Toronto Maple Leafs: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Rielly, Cowan & Making Smarter Moves

There are a couple of interesting things happening around the Toronto Maple Leafs right now that don’t necessarily look connected at first glance. One involves Morgan Rielly, a veteran who may not fit quite as neatly into the role he once did.

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The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

2026 T25U25: Yaroslav Fedoseyev is #20

Yaroslav Fedoseyev was drafted this June in the sixth round. While it's not usual for someone not a goalie to get ranked right away in the T25 if they're taken that low, in some circles Fedoseyev is considered a draft steal so it shouldn't surprise.

Tyler Hopkins News / TheLeafsnation / August 19

2026 TLN Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings: #9 Tyler Hopkins

The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of six TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking.

NHL News / Athlon Sports / August 19

Auston Matthews Snubbed from Frank Corrado's NHL Top 10

Auston Matthews will enter the 2026-27 NHL season with something to prove after a difficult campaign. The Toronto Maple Leafs captain produced 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games before a serious knee injury ended his season in 2025-26.

Macklin Celebrini News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The ''EA NHL,'' covers since 2000' quiz

How many of the players to grace the cover of each EA NHL video game going back to 'NHL 2000?"

The 'First-overall NHL Draft picks' quiz

The 'Conn Smythe Trophy winners' quiz

The 'Most NHL goals all-time' quiz

Toronto Maple Leafs News / TheLeafsnation / August 19

DailyFaceoff lists Maple Leafs as one of 5 most improved teams entering 2026-27 season

The 2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs season was one of the most disappointing in recent history, as the team missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

NHL News / Yardbarker

The best and worst NHL free agency deals since 2000

The NHL has had an interesting new millennium. It was a league sans a salary cap when the 2000s started… and then the owners locked the players out for an entire season.

Gavin Mckenna News / Yardbarker / August 19

Why Maple Leafs fans should be excited about Gavin McKenna's first season

Gavin McKenna arrives in Toronto as an elite playmaker who stands out for his vision, natural talent, and a potential not seen on the Maple Leafs since Auston Matthews.

Gavin McKenna Changed the Maple Leafs’ Timeline—and Created a New Problem

Who Says the Maple Leafs Need More Scoring?

The five most improved NHL teams heading into 2026-27

The 'First-overall NHL Draft picks' quiz

Gavin Mckenna News / The Hockey Writers / August 18

Gavin McKenna Changed the Maple Leafs’ Timeline—and Created a New Problem

This offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs went from being a team that might be heading into another difficult season to suddenly having one of the most exciting young players in hockey.

Auston Matthews News / Trade Talk Sports / August 18

Auston Matthews Not Rated as a Top-10 Center in NHL 27

Auston Matthews had the worst season of his NHL career in 2025-26, and his NHL 27 rating is paying for it. With the new game coming out in less than a month, EA Sports revealed the ten highest-rated forwards at each position on Monday, and Matthews was notably not included in the center ranks.

John Tavares News / Professor Press Box / August 18

John Tavares Will Go Down as a Maple Leafs Great

There is something about John Tavares that I think Toronto Maple Leafs fans sometimes get wrong. They look at the $11 million contract he signed when he came to the team, then compare what he does now with what he did when he was younger, and wonder whether Toronto made a mistake.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / The Hockey Writers / August 18

Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Tavares, McKenna, Cowan & Wrong Assumptions

There are always a few things around the Toronto Maple Leafs that get repeated so often they eventually become accepted as fact. John Tavares is slow. Gavin McKenna has to play on the top line.

NHL News / Yardbarker

The defining figure for every NHL franchise

People will talk about the “Mount Rushmore” for a franchise, which is to say the four people, usually four players, that most define the franchise. Not always the four-best players, but the four that evoke the essence of the franchise.

Luke Haymes News / TheLeafsnation / August 18

2026-27 TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings: #10 Luke Haymes

The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of six TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / TheLeafsnation / August 18

3 Maple Leafs X-factors heading into the 2026-27 season

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a very different team heading into the 2026-27 NHL season, and it’s going to be fun to watch who breaks out as the team’s X-factors, especially early on in the year.

Click here to get Yardbarker's Quiz of the Day emailed to you!

The 'NFL all-time receptions leaders' quiz

The 'Rookie passing leader by team' quiz

The '2008 Week 1 starting QBs' quiz

The 'Last 200-yard rusher by team' quiz

Morgan Rielly News / Yardbarker / August 17

Former Maple Leafs defenseman calls out Toronto over Morgan Rielly situation

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the franchises most active this offseason, but they still have a pending issue to resolve ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season.

Three chaotic Metropolitan Division storylines for 2026-27 season

Rangers' one-year Braden Schneider extension raises questions

Three keys to a successful Penguins season

The ''EA NHL,'' covers since 2000' quiz

Toronto Maple Leafs News / NHL Trade Talk / August 17

Who Says the Maple Leafs Need More Scoring?

In a recent post, Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff makes an interesting observation in his look at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect pool. He sees Gavin McKenna as much more of a playmaker than a pure goal scorer and wonders where the next natural goal scorer is coming from.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / NHL Trade Talk / August 17

The Most Regretted Trades By The Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a storied franchise in the NHL, having begun life as the Toronto Hockey Club back in 1917 and being part of the Original Six era.

Joe Miller News / TheLeafsnation / August 17

DailyFaceoff lists former Maple Leafs prospect Joe Miller among intriguing NCAA free agents

Getting drafted to the NHL is one of the biggest accomplishments and milestones of any young hockey player’s career. The sad reality, though, is that getting drafted doesn’t guarantee you’ll get there.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Professor Press Box / August 17

The Maple Leafs' Future Has Arrived Again: When Will It End?

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have heard about the future for a long time. There was a time when William Nylander was the future. Then Mitch Marner was the future.

Toronto Maple Leafs News / Inside The Rink / August 17

Toronto Remix Nights to Include New or Retro Jerseys

The Toronto Maple Leafs have scheduled nine ‘Remix Nights’ at Scotiabank Arena this season. They also promise to ‘go back in time with a twist,’ which has given fans a legitimate reason to wonder whether a retro-inspired jersey is coming.

Morgan Rielly News / NHL Trade Talk / August 17

How the Toronto Maple Leafs could extend Morgan Rielly’s tenure

Morgan Rielly is the longest-tenured player on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, and he could be a prime trade candidate throughout the 2026-27 season. There has been plenty of talk that Rielly submitted a list of Western Conference teams that he would accept a trade to, but he remains with the team deep into the summer.