10 things September should reveal about the Maple Leafs

We’re a month away from the regular season, but September is shaping up to be an important period for a revamped Toronto Maple Leafs team. The Core Four Era is officially over, as Auston Matthews and William Nylander look to propel the Leafs towards a deep and sustained playoff run, while incorporating new pieces into their forward corps.

There will be opportunities for prospects to rise throughout the organization, while Easton Cowan is expected to make a strong push towards a roster spot, at least to start the season. Toronto will play six preseason games — four during the month of September — while Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving is expected to provide a state of the team address before the outset of training camp. At the time of this filing, training camp dates have not been revealed, but the Maple Leafs are expected to get underway during the third week of September.

Here are 10 things September ought to reveal about the Maple Leafs:

Who will get the first look alongside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews?

Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews have been stapled together on Toronto’s top line for the past two seasons, and there’s an open spot on the right wing. Who will get the first look alongside Knies and Matthews? It initially appeared that Matias Maccelli would open camp on a line with Knies and Matthews, after being acquired from the Utah Mammoth in a trade this summer. Maccelli is a left-handed playmaker whose offensive profile bodes well in a top-line role, but he’s looking to overcome a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

Matthews was seen skating with Max Domi over the past weekend, and while we don’t want to read too far into informal skates, there may be something there. Domi played some of his best hockey with the Maple Leafs when he was placed on the right wing alongside Matthews two years ago, as the Maple Leafs fought through some untimely injuries during the postseason. And while the entire offence can’t be centred around how to best utilize Domi, he is much better suited on the wing than he is at centre. Will it be Knies-Matthews-Domi or Knies-Matthews-Maccelli to start the season?

Is Auston Matthews all the way back after lingering upper-body injury? 

This question may dictate the entire 2025-26 Maple Leafs season: is Matthews all the way back from a lingering upper-body injury? When he’s at the top of his game, Matthews is the best goal-scorer alive while providing elite defensive impact, using his body to shield off oncoming opponents. Toronto’s captain revealed that he suffered the injury during training camp last year, and worked through it during the year.

Matthews missed 15 games last year as a result of the injury, recording 33 goals and 78 points in 67 games. These are excellent numbers for about 99 percent of the league, but for Matthews, it was a clear step back from the stratospheric form he’s been in since his first NHL shift. One of the trickiest parts of covering the team last year was assessing Matthews’ injury status. During practice sessions and morning skates, Matthews would often rip the puck with his usual velocity, but would need a moment to gather himself. After a December absence, Matthews submitted arguably his best game of the regular season against the Boston Bruins on January 4. When an elite player is playing at 80 percent, it can be a confounding experience.

It may be apparent if Matthews is all the way back once we get an extended look at him during the first on-ice session. It may be the most important question surrounding this year’s team.

Will the Leafs return to their five-forward power play?

Toronto’s power play struggled throughout the first half of the season, before finding a groove in a five-forward format. The orchestrator of last year’s group is now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, which invites the question of running back the same set-up for this season.

Matthews, Nylander, Matthew Knies and John Tavares are staples of the power play. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube prefers two power forwards near the net, with Tavares situated in the bumper spot, while Knies posts up at the net-front. Matthews and Nylander are ideally looking for clean shooting lines from the faceoff circles. So who will be running point?

Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson took reps with the first power play unit, but ultimately, the group worked a lot more fluidly with a high-end playmaker at the point. Will Maccelli or Domi get reps in a five-forward unit? Or will the Leafs revert back to a traditional four-forward power play, with Rielly and Ekman-Larsson vying for chances with the man advantage?

All eyes on Easton Cowan once again

Easton Cowan capped off a sensational major junior career by winning the Memorial Cup with the London Knights, capturing tournament MVP honours along the way. Cowan is the Maple Leafs’ top-ranked prospect and could be the team’s first homegrown star since Matthew Knies emerged on the scene during the 2023 playoffs. It may be more realistic for Cowan to spend the majority of the year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, but he’s going to be given an extended chance to make the team, with some scoring touch, defensive acumen and tenacity as real strengths. It also helps that Cowan is on an entry-level contract. All eyes will be on Easton Cowan, once again.

