deadline approaches, Toronto needs to look at ways to upgrade the bottom pairing.</p>
<p>The good news is that there is probably a market for Connor Timmins. Teams need powerplay help and Timmins can provide that. He can be a sheltered puck mover. It&#8217;s just he&#8217;s going to get beaten in coverage repeatedly and potentially take a bad penalty if he&#8217;s caught out of position.</p>
<p>There are teams probably willing to accept that since as we&#8217;ve seen the Oilers are still willing to take a chance on John Klingberg and Tyson Barrie is still employed. Timmins&#8217; right shot also earn him some interest.</p>
<p>A team like Dallas that has the defensive side of their defence figured out pretty well can probably take a chance on someone like Timmins in their lineup. After all, they are the place that John Klingberg thrived as well.</p>
<p>There also might be some interest in Timmins by a team like Philadelphia which might be selling defencemen and require someone new to come in and play the position for cheap.</p>
<h2>The rest</h2>
<p>While it would be fun to play matchmaker for Pontus Holmberg, Connor Dewar, and Alex Steeves, the reality is that if they are on the move it will be largely driven by making rosters and the 50 contract limit work. They are all solid fourth line options, but not players you&#8217;ll fuss about having to spend time in the press box either. The trade deadline is absolutely about moving these guys down the depth chart.</p>
<p>There is also the trio of cheap(-ish) depth defencemen. Philippe Myers seems unlikely to go anywhere other possibly on a waivers trip to the Marlies. Simon Benoit, while showing more warts this season, still seems like he is a staple of the roster if not the lineup card. And Jani Hakanpaa is still a giant mystery box and at this point it seems far more likely that Toronto is curious about seeing what they have with him than moving on from him.</p>
<p>You could maybe throw Matt Benning into that mix as well but at this point with Benning already through waivers and secure on the Leafs depth chart, Toronto might be reluctant to harm their depth for what would be a small return. Benning could get interest from teams with depleted bluelines or from playoff teams that want NHL capable depth waiting in the AHL to step in if required. The biggest hinderance is the extra year of contract.</p>
<p>Similar to Benning, but with the address bonus being pending UFAs, it will be interesting to see if anyone is interested in Alex Nylander or Matt Murray for some work down the stretch, acknowledging the Leafs probably aren&#8217;t in a rush to sacrifice depth.</p>
<p>While injuries could change a lot of things, it does seem likely that some current Leafs will be changing addresses between now and the trade deadline and while it will largely be casting off players that don&#8217;t fit with Craig Berube&#8217;s direction or necessary cap casualties, there should at least be a willingness if not a market for some of the players the Leafs are selling.</p>


The Maple Leafs need to upgrade prior to the trade deadline and while Brad Treliving isn't likely to drastically overhaul his roster in the next six weeks, there are noticeable areas for improvement as well some potential fat that can be cut.

The Leafs aren't exactly in a money in/money out situation when it comes to the trade deadline, but they are close. Presently with Jacob Quillan on the roster the Leafs only have $441k of LTIR cap relief available (according to PuckPedia on Jan 23, 2025). The Leafs presently have Max Pacioretty, John Tavares, and Anthony Stolarz on their injured reserve and the resulting demotions of Fraser Minten, Matt Murray, and Jacob Quillan would increase that space. The likely activation of Jani Hakanpaa from the LTIR, something that will occur either right before or right after the Four Nations break, will cut into both the space available and require another demotion as well.

Given that the Leafs have preferred having a 23-player roster throughout the season, it seems that at best Calle Jarnkrok's LTIR relief is the best the Leafs have to work with for cap space and even that may be partially spent.

Here are the Leafs options for selling and potential teams that could be interested.
<h2>Max Domi (13 team no trade clause)</h2>
Max Domi's nickname should be Cybertruck because he's expensive and comes with a ton of buyer's remorse.

That said, Max Domi was also signed for a reason. Brad Treliving really liked what he saw from the forward last season and throughout Domi's career plenty of other GMs have found themselves in similar situations. There are some players that are great players no matter who is coaching them and who they play with, but Max Domi and Craig Berube are certainly not gelling. That doesn't mean that Domi is washed up or done, just maybe that he should be done in Toronto.

