Luke Schenn, Winnipeg Jets (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)

Maple Leafs Eyeing Third Stint With Luke Schenn

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Spencer Lazary | Last updated Jan 15, 2026 8:25 AM ET

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in Luke Schenn.

Yes, that’s right. According to NHL insider Chris Johnston, the Maple Leafs are looking at bringing Schenn back for a third stint this season. Johnston shared the news on The Chris Johnston Show this past Monday, though this isn’t the first time Schenn has been linked to Toronto.

The idea of Schenn being moved was also brought up by David Pagnotta, who reported that the veteran defenseman would welcome a change of scenery. Darren Dreger later tied him to the Maple Leafs as well, suggesting Toronto could acquire him for a lower-round pick. Most recently, on 32 Thoughts the podcast, Elliotte Friedman told a story about how the Maple Leafs explored a deal to acquire both Luke and Brayden Schenn before pivoting and trading for Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo after learning the asking price.

All signs point to Schenn being moved, and there are growing reports that Toronto could be the destination. So, let’s dig into what Johnston reported.

Maple Leafs Linked to Luke Schenn

On the latest episode of The Chris Johnston Show, Johnston explained why acquiring Schenn would make sense for the Maple Leafs, particularly given their limited asset pool and how affordable the deal could be.

“There’s already some rumblings around that they’re even looking at a third trip through with Luke Schenn right now. Obviously at this stage of Luke’s career, I think that the acquisition cost would be more modest and worked really well with him and Morgan Rielly. So we’ll see if that’s something that comes to fruition, but certainly have heard some talk in that direction.”

As Johnston pointed out, it checks a lot of boxes. The biggest one is his chemistry with Morgan Rielly. During Schenn’s second stint in Toronto, the two clicked almost immediately, something Rielly hasn’t consistently found with many partners over the years. When you combine that familiarity with what appears to be a low asking price, the interest makes a lot of sense.

It also feels like a logical move when you consider the uncertainty surrounding Chris Tanev, who could be done for the remainder of the 2025–26 season. If that’s the case, Schenn could slide in alongside Rielly, pushing Carlo to a pairing with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. That would leave Jake McCabe and Tory Stecher as the shutdown duo. The downside is that it likely bumps Simon Benoit to seventh defenseman, but if this team is serious about contending, they need seven or eight NHL-caliber blue liners they trust to step in.

If Dreger’s report is accurate and a lower-round pick gets it done, Brad Treliving should be all over it. Offering one of Toronto’s two sixth-round picks in the 2027 NHL Draft, preferably the one acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers, feels reasonable. Schenn is a rental with a $2.75 million cap hit, and even if retention pushes the price up to a fifth-round pick, it’s still manageable.

For a defenseman who fits the system and could help stabilize Rielly’s game, it feels like a low-risk move. And if it works the way it did last time, it might quietly make the blue line better across the board.