Toronto Maple Leafs: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Maple Leafs Shouldn't Make Gavin McKenna's Rookie Season About Points

There’s going to be a temptation with Gavin McKenna to watch the scoreboard every night and decide whether the Maple Leafs made the right choice with the first-overall pick.

Features

The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

2026 TLN Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings: #15 Borya Valis

The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of six TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking.

Gavin Mckenna News / NHL Trade Talk / August 11

Expectations for Gavin McKenna’s Rookie Year Should Be Tempered

The Toronto Maple Leafs struck gold by landing the first-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, which was used to select dynamic playmaking winger Gavin McKenna.

Patrik Laine News / The Hockey Writers / August 11

Trusted Pundit Claims Maple Leafs Among Teams Linked to Patrik Laine

The Toronto Maple Leafs look completely different heading into the 2026-27 season, and have made some moves that prove they are willing to do whatever it takes to get back into the playoff picture.

San Jose Sharks News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The ''EA NHL,'' covers since 2000' quiz

How many of the players to grace the cover of each EA NHL video game going back to 'NHL 2000?"

The 'First-overall NHL Draft picks' quiz

The 'Conn Smythe Trophy winners' quiz

The 'Most NHL goals all-time' quiz

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Professor Press Box / August 11

Maple Leafs Traded Quality for This Defenceman: Watch What He Does With the Puck

There was a time this summer when I thought the Toronto Maple Leafs might have made a pretty strange trade. They gave up Joseph Woll, a goalie they had drafted, developed and stuck with through some pretty good moments and some pretty difficult ones.

NHL News / Yardbarker

The best and worst NHL free agency deals since 2000

The NHL has had an interesting new millennium. It was a league sans a salary cap when the 2000s started… and then the owners locked the players out for an entire season.

William Villeneuve News / NHL Trade Talk / August 10

William Villeneuve and the Maple Leafs: Does He Actually Fit?

Toronto Maple Leafs fans who hope to see prospects rise through the organization will always have that one name they keep circling. For me right now, it’s William Villeneuve.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / NHL on ClutchPoints / August 10

Maple Leafs’ perfect trade target amid 2026 NHL Free Agency

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had the most tumultuous of offseasons. They were expected to either win or come in second in the Atlantic Division last year, but they ended up in last place in the division.

Patrik Laine News / NHL Trade Talk / August 10

Maple Leafs Reportedly Kicking Tires on $34M Veteran Winger

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly among the teams linked to unsigned free agent forward Patrik Laine. According to a report by Herb Zurkowsky of the Gazette, they are among five teams that have expressed interest in the sniper, but it’s unclear if anything is close.

Gavin Mckenna News / The Hockey Writers / August 10

Gavin McKenna Should Start Maple Leafs Tenure on Second Line

With just over a month to go before the puck drops on a new seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, speculation and reports are already swirling on where the team and head coach Jim Hiller should start their most recent first overall pick – Gavin McKenna.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Professor Press Box / August 10

Could This Veteran Forward Be Worth a Maple Leafs PTO?

There isn't much left to do for hockey fans in August except look around at the remaining unrestricted free agents and wonder if somebody might be worth bringing into training camp on a PTO.

Hayley Wickenheiser News / The Hockey Writers / August 10

Maple Leafs News & Rumours: The Laine Gamble and the Wickenheiser Question

The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a lot of room for error as John Chayka continues to reshape the organization. Some of the changes are obvious, while others involve decisions that may not show their impact for several years.

NHL News / Yardbarker

The defining figure for every NHL franchise

People will talk about the “Mount Rushmore” for a franchise, which is to say the four people, usually four players, that most define the franchise. Not always the four-best players, but the four that evoke the essence of the franchise.

Patriks Plumins News / TheLeafsnation / August 10

2026-27 TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings: #16 Patriks Plumins

The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of six TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking.

