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Maple Leafs GM Hints Franchise-Changing Roster Shake-up Could Be Coming

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Gallagher | Last updated May 29, 2025 3:45 PM ET

Major changes are expected to keep coming for the Toronto Maple Leafs following their embarrassing 6-1 Game 7 defeat to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 11 days ago.

The first of those moves came last week when the Maple Leafs announced it was parting ways with team president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan. General manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube were retained, but it was made clear by Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley that what happened in 2025 wasn’t acceptable.

“As the custodians of the biggest hockey brand in the world, we have a responsibility to our fans and that responsibility is winning championships, and we will do everything we possibly can and will not stop until we reach that goal,” Pelley said.

With the GM and head coach remaining intact, one would assume the big changes will come with the roster construction.

The Maple Leafs have had arguably the top “core four” in the NHL for some time — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares.

But in the seven years they’ve been together, that group has produced just two playoff series wins, and they’ve never made it out of the second round, which likely prompted the ominous warning Treliving sent on Thursday as he spoke to reporters.

“There’s some DNA that has to change in our team,” Treliving told reporters. “If you keep getting to the same result, there’s some DNA that needs to change. That’s on me going forward.

“We’ve now started the planning, and it’s early, for putting a team together for 2025-26.”

Treliving: “There’s some DNA that has to change in our team. If you keep getting to the same result, there’s some DNA that needs to change. That’s on me going forward.

“We’ve now started the planning, and it’s early, for putting a team together for 2025-26.”
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 29, 2025

Fortunately for Maple Leafs fans, the team has Matthews and Nylander locked in for the next three seasons, and it’s unlikely either is traded despite their respective $13.25 million and $11.5 million salaries.

Most reports indicate it’s unlikely Marner will be back given the significant raise he’s likely to command this offseason as an unrestricted free agent and his eagerness to test the market.

It’s possible Tavares comes back if he’s willing to take a major pay cut from his $11 million-per-year salary to, say, somewhere in the $4M-$5M range.

But given Treliving’s comments, it’s possible lesser-name players like Max Domi, David Kampf, Scott Laughton Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, and others could be on notice.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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