What else will Leafs do to make a splash?
All eyes are on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night, as they hold the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. However, what other order of business might they take care of?
The Maple Leafs are in a state of transition. Along with a new general manager in John Chayka, Mats Sundin returning to the team as an advisor, as well as a new head coach in Jim Hiller, the team is looking to shake off a rough 2025-26 campaign. The team is set to make the first-overall pick in the draft, with many believing the team will select Gavin McKenna. On top of that, the team acquired Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning to bolster the blue line. Some believe there might be more work on Chayka and his staff’s agenda.
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Irf Gaffar joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to discuss what the Leafs might also do this offseason to prepare for the 2026-27 campaign.
Irf Gaffar: It’s going to be great for them to get Gavin McKenna today, I mean that right there, that’s a pretty good starting piece, if you’re the Toronto Maple Leafs, right? Then, whatever you can do to make Auston Matthews and William Nylander happy, surround those two superstars, and now Gavin McKenna with more stars, with more firepower, build out the rest of your roster, get players that are tough to play against. Be a team that you know people, when they come into Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, they’re afraid to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Right now, you can’t say that. Teams walk in, and they go, ‘Oh, it’s the Leafs, we can easily push our way through this team, and we’ll probably get a win.’
This is the second time they’ve missed the playoffs, and now they have another first-overall pick. It’s crazy. Just the way things go for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I think that John Chayka has his finger in absolutely everything. I think that he’s a guy right now that wants to make a splash, and just by looking at this free agent class, not just the Toronto Maple Leafs, any GM, you look at it, you’re like, ‘I’m going to want to improve my hockey team, you can’t really do it in the free agency period, to be honest.’ There’s no disrespect to those guys; it’s just a weaker class. So, now it’s time to get to wheeling and dealing and do what you really get paid to do as a general manager and make some of these crazy deals happen.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…