Toronto Maple Leafs Need To Trade Pending UFAs

Originally posted on Inside The Rink
By Jeremy Ridgewell | Last updated Mar 5, 2026 3:00 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 27-24-10 record. They are 22nd in the NHL as of Wednesday morning.

Toronto is sitting nine points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs’ chances of making the playoffs are under 5%. For the first time in the Auston Matthews era, Toronto will be without playoff hockey.

Between now and the Trade Deadline on Friday, we should expect the Leafs to be viewed as sellers. Despite a three-game winning streak before the Olympic break, they’ve been nothing but flat since returning from the break.

The season as a whole has been a complete failure for the Maple Leafs. GM Brad Treliving needs to extract as much value as he can. Right now, that will come from the trade market. However, selling at the deadline doesn’t mean the Leafs have to remove their core and do a full rebuild. There is a way to retool and return to contention next season.

Toronto lacks draft picks, and the prospect cupboard is pretty bare. Treliving cannot rely solely on free agency to retool this team. If the Leafs want to improve this team for next year and beyond, they need to refill the cupboards. That starts with selling at the deadline.

Maple Leafs Should Trade Pending UFAs

The Maple Leafs have four pending unrestricted free agents this season: forwards Bobby McMann, Calle Jarnkrok, Scott Laughton, and defenseman Troy Stecher. Treliving should explore the market for all four and see what he can get in return.

McMann will have the most trade value of the four. He’s a depth forward who can register 15-20 goals a season. He is someone plenty of teams will want on their roster in the playoffs.

With his current cap hit being $1.35 million, McMann can fit into most playoff-bound teams’ cap structure. Trading him could fetch a higher-end prospect or a first-round pick.

Toronto’s Other UFAs

Treliving could also get a decent return for Scott Laughton. Teams are always looking for defensive centers who can also kill penalties. Sadly, the Leafs won’t get near the same kind of return as they paid for him. Toronto traded away a first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin. Like McMann, if the Leafs can get a decent return on Laughton, they should look at it.

As for Stecher, Toronto might fetch a middle-round pick for him. However, Stecher is actually a UFA the Maple Leafs should consider keeping. Since joining the Leafs, the value he provides on their blueline is probably worth more than his trade market return.

Jarnkrok could land a lower-round pick for the Leafs. Toronto will likely need to retain some of his $2.1-million cap hit, though. It might be the only way to get another team to accept a trade offer.

The Maple Leafs also have restricted free agents (RFAs) in Matias Maccelli and Nick Robertson. Toronto should weigh the difference in value of keeping them versus what they could get on the trade market. Both players have played decently when higher in the lineup. Depending on who the Leafs trade away before the deadline, there could be more opportunities for both in the top six.

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This article first appeared on Inside The Rink and was syndicated with permission.

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