Ben Danford News / The Hockey Writers / August 10

The Maple Leafs have something unexpected in Ben Danford

We recently wrote about three young forwards who could eventually form the future core of the Toronto Maple Leafs: Easton Cowan, Gavin McKenna, and Matthew Knies.

Click here to get Yardbarker's Quiz of the Day emailed to you!

The 'Rushing TD leaders by season' quiz

The '2026 CFB preseason Coach's Poll' quiz

The 'NFL 1,500-yard rushers' quiz

The 'Most TDs by NFL franchise' quiz

Auston Matthews News / NHL Trade Talk / August 10

Maple Leafs’ Season May Hinge on One Big Matthews Adjustment

The Toronto Maple Leafs enter the 2026-27 NHL season hoping to firmly put behind them the disappointment of last year. Reaching the playoffs is the primary goal after finishing with the fifth-worst record in the league (32-36-14).

Patrik Laine News / TheLeafsnation / August 10

Report: Maple Leafs among teams linked to Patrik Laine

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly one of five teams that are linked to free agent winger Patrik Laine, according to The Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky.

Morgan Rielly News / TheLeafsnation / August 10

Morgan Rielly trade rumours have disappeared as offseason continues

Remember when the talk of Toronto was trading Morgan Rielly this summer? Turns out, all of the chatter has transitioned to the sound of crickets. After Rielly’s struggles last season, and with John Chayka taking over as general manager, many felt the longest-tenured Leaf was a prime trade candidate heading into this offseason.

Easton Cowan News / NHL Trade Talk / August 9

Easton Cowan’s Breakthrough? 3 Advantages Nobody Talks About

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are about two-thirds of the way to something kind of unreal. It’s one of those hockey “once in a while” achievements that people only say out loud when it’s already happening.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Professor Press Box / August 9

What Maple Leafs Fans Should Know About Patrick O’Sullivan

There are always a few names that get added to a hockey team's front office, and the name sort of rings a bell. Patrick O’Sullivan might be one of those names in Toronto.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Pro Hockey Rumors / August 9

Leafs Promote Patrick O’Sullivan To Director Of NHL Development

The Toronto Maple Leafs have promoted Patrick O’Sullivan to Director of NHL Development for the 2026-27 season. O’Sullivan, a veteran of six NHL seasons, has served as a development coach in Toronto since the 2023-24 season.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Daily Faceoff / August 9

Leafs hire former NHLer Patrick O’Sullivan as director of NHL development

The Toronto Maple Leafs are promoting a local product to a larger role within their development staff. On Sunday, the Leafs announced that they are hiring Patrick O’Sullivan as their director of NHL development.

Steve Sullivan News / TheLeafsnation / August 9

Maple Leafs promote Patrick O’Sullivan to Director of NHL Development

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Sunday that they have promoted Patrick O’Sullivan to be their Director of NHL Development. O’Sullivan joined the Leafs prior to the 2023-24 season and had been a development coach for the past three seasons before receiving his promotion.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / The Hockey Writers / August 9

Maple Leafs News & Rumours: McKenna, Matthews & Great Expectations

The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading into a season with two very different questions surrounding two very important players. Gavin McKenna is about to begin

Ben Danford News / Professor Press Box / August 9

Is the Maple Leafs' Ben Danford Developing Backwards?

Most young hockey players reach the professional level because of their offensive ability and then learn how to defend. The Maple Leafs prospect might be doing it the other way around.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / The Hockey Writers / August 9

Wendel Clark Was More Than Just a Maple Leafs Star

Sometimes a player’s importance to a hockey team can’t really be measured by goals and assists. Wendel Clark is a good example. If you looked only at statistics, there were players who had longer careers, scored more goals, and put up more points.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Pro Hockey Rumors / August 7

Assessing The Maple Leafs New Look Bottom Six

There is perhaps no team in the NHL that overhauled its bottom-six forward group the way the Toronto Maple Leafs did this offseason. Newly hired general manager John Chayka was bold and aggressive this summer, identifying the third and fourth lines as major areas of concern and quickly conducting a lot of business in a very short period of time.