Trading prospects, the state of the Leafs’ locker room, and taking another swing on…Josh Leivo?: Leaflets

It’s now 90 days since the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs played. It’s still 53 days until the first game of the season. Despite being well past the halfway point, the absolute nothingness that accompanies this time certainly poses challenges to discussing hockey. The likelihood of trades isn’t there. You can only debate the merit of signing Jack Roslovic for so long before it becomes comically absurd. And most of the debate over who plays with who has faded to the background and replaced with a desire for discourse over actual training camp lines.

Even writing that introduction about how little there is to discuss has become a tired trope at this point and while we starved for anything from a NCAA signing to a David Kampf trade to discuss, I’ll settle for these topics.

Josh Leivo round two

No one has established a reputation for not playing for the Maple Leafs more than Josh Leivo (okay, maybe Frank Corrado). A five goal in 12 game run in 2015-16 created a lot of excitement for Leivo. He was certainly going to be a top nine forward for the Leafs in everyone’s mind. Except in the mind of Mike Babcock. Leivo sat. A lot. Leivo and Frank Corrado were staples of Mike Babcock’s press box at a time when Byron Froese, Ben Smith, Nikita Soshnikov, and Matt Martin were regularly finding their way into the lineup. It was a strange time.

It seemed that Leivo needed an opportunity and Kyle Dubas made sure that Leivo received one. He did alright with a 10 goal in 49 game run in Vancouver followed up with a 19 point in 36 game stretch the next year, but with no direct path to a top six situation, Leivo struggled in Calgary (under Treliving), in Carolina, and after a 16 point in 51 game stint under Craig Berube in St. Louis, Leivo departed for the KHL.

The past couple of seasons have been great for showing the offence that Leivo can produce in the right situation. His KHL debut saw 38 points in 40 games, but last season he hit a KHL record setting season of 49 goals and saw him finish with 80 points in 62 games. The numbers are intriguing and surpass the results that Leivo was putting up in the AHL.

As reported earlier this week, Leivo has been let go by Salavat Yulaev. Leivo is citing a visa issue, Salavat citing breach of contract, and reporters acknowledging that the team doesn’t have the money to pay Leivo. Anyway, Leivo is now a free agent.

The Leafs might not have a need for Leivo. There are plenty of other long shot hopefuls and bubble roster players to work with and KHL numbers, especially in a 32 year old probably won’t be replicated in the NHL. That said, Leivo is a 6’2 winger that would come in relatively cheap and is familiar with the organization, some of its players, the coach, and the GM.

If we see some other Leafs move out, giving Leivo a look might not be a bad thing.

Which prospects should the Leafs be trying to move?

As The Leafs Nation continues to countdown the top twenty prospects in the organization it seems only fitting to mention where prospects may hold the most value. That is as trade bait.

The Leafs failed to cash out on Nick Robertson’s amazing post draft season and strong start to his AHL career. Toronto considered Topi Niemela untouchable for far too long. Players like Nick Abruzzese could have had value coming off his Olympic selection and there was a missed opportunity to sell high on Ryan Tverberg as well. In most situations you can’t blame an organization for getting excited about their prospects and the value of what a player can deliver on an entry level contract is one of the best ways to take a giant leap forward in limited contention windows. Keeping prospects makes sense.

That is unless you have a GM that has a strong preference towards depth, prioritizes veteran players, and has inherited a number of prospects that don’t fit the lineup he intends to play.

The Leafs find themselves in a situation where it might make sense to cash out on a few strong seasons that could be difficult to replicate (Noah Chadwick or Miroslav Holinka). There is still value in getting something in return for Topi Niemela or even Roni Hirvonen who don’t look like they fit the Treliving Leafs. And even in goal, having two netminders pushing for NHL work might be excessive for the Leafs and making a decision on Hildeby vs. Akhtyamov might be an understandable decision even if it might trigger a memory of choosing Pogge over Rask.

With Grebenkin and Minten playing parts in the Leafs largest deals last season it is clear that Treliving isn’t shy about moving out youth.

State of the Leafs locker room

Mitch Marner is gone. Ryan Reaves is gone. The Leafs are seemingly looking to push Morgan Rielly to waive his no movement clause. Brad Treliving has tied “boy for sale” signs around the necks of David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok, and John Tavares is one year removed from being stripped of his captaincy. As much as locker room speculation is often ridiculous, it seems fair to at this point to ask if the Leafs are okay?

It very well could be that Marner was a distraction. Reaves was too big a personality, and Rielly is quietly ready to move on. We do know that not having the captaincy didn’t hold Tavares back and there is nothing wrong with bringing a business first, fun second attitude to the locker room. So assuming things are worse because of change isn’t a narrative to run with. What is important to remember is that players are human and the amount of change and criticism this group has seen in the past few months could take an interesting toll on the 2025-26 season depending on how they respond.