Maple Leafs’ sellers guide: Premium goaltending and serviceable defence

Tis the season for shopping and while there has been plenty of talk about who Brad Treliving has been looking for, the best course of action for the Maple Leafs might be to quickly transition towards a retailer approach, possibly even a wholesaler.

Previously, we took a look at the forwards and who is and isn’t likely to be moved and who potentially has a market for their services. Now we’ll take a look at the Leafs back end.

Goaltending

Goaltending should be its own category separate of defence as looking at the net as a whole is vital to how the Leafs decide to proceed here. Both Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz being capable goaltenders might have the Leafs too deep at this area when there are so many other aspects of the Leafs roster that needs to be addressed and the luxury of strong tandem isn’t sustainable when there are limited futures to trade.

Joseph Woll (borderline untouchable)– If there is an untouchable goaltender on the Maple Leafs it is Joseph Woll. He has a manageable contract, age on his side, and recency bias says that he will be the go-to option in net this season. All of those things also make it more likely that a team would pay a premium to bring him in and that’s why the “borderline” qualifier is put on him.

Even if the Maple Leafs are blowing up their roster, they will want to do so in a fashion that they will be getting the club back to a competitive status as soon as next season and if that’s the case, trading Woll seems foolish no matter the return.

Anthony Stolarz (better off keeping unless someone overpays)- Next season Stolarz’ no trade clause goes from an 8-team no trade list to a 16-team no trade list. This is also the last chance to deal Stolarz on his $2.5M cap hit which would make him an easy fit onto a new club with cap constraints.  And if team’s are looking at Stolarz considering his results last season and his results in Florida and are willing to pay for that goaltender and will pay a premium for him in what is usually a pretty limited goaltender market (might not be that limited if Binnington and Saros are being shopped) then listening to offers on Stolarz makes sense.

Of course, the Leafs sticking with the Stolarz/Woll tandem isn’t a bad outcome for the Leafs either and Stolarz has had setbacks that he’s been able to correct in his career before. It’s too soon to say that bad results to start the season when the entire team is playing bad represents where his career is at.

Dennis Hildeby (better off keeping unless someone overpays)- Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov might be attractive futures is the Leafs are wanting to upgrade their roster in season. Whether that is the path they should consider is debatable but goaltending prospects are an organization strength.

If the Leafs like Hildeby and see a future for him with the club, keeping him seems like a no brainer. If the Maple Leafs truly see the next three seasons belonging to the Woll/Stolarz tandem, cashing out on goaltending prospects makes sense.

Defence

Borderline untouchable (3)

Morgan Rielly (full no movement clause)– Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Brad Treliving and Craig Berube are ready to move on from Morgan Rielly, but I’m not sure that Morgan Rielly is ready to move on from the Maple Leafs nor should the Leafs be as motivated as they are to get rid of an offensively gifted puck mover on a team has been sliding back in that regard over the past three years.

Rielly’s footspeed evaporating and his defensive decision making always being questionable makes him an easy target for being pushed out the door, but it’s as complicated as the full no movement clause makes it seem.

Jake McCabe (full no trade clause)- This season is not the best of Jake McCabe. A big part of that is too much is being asked of him. He is perfectly fine when working with Tanev. And he’s perfectly fine without Tanev as long as he’s facing top line competition while playing the right side or having a third pairing defenceman strapped to him.

It’s likely that McCabe is more open to moving on than Rielly is but he has a lot of control on where he would go and given that the Maple Leafs shouldn’t be in any rush to move on from a quality defenceman on a great contract. It would take a whopper of a deal from a team that McCabe wants to play for in order to make a trade happen.

Chris Tanev (full no movement clause)- Like every other Leafs defenceman not named Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tanev seems to have taken a step back from where he was at last season. Now injured, it’s hard to assess where Tanev is at as a 35-year-old blueliner.

Tanev holds all the cards and his “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” contract mean that it is far more likely that his career ends in Toronto via an extended long term injury reserve assignment when he’s ready to retire than a trade that he’d have to be fully committed to.

Easy Sells (3)

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (16 team no trade list)– Wouldn’t it be nice if the Maple Leafs sold high for once? Dealing one of their few players that are outplaying their expectations might seem like a bad idea but a big part of why Ekman-Larsson is outplaying expectations is that his 2024-25 season lowered those expectations so much.

If you look at Ekman-Larsson as a puck moving, number four defenceman that can help on the powerplay right now and are happy to be getting that from him, great. That was initial expectation for him and he’s now living up to it. His 17 points in 23 games is certainly exceeding expectations in the offensive category and as a cup winning veteran who can play on either the left or right side, there should be a market for OEL that wasn’t there previously.

If the Maple Leafs are willing to retain salary on Ekman-Larsson, he could yield a helpful return while opening up a roster spot for youthful defensive options like Henry Thrun or William Villeneuve.

Brandon Carlo (8 team no trade list)– It hasn’t worked out well for Carlo in Toronto. On paper he seemed like a potential fit as Morgan Rielly’s partner but that never came to fruition and 40 regular season and 13 post season games into Carlo’s time with the Maple Leafs it seems like he has rightfully landed on pretty much every sports outlet’s trade bait board.

If the intention is to get back what the Maple Leafs gave up for Carlo, good luck. A first round pick and strong prospect isn’t likely and honestly wasn’t warranted at the time either. That said, Carlo is still going to carry a good reputation around the league and if the Maple Leafs use salary retention or take a contract back the Leafs could close the gap in that regard.

Simon Benoit- I have it on good authority that teams will overpay for affordable stay-at-home defencemen. I can recall teams giving up way too much for the likes of Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Luke Schenn, and even Ryan O’Byrne.

Benoit, as a third pairing defender, is a solid option and for a contender, he’s a nice safety net to pick up as a 7th defenceman. There will be a market for him but if there isn’t, he’s still not a bad third pairing option for Toronto if he dials back the aggressiveness.

The rest (3)

Troy Stecher– Stecher would require waivers to consider trading him and he would likely be claimed.

Philippe Myers- Myers year hasn’t gone great and will be waived as soon as the Leafs need his roster spot. It’s possible that a bit of time with the Marlies can get him back on track to where he was at the end of last season but he’s unlikely to get claimed.

Dakota Mermis- Mermis has been fine but is another player who will be destined for the Marlies in the coming weeks. It’s hard to envision a market for him.