A lot of the negativity around Domi's performance is linked heavily to his play at centre and if history has taught us anything, prolonged stints of Domi at centre are bad news. Max Domi having to play in defensive situations is also bad news. If the Leafs keep him, there is still hope that Toronto can get out of him what they need, but with Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann looking capable and Max Pacioretty doing a lot of the non-scoring things that people would have hoped from Domi, the $3.75M in cap space has a lot more appeal than the player at this point.

The Leafs might be done with Domi but there are potentially some teams out there that have space in their top six forward group and see the potential for a playmaker joining their team.

The team that sticks out the most when it comes to a fit for Max Domi is the team he had his most successful recent campaign with, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks have plenty of cap space to spare and have come up light when it comes to finding a playmaker for Connor Bedard. In the absence of success with Connor Bedard, Domi reuniting with Tyler Bertuzzi or his former Chicago linemates is a possibility as well and as the Hawks sit in a three way tie for second last in the league in goals for per game, this was a pretty easy connecting of the dots.

The Ducks being last in the league in goals for is certainly something that points to them as a potential landing spot as well.

Other teams like the Kings or Canucks that find themselves in a playoff race but could use some more offence might be interesting as well. The Kings have a good handle on the defensive side of the puck and might be able to risk it a bit more on someone like Domi if they think his offence can get on track while the Canucks might be looking for someone to replace J.T. Miller in the lineup.
<h2>Nick Robertson</h2>
It's entirely possible that this year is a great learning experience for Nick Robertson and he could put it all together for the Leafs next season. It's also entirely possible that this is what Robertson is and that is good north/south skater with a quality wrist shot and not enough else to his game that excites a coach when things aren't going right.

The Leafs of today have never been the right fit for Robertson. A decade ago, Robertson would have received all the opportunities in the world to play in the top six and would essentially be the Leafs leading goal scorer by default would have worked great for him. Now it is hard to envision a path to the top six that makes sense and his linemates are either going to overexpose his defensive shortcomings or not utilize his offensive strengths enough. His trade request always made sense.

It's because of his offensive abilities there is a possibility that someone is interested in him and since half the league has a goals for per game under three, there will be calls for exploring offensive upgrades. It's just the value attached to Robertson will be somewhat underwhelming.

Cap strapped teams like the Avalanche or Capitals might see some potential in Robertson they want to explore and they might have a player in mind that they want him to play with. The Capitals have a number of larger forwards that putting a 5'9 shooter with wouldn't be a big deal, and the Avs with a lineup filled with Casey Mittelstadt, Valeri Nichushkin, and Jonathan Drouin show a willingness to take a gamble on bargain players with upside and believe they can turn them into something.

It's also likely that a would-be seller will want someone like Robertson included in a deal. Someone will have to play after they've dealt away all their rentals and having a player who could potentially score would be a bonus.
<h2>David Kampf (10 team no trade clause)</h2>
If David Kampf made half of what he is paid, there would probably be teams lining up around the block for him. He'd be a decent fourth line centre who you can trust on the penalty kill and given that you are firmly paying him as a fourth line centre there wouldn't be a need to test him against competition he can't handle and expect more from Kampf than what he's capable of doing. Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe believed in Kampf too much and then Brad Treliving paid Kampf too much. If contracts didn't matter no one would say a bad thing about him provided he stays on the fourth line.

The catch is also that the Leafs have Steven Lorentz, Connor Dewar, Pontus Holmberg, Fraser Minten, and eventually Calle Jarnkrok that all do the exact same thing as David Kampf and for less. Kampf looks like necessary cap space to shed, but it will be tough to find the team that sees him as the right fit at that price.

Kampf will likely be a salary dump, but if there is a savvy GM who wants to take advantage of the good that Kampf can do on the penalty kill, trading for the centre, retaining half of his salary and flipping him for a decent return is possible. Playoff bound teams like the Wild and Oilers could use some penalty killing help and if he is dealt to a team with retention space and a willingness to retain for a few years he could be moved.

Other than that, perhaps Sheldon Keefe misses his shutdown centre or Kyle Dubas still believes in Kampf.
<h2>Ryan Reaves</h2>
An expensive enforcer is a luxury the Leafs can't afford. Things aren't clicking so perfectly with the other 11 forwards that a spot can be spent on Reaves on a nightly basis and the fourth line is best spent on Craig Berube being able to retain three penalty killers out of Dewar, Lorentz, Holmberg, and Minten than putting Reaves in at the cost of capable defensive zone players that are limited amongst the Leafs forward group.

