3 Takeaways from Leafs Press Conference

As the Toronto Maple Leafs head into a franchise-setting weekend, GM John Chayka formally introduced Jim Hiller as the new head coach of the Maple Leafs. Afterwards, they met with reporters on Thursday at the Ford Performance Centre. Both gave some clarity on several topics ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft.

Like most NHL general managers and coaches, Chayka and Hiller gave detailed answers without oversharing. Here is what we learned from their media appearances on Thursday.

Maple Leafs Coach Has Confidence in Morgan Rielly

It is being widely reported that Morgan Rielly’s agent (J.P. Barry) has submitted a list of four to five Western Conference teams that his client would waive his no-trade clause for to facilitate a deal. Rielly is Toronto’s longest-tenured player, and some consider his $7.5 million cap hit to be a problem. However, despite his cap hit and declining play in recent years, some teams will be asking about him.

If Toronto starts the season with Rielly still on the team, Hiller has full confidence in him. He is planning on meeting with Rielly next week.

“I’m really excited to get a chance to get to coach him again. I thought Morgan, during my time here, was a really good player and a great person. And so for me, I look at him as being part of the solution,” Hiller said.

Toronto is not Actively Shopping Matthew Knies

Maple Leafs GM John Chayka rejected the notion that the team is actively shopping Matthew Knies. Knies is a 23-year-old power forward who is only just entering his prime. It’s no secret that every team in the NHL would be interested in him, if he were made available. Although Toronto has shown interest in trying to acquire another pick within the top ten, those talks don’t necessarily include Knies.

“Matthew is an elite power forward in the prime of his career, at a number that we think allows us to build a great team around him,” Chayka said. “That all sounds pretty good to me. My job is to make the team better, but all the things I just said make that incredibly difficult to do so.”

Knies is a big part of Toronto’s win-now lineup, but also a big part of the team’s future. Trading Knies would be the easiest way to land another top-ten pick in the 2026 draft. However, to trade Knies, Chayka would need to receive an offer so incredible that he couldn’t say no. If a team wants Knies, they’ll need to overpay for him.

Player Health Updates

Chris Tanev has resumed skating and is expecting to be in the Maple Leafs’ opening night lineup. The veteran defenseman had groin surgery on March 4th, after trying to heal the injury through rehab alone.

Team captain Auston Matthews continues to progress well from season-ending surgery. Matthews was injured on March 12th in a home victory over Anaheim on Radko Gudas’ knee-on-knee hit that drew a major penalty, game misconduct, and a five-game suspension. He had surgery to repair the torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee on March 19th. His recovery timeline was 12 weeks.

While there is some speculation as to whether or not the Maple Leafs are shopping goaltender Anthony Stolarz, Chayka advocated for Stolarz, while telling reporters that the goaltender is in good health. He is expected to be the starting goaltender for Toronto when the season starts.