Alec Brownscombe

With the 158th overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Maple Leafs selected 6’1, 164-pound centerman Cooper Williams of the Saskatoon Blades (a UND commit for ’26-27). It took the Maple Leafs eight selections to draft their first centerman, which is less than ideal given their relative weakness at the position on the organizational […]

The Zach Werenski drama took an interesting turn late on Tuesday night: Werenski has rejected a trade to the Dallas Stars, and the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs are (reportedly) two of the top teams on Werenski’s list. The rumours of Dallas’ keen interest and willingness to offer Thomas Harley in a package […]

The Maple Leafs have executed a minor trade prior to the opening of unrestricted free agency, clearing out another roster spot and a couple of million dollars in future cap space they would’ve otherwise spent by keeping their qualified, arbitration-eligible RFA around. Nick Robertson is reuniting with the GM who drafted him in the second […]

Elliotte Friedman’s final 32 Thoughts prior to the offseason break included a collection of Leafs nuggets to pore over, including the organization’s strong belief in Auston Matthews, Toronto’s offer on Claude Giroux, Gavin McKenna’s poise in the media, the touchy Morgan Rielly situation, and Florida’s decision to walk away from Sergei Bobrovsky. “They really believe […]

Jake McCabe’s 2025-26 season is a tricky one to unpack. It really was a tale of two halves. Through the Christmas break, McCabe played 36 games, produced 15 points, and the Leafs outscored opponents 28-16 at even strength with him on the ice. The rest of the way, he played 44 games, produced 10 points, […]

Matthew Knies’ 2025-26 season was a bit of a complicated one to evaluate. On the surface, there wasn’t much to complain about. Knies set a career high with 66 points in 79 games, improving on the 58 points he recorded the season before. He did it despite losing Mitch Marner as a linemate, playing 427 […]

William Nylander’s 2025-26 season is a good example of why evaluating star players can’t simply begin and end with the points column. Nylander was easily the Leafs’ most productive player. He scored 30 goals and 79 points in only 65 games, putting him on a 100-point pace over a full season. He led the team […]

There is probably no Maple Leaf who deserves more goodwill from the fan base right now than John Tavares. A year after fully embracing the decision to hand the captaincy to Auston Matthews — handling a potentially awkward situation exactly as you would expect him to — Tavares signed what immediately looked like one of […]

Anthony Stolarz’s 2025-26 season was strange, injury-disrupted, and ultimately forgettable — a fitting description of the Maple Leafs’ season as a whole. After leading the NHL with a .926 save percentage in 2024-25, Stolarz finished last season at .893 with a 3.28 goals-against average and a 10-10-3 record in 26 appearances. It was the lowest […]

Troy Stecher was a breath of fresh air when he arrived in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs needed him far more than they ever should have. When the Leafs claimed Stecher off waivers from Edmonton in mid-November, their blue line was in rough shape. Chris Tanev was injured, Brandon Carlo was battling injuries and severe […]