You can't really make a case for Reaves over someone like Robertson either. He has something to bring to the second powerplay unit and at least in a spark of offence in the bottom six. Reaves is six minutes a night of hoping the puck doesn't go near him and carefully curating the situation in which he plays. That might work for some teams needing a physical spark but with the Leafs getting more practical toughness from Knies, McMann, Lorentz, Dewar, and Pacioretty on a regular basis, Reaves is truly unnecessary.

It's hard to imagine that teams are beating down the door to bring in Reaves, but perhaps the Utah Hockey Club that is looking to sell the game to a new market would like to bring in more of the physical/sideshow element that Reaves has. Maybe the Jets, who aren't the toughest customers in the league would like a local boy to protect the Hart Trophy calibre goaltender if someone where to take liberties with him. I don't know.

With Reaves, like a lot of the Leafs on this list is primarily a salary dump, but like Kampf and Domi before him, teams are still going to care about finding the right salary dump for them and Reaves who made a name for himself as a team first guy might be valued by another GM in the same way that Brad Treliving initially valued Reaves when he brought him into Toronto.
<h2>Conor Timmins</h2>
Timmins has received more than a fair look under Craig Berube, something he never really received from Sheldon Keefe. And while the Leafs seem to like him at least enough to rotate him through their bottom pairing and have him in the lineup on the majority of nights.

Timmins was the favoured option over Timothy Liljegren as the third pairing puck mover. Given the struggles of Liljegren to start the year, the increased cost, and Timmins strong start, it made sense. I don't think it does anymore and as the trade deadline approaches, Toronto needs to look at ways to upgrade the bottom pairing.

The good news is that there is probably a market for Connor Timmins. Teams need powerplay help and Timmins can provide that. He can be a sheltered puck mover. It's just he's going to get beaten in coverage repeatedly and potentially take a bad penalty if he's caught out of position.

There are teams probably willing to accept that since as we've seen the Oilers are still willing to take a chance on John Klingberg and Tyson Barrie is still employed. Timmins' right shot also earn him some interest.

A team like Dallas that has the defensive side of their defence figured out pretty well can probably take a chance on someone like Timmins in their lineup. After all, they are the place that John Klingberg thrived as well.

There also might be some interest in Timmins by a team like Philadelphia which might be selling defencemen and require someone new to come in and play the position for cheap.
<h2>The rest</h2>
While it would be fun to play matchmaker for Pontus Holmberg, Connor Dewar, and Alex Steeves, the reality is that if they are on the move it will be largely driven by making rosters and the 50 contract limit work. They are all solid fourth line options, but not players you'll fuss about having to spend time in the press box either. The trade deadline is absolutely about moving these guys down the depth chart.

There is also the trio of cheap(-ish) depth defencemen. Philippe Myers seems unlikely to go anywhere other possibly on a waivers trip to the Marlies. Simon Benoit, while showing more warts this season, still seems like he is a staple of the roster if not the lineup card. And Jani Hakanpaa is still a giant mystery box and at this point it seems far more likely that Toronto is curious about seeing what they have with him than moving on from him.

You could maybe throw Matt Benning into that mix as well but at this point with Benning already through waivers and secure on the Leafs depth chart, Toronto might be reluctant to harm their depth for what would be a small return. Benning could get interest from teams with depleted bluelines or from playoff teams that want NHL capable depth waiting in the AHL to step in if required. The biggest hinderance is the extra year of contract.

Similar to Benning, but with the address bonus being pending UFAs, it will be interesting to see if anyone is interested in Alex Nylander or Matt Murray for some work down the stretch, acknowledging the Leafs probably aren't in a rush to sacrifice depth.

While injuries could change a lot of things, it does seem likely that some current Leafs will be changing addresses between now and the trade deadline and while it will largely be casting off players that don't fit with Craig Berube's direction or necessary cap casualties, there should at least be a willingness if not a market for some of the players the Leafs are selling.

Who wants what the Maple Leafs are selling?

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