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NHL Analyst Highlights Major Maple Leafs Roster Flaw

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jul 24, 2025 8:59 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs reshaped their roster this offseason by parting ways with longtime winger Mitch Marner, sending him to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade.

In return, the Leafs brought in Nicolas Roy, and the team also added Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks and Matias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth to bolster its forward depth.

According to NHL analyst Shayna Goldman of The Athletic, one glaring issue remains to be addressed within the Leafs organization.

“There is still a Mitch Marner-sized hole in the top six,” Goldman wrote. “As flawed as his Maple Leafs tenure was, and though his regular-season caliber didn’t translate to a postseason environment consistently enough, he was still capable of putting up 100 points in the regular season.”

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Goldman emphasized that while the additions help the bottom six and other internal improvements, such as the recently-extended Matthew Knies, should also help the team on the ice, the top of the lineup still lacks a star of Marner's size.

John Tavares re-signed with Toronto and remains productive, but he's likely to take on a more limited role going forward.

Leafs captain Auston Matthews and fellow star William Nylander will also bring firepower, but there’s no clear replacement for Marner’s output.

“(Marner's production) is something management has not replaced at this point in the offseason,” Goldman wrote. “The bottom-six support helps. So will another year of progress from Matthew Knies, John Tavares at a much more reasonable price, plus Auston Matthews and William Nylander.

“But for a team facing the pressure to finally go on a deep run, the offseason feels incomplete with that glaring hole in the top six.”

Toronto still has over $2.9 million in current cap space, but with all top-notch free-agent targets already off the board, trades are the only viable option for the Leafs to add talent going forward.

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

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