Who will emerge as this year’s version of Nikita Grebenkin?

Treliving mentioned Nikita Grebenkin as an emerging candidate during last year’s state of the team address, an indicator that he was quickly rising through the ranks. Grebenkin was considered a fascinating prospect, but he emerged into a legitimate NHL option last fall after a standout training camp. Berube and Treliving both value internal competition and while there are set roster spots, there will be chances for the best players to win their jobs outright. Could there be another Grebenkin-like story this fall?

What is the ideal role for Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua?

Nicolas Roy was acquired in exchange for Mitch Marner and immediately fills a No. 3 centre role for the Maple Leafs. Roy is a right-shot centre that the Leafs needed, and uses his 6-foot-4 frame to push his way to the net-front. There’s some added toughness to his game too and Toronto’s third line ought to have some different dimensions this year.

Toronto also made a clever bet on Dakota Joshua, believing that he’s more likely to return to his career-best form that he showed in 2023-24, where he recorded 18 goals and 32 points. There is real skill and toughness on Toronto’s third line and for a team that desperately needed more secondary scoring, a line featuring Roy, Joshua and one of Bobby McMann or Nick Robertson could solve this issue.

Scott Laughton’s attempt to shake off a rough start with Maple Leafs

Scott Laughton was acquired at the trade deadline from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional 2027 first-round pick. The acquisition cost made sense at the time for an all-in Maple Leafs team but to put it gently, Laughton didn’t come close to justifying the draft capital expended on him. Laughton registered two goals and four points in 20 regular season games, then added two assists in 13 playoff games. That’s simply not good enough from a veteran forward who usually hovers in the 30 point range, with plus-defence.

Laughton is still a superior option to David Kampf, and there’s some cost certainly built into his contract, playing on an expiring $3 million deal this year. The 31-year-old could conceivably push Roy for the third-line centre role but he will need a strong training camp to erase last year’s series of poor performances.

Henry Thrun and Michael Pezzetta will push for a spot in the lineup

There will be plenty of roster battles, particularly towards the bottom of the roster. Henry Thrun was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Ryan Reaves and he’ll be looking to push for the No. 7 spot on Toronto’s blue line, currently occupied by Simon Benoit. I’d argue that Philippe Myers is the true No. 7, while Thrun has an outside chance of cracking the lineup. Thrun’s defensive metrics were brutal last year, but he’s also playing on a much better Leafs team than the lottery-bound Sharks.

Michael Pezzetta did not record a single point in 25 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. Pezzetta also sported some of the best defensive metrics in a small sample last year, and there may be a role for him on the fourth line if he can constantly win back pucks and sustain offensive zone time. It’s entirely possible Pezzetta spends the year with the Marlies, but he’s going to fight for a roster spot, as the Maple Leafs look to improve their bottom-six.

How will the Maple Leafs distribute Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll’s starts?

This question takes on a different form than last year, where it was expected to be a true tandem. Stolarz emerged as the No. 1 early last year but suffered an injury in December that kept him out of the lineup for two months. Woll showed he can play like a true No. 1 as well in Stolarz’s absence. Stolarz ought to be the outright starter, entering a contract year, but both goaltenders have faced numerous injuries throughout their career and load management ought to be of paramount importance.

What will the distribution look like? Stolarz entered as the playoff starter but suffered a concussion after Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett made contact with his head in Game 1 of the second round. Dennis Hildeby is on a two-way deal as well and will be immediately thrust into the lineup if either goalie suffers an injury. We’ll get a better sense of what the split looks like this month.

Will Brad Treliving complete another trade before the start of the regular season?

Treliving told reporters that ‘he’s always looking’ to make upgrades, and there is a growing sense that he may be looking to pursue another trade before the regular season begins. During a busy offseason which saw the exit of president Brendan Shanahan, Treliving did well to navigate the circumstances surrounding Mitch Marner, landing a roster player in Nicolas Roy. Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua both represent clever upside bets on players looking to recapture their 2023-24 form.

And with $1.9 million to operate with in cap space per PuckPedia, Treliving may have more room to be aggressive than he did in previous seasons. Will the Leafs make another stellar addition before the season begins?