Will the Maple Leafs’ roster purge stop at only Mitch Marner?

May 19, 2025, 13:02 EDT

Credit: May 18, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) and Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) shake hands after game seven of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

And then there were four. With the Conference Finals on tap, the field skating for a shot at Lord Stanley has been sliced in half again – and with that, many questions to answer.

Here are four burning questions facing the four teams eliminated in Round 2:

1. Will the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster purge stop at only Mitch Marner?

Time’s up after nine years. When a team shows you who they are, be-leaf them. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Marner will be moving on this summer – seemingly equal parts on his own volition as free agent and in the interest of change. That means priority No. 1 should be sorting out the next deal for Matthew Knies. After that, how deep should the cuts be? Marner is far from alone in his playoff shortcomings, but he will bear the brunt on his way out the door. What about Morgan Rielly? He was exposed for his lack of foot speed big time in these playoffs, plus that contract will only age poorly. Should John Tavares still be retained on the cheap? And what about Auston Matthews?

It’s an interesting thought exercise. The captain has 26 goals in 68 career postseason games; three of those games were two-goal games, so he has scored in 23 of 68 playoff contests as a Leaf. His scoring is nearly cut in half, from 0.64 goals per game in the regular season to 0.38 in the postseason. Here’s the thing: It’s not just the lack of postseason success for Matthews, but also his chronic injuries. If it truly is a recurring back injury for Matthews, as has been whispered, how many of those injuries actually get better over time? There’s a million reasons why they should keep him. He’s a straight up assassin when healthy, one of the most difficult players in the league to replace. But he hasn’t looked like a threat in a while. It’s admittedly very unlikely that Toronto would move on from Matthews – and his no-movement clause would limit their control – but how many questions or thought exercises should be totally off the table for this Toronto team?

2. Next year, is Alex Ovechkin an asset or a liability for the Washington Capitals?

Yes, that question sounds blasphemous after a magical 44-goal regular season that saw the Great Eight become the NHL’s forever goal scoring king. To do it as a 39-year-old is absolutely bonkers, and total credit is due to a horse of a man who cares and competes and is carrying the torch to pass to the next generation of Capitals. But Washington’s short-series loss to the speedy Hurricanes raised a fair question about what the deployment of Ovechkin should look like for the final season of his five-year contract. Ovechkin scored once in the five games and in their only win, coach Spencer Carbery played him just 14 minutes in an effort to seal the victory. Interestingly, Ovechkin’s ice time as a whole dipped this season to almost three minutes lower than his career average. Will it need to be curtailed a little more next season?

3. Is the Vegas Golden Knights’ window to win closing?

Oof. The Golden Knights, known for always advancing and never retreating, really went out with a whimper in Round 2 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Golden Knights were on their heels most of the series and the scoreboard was indicative of the disparity apparent between the two teams. The troubling part for Vegas is that they looked old – and if you double down on that, they looked old and they’re committed to those players. Alex Pietrangelo is 35. Brayden McNabb is 34. Mark Stone is 33. Tomas Hertl is 31. William Karlsson is 32. Shea Theodore will be on the wrong side of 30 by at the start of next season. And Jack Eichel will be 30 by the time his next contract begins. The Golden Knights have earned their reputation as an incredibly aggressive organization, and they’re always chasing the next shiny toy, so don’t be surprised if the answer to this question changes or evolves, too.

4. How can the Winnipeg Jets get over the hump?

By just about every measure, the Winnipeg Jets had a successful season. They won the Presidents’ Trophy. Their goaltender was a finalist for the Hart Trophy and likely ran away with the Vezina. They were fourth in goals for, first in goals against, had the best power play and – believe it or not – racked up the most road wins in the regular season. And yet, when it came to the postseason, they couldn’t win on the road. They went 0-6. Connor Hellebuyck struggled in 4.5 out of those six road games. Their ability to score dried up. And they looked like a different team compared to the one that played in front of the Winnipeg Whiteout. It doesn’t seem like wholesale changes are coming, but the Jets also have some cap space and flexibility. How will they use it?

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