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Maple Leafs Hire Derek Lalonde As Assistant Coach

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The Maple Leafs announced today they’ve added former Red Wings bench boss Derek Lalonde to their coaching staff. He replaces associate coach Lane Lambert, who departed last month to accept the Kraken’s head coaching job.

Lalonde, 52, lands his next NHL job less than six months after Detroit fired him over the holiday break. The New York native was midway through his third season as head coach of the Wings, where he posted a 89-86-23 (.508) record but had gotten off to a 14-17-4 start in 2024-25.

Before his time in Detroit, Lalonde worked as an assistant coach under Jon Cooper with the Lightning from 2018-19 to 2021-22, winning a pair of Stanley Cups in the process. He oversaw the team’s defensive units and penalty kill, directly replacing the roles Lambert held in his lone season on Toronto’s staff.

Under Lalonde, the Lightning’s PK clicked at 82.7% during his four-year tenure, third-best in the league over that span. The Leafs will be counting on him to continue the shorthanded improvement Lambert helped usher in, helping boost Toronto’s PK success rate from a 23rd-place 76.9% in 2023-24 to a 17th-place 77.9% in 2024-25.

Notably, Toronto didn’t announce Lalonde with the associate coach moniker Lambert held. He’ll serve on more equal footing with returning assistants Marc Savard and Mike Van Ryn than Lambert did as a result.

Robertson Would Still Prefer To Be Traded

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While Nicholas Robertson got into a career-high 69 games with the Maple Leafs this season, his trade request from last year still stands, reports Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (subscription link).  The 23-year-old had a career-best 15 goals this season and even chipped in with a pair of points in three postseason outings.  However, playing time remained hard to come by as he averaged just 12 minutes a night of ice time and it’s clear he’d like a shot at a bigger role elsewhere.  Robertson is a pending restricted free agent owed a qualifying offer of just under $919K.  However, he’s also arbitration-eligible which could push his price tag closer to the $1.5MM range.  If Toronto isn’t willing to pay that price, Robertson could get his wish for a change of scenery in the coming weeks.

Maple Leafs Won’t Ask Morgan Rielly To Waive No-Move Clause

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As the Maple Leafs undergo a retooling this summer following another failed attempt to reach the Eastern Conference Final, there have been some questions around the future of defenseman Morgan Rielly. Their longest-tenured player and highest-paid rearguard carries a full no-move clause for the five years remaining on his contract, though. At least this summer, Toronto general manager Brad Treliving has no intention of asking him to waive it, Pierre LeBrun said on TSN’s Insider Trading yesterday.

“He loves being a Leaf… I don’t think that needs to be a talking point going forward here,” LeBrun said. There have been questions about nearly every player on Toronto’s roster, not just because of their playoff record, but because this will be the first summer with Treliving in full control of the Leafs’ hockey operations decisions. While he’s entering his third season as Toronto’s GM, it’s his first without the oversight of president Brendan Shanahan, whom the organization said earlier this month won’t be retained.

Treliving pledged “DNA changes” during his end-of-season media availability, but it appears that’s less referring to the 31-year-old Rielly compared to the likelihood of letting star winger Mitch Marner walk in free agency. Rielly had a difficult start to the season under new head coach Craig Berube, posting 19 points and a -10 rating through his first 41 games. He improved to 22 points and a plus-two rating in the second half of the year, though, and didn’t miss a game all season. In the playoffs, Rielly recorded points in the first three games of both the first and second round but failed to get on the scoresheet later on in each series. He had a playoff-low minus-three rating in Toronto’s season-ending Game 7 loss to the Panthers.

While the Leafs now have plenty of efficient contracts on defense with Treliving’s work over the past few years, Rielly’s isn’t one of them. Calling him a No. 1 defenseman on a championship-contending team is a bit of a stretch, especially for a player whose calling card has always been his offensive skill and point production. His 0.50 points per game last season were his worst output in seven years, and his 21:23 average ice time per game was his lowest since the 2014-15 campaign. Jake McCabe actually led Toronto’s blue line in ATOI by a slim margin this year, the first time since 2017-18 that Rielly hasn’t been the Leafs’ most-used defender on a nightly basis.

A $7.5MM cap hit isn’t a drastic overpay for someone who still has legitimate rebound potential to the 50-60 point range, but the five years remaining on his contract might have limited his trade market even if he was willing to waive his NMC. Regardless, if the Leafs have plans of acquiring a new top defenseman this summer, they’ll need to do it by leveraging someone other than Rielly.

Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Maple Leafs, Matthew Knies Made Progress On Extension Talks In-Season

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The Maple Leafs don’t expect many hiccups getting a contract for pending restricted free agent winger Matthew Knies across the finish line this offseason. On today’s 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the two sides had preliminary talks around the trade deadline and the Leafs “know what a deal would look like.”

Any wiggle room remaining in talks is likely concerned with contract length, not annual compensation. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relayed last month that the Leafs were pushing for a long-term deal while Knies’ camp was going for more of a three-to-five-year bridge agreement.

AFP Analytics projects a short-term agreement for Knies to come in at two years for $4.2MM annually, while a long-term agreement is projected to cost the Leafs roughly $7.25MM per year for seven years. The end result will presumably come closer to the latter number, possibly with a similar AAV for a year or two less than AFP’s projection.

Knies enters his first round of non-entry-level contract negotiations after a breakout sophomore campaign. In a consistent first-line role with Auston Matthews, the 22-year-old finished fifth on the team in scoring with 58 points (29 G, 29 A) in 78 games and saw over 18 minutes of ice time per game. His 182 hits finished third on the team and were second among forwards behind fourth-line winger Steven Lorentz.

Some have posited that, on the heels of that performance, Knies would be one of the top offer sheet targets this summer, especially since he doesn’t have arbitration eligibility to fall back on. It’s looking unlikely he’ll reach that stage, though. With Mitch Marner expected to test the UFA market, they’re not going to need to set aside cap space for a mega-extension. They’re also likely aware of what it will take to get an extension across the finish line with pending UFA center John Tavares. With significantly increased clarity on next season’s financial picture compared to a few months ago, they’ll presumably prioritize a Knies extension before he becomes eligible to sign offer sheets after officially becoming an RFA on July 1.

Maple Leafs Showed Strong Interest In Acquiring Rasmus Ristolainen Earlier This Season

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Back at the trade deadline, the Maple Leafs and Flyers made one of the bigger trades of the day with Toronto picking up center Scott Laughton.  However, it appears that Laughton wasn’t the only veteran Flyer they were going after as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that Toronto also made a serious run for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen at the deadline with a league source suggesting that the Maple Leafs made a very strong offer but were rebuffed.

The 30-year-old has been in trade speculation for the last couple of years now but he wasn’t moved at the 2024 deadline with the team still in the mix for a playoff spot.  Well out of contention by then this season, Ristolainen was believed to have more of a chance of moving although it appears GM Daniel Briere set a very high asking price.

Ristolainen enjoyed a bounce-back year in 2024-25, picking up 19 points in 63 games, his second-best output over the last five seasons.  More important, he upped his playing time by nearly four minutes per game compared to the year before, going from being a depth piece to one of former head coach John Tortorella’s more trusted options.

As it turns out, the deadline might have been the best time for the Flyers to move Ristolainen.  Soon after the deadline, he was shut down with an upper-body injury.  Then last month, he underwent triceps surgery, a procedure that carries a recovery timeline of six months, meaning that Ristolainen will miss training camp and the first couple of weeks of the regular season.  Speculatively, teams will want to ensure that he has fully recovered from that before putting forth their best efforts to acquire him and the final two years left on his deal that carries a $5.1MM cap charge.

On the surface, it seems unlikely that Toronto would rekindle their interest.  After failing to acquire Ristolainen, GM Brad Treliving turned his focus to acquiring defenseman Brandon Carlo to seemingly fill the same top-four role that they were likely viewing Ristolainen to fill.  With their top six on the back end intact and some prominent free agents up front, reshaping the forward group will likely be Toronto’s top priority in the coming weeks.  But with a relatively thin free agent market for right-shot blueliners, Briere should expect to be receiving some phone calls about Ristolainen once again this offseason.

David Kämpf Joins Team Czechia

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  • Team Czechia couldn’t defeat Team Sweden today despite having an extra reinforcement. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported yesterday that Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Kämpf joined his home country for the quarterfinals. He managed one shot on net in 17:09 of ice time with a -1 rating in the loss.

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Maple Leafs Won’t Renew Brendan Shanahan’s Contract

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The Maple Leafs will not be renewing the contract of team president Brendan Shanahan, the club announced.

In the announcement, MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley wrote:

          “Over the past 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan has made countless contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice, off the ice, and in the community. Brendan is one of the most respected leaders in the game, and he has instilled many of the traits that were the signature of his Hall of Fame career throughout the organization, uniting this storied franchise in the ‘Honour, Pride and Courage’ that it was founded on. Our responsibility and driving motivation, however, is to add a new chapter to the Maple Leafs’ championship history, and it was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead. The franchise will be forever grateful for Brendan’s contributions and wishes him and his family every success and happiness in the future.”

In a follow-up statement provided by Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, Shanahan said, “While I am proud of the rebuild we embarked on starting in 2014, ultimately, I came here to help win the Stanley Cup, and we did not. There is nothing more I wanted to deliver to our fans, and my biggest regret is that we could not finish the job.”

Although the Maple Leafs never advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals under Shanahan’s leadership, the organization embarked on a meaningful return to relevancy. Before Shanahan took on the role as team President, the Maple Leafs had only qualified for the postseason once in the previous decade.

Shanahan helped put the pieces in place for the development of the ’Core Four’ in Toronto, although the team selected William Nylander a year prior to Shanahan’s hire. The quartet has combined for a plethora of individual hardware, and has pushed the Maple Leafs to the postseason in nine consecutive years.

Still, as Shanahan mentioned, the team hasn’t had much success in the postseason. Toronto has only made it out of Round One twice during that span, and has accumulated a playoff record of 31-39 under his stewardship.

Outside of Shanahan, all signs indicate that the Maple Leafs aren’t localizing this summer’s changes in the executive suites. There’s expectation that the team will let winger Mitch Marner walk during this year’s free agency, opening up financial room to explore other options.

Shanahan shouldn’t be available for long. Reports yesterday indicated that the New York Islanders have already been granted an interview with Shanahan for their top leadership position.

Islanders Obtain Permission To Interview Brendan Shanahan

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1:45 p.m.: The Leafs have granted New York’s request and made Shanahan available for interview, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

12:57 p.m.: The Islanders have asked the Maple Leafs for permission to interview Brendan Shanahan for their vacant president of hockey operations role, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports Monday. It’s still unknown whether that permission was granted, Pierre LeBrun of TSN relays.

Shanahan, who’s served as Toronto’s president since the 2014-15 season, is on an expiring contract. After another Game 7 defeat and no Conference Finals appearances during his 11-year tenure, few expect him to receive an extension offer from the Maple Leafs.

While Toronto’s ownership group doesn’t “want to make any knee-jerk or emotional decisions,” Johnston writes, their blown 2-0 series lead to the Panthers in the second round and 6-1 losses in Games 5 and 7 at home “has left ownership disappointed and embarrassed,” per league sources. If they opt not to renew Shanahan’s contract, it’s likely they’ll move forward with general manager Brad Treliving as their top hockey operations decision maker and not replace Shanahan’s president role.

As for the Islanders, they’re looking for both a president and general manager after parting ways with Lou Lamoriello, who held both of those roles, a month ago. Their search is reportedly down to Kings senior advisor Marc Bergevin and Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche. While they may consider giving dual POHO/GM duties to Bergevin, who had experience pulling double duty during his time with the Canadiens, Darche would be a GM-only hire as he steps into the chair for the first time. Toronto’s willingness to let Shanahan get involved in the Islanders’ search could thus influence their decision between Bergevin and Darche.

Shanahan’s role with the Leafs was the Hall-of-Fame winger’s first with an NHL club. His previous executive experience came with the league offices as their VP of hockey and business development from 2009 to 2011 and then VP of player safety from 2011 to 2014.

The Maple Leafs Can Keep Their Contention Window Open

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It’s too early for most Toronto Maple Leafs fans to speculate on what to do this summer to get this team to the next level. Fans are understandably emotional right now due to another playoff disappointment in a long line of playoff disappointments, and many have called for a complete levelling of the personnel from management down to the players. And while very few pieces on the team have performed up to expectations, it’s unrealistic to expect a complete teardown. So, what should the Maple Leafs do this summer?

First, it’s essential to understand the current state of Maple Leafs management. President of hockey operations Brendan Shanahan has no contract for next season, and it sure doesn’t seem like he will get one with Toronto. Not after the complete collapse of this Maple Leafs team that just could never win when it mattered the most. Shanahan came into Toronto and unveiled the Shanaplan, which was objectively a failure as the Maple Leafs never made it out of the second round and lost every Game 7 they ever played in under his watch. Regardless of the results, Shanahan never wavered from his plan, even when it became apparent that he needed to pivot. Ultimately, he remained steadfast, and it likely cost him his job, or at the very least, it should have.

That should be the first significant domino to fall, and it will be another major shakeup in Toronto after they let general manager Kyle Dubas walk two years ago and sent former head coach Sheldon Keefe packing last summer. But that can’t be it, Toronto can’t just march in another president of hockey operations and call it a summer; they need real change on the ice, palpable, brutal, change that shakes the makeup of their hockey team. It cannot be tinkering around the edges like the team has done in the summers past.

Toronto needs to let Mitch Marner walk; unfortunately, he will set sail for nothing in return. Toronto will gain significant cap space, and how they use it will be imperative to their future success. During his nine years in the NHL, Marner was an incredible point producer in Toronto, producing 221 goals and 520 assists in 657 career NHL games. The 28-year-old was also solid defensively and killed penalties, averaging 92 points per 82 games. But his playoff numbers were abysmal by his standards, tallying just 13 goals and 50 assists in 70 career playoff games. Marner went quiet when it mattered most, and he was never a game breaker for Toronto when the stakes were at their highest. Toronto can no longer afford to pay top dollar for a winger who disappears at inopportune times, no matter how effective he is in the regular season. Marner will surely command a lot of money in free agency, and he may go on to eventually win a Stanley Cup, but his time in Toronto ran its course, and running it back with him would be hazardous for both him and the Maple Leafs.

Toronto must also decide how badly it wants to keep John Tavares in the fold. The 34-year-old is at the tail end of his career and remains a solid point producer, but he is not the fleetest of foot, and his underlying numbers this season were some of the worst of his career. Tavares had 38 goals and 36 assists in 75 games this year, but couldn’t replicate his offensive pace in the playoffs despite some timely scoring. Tavares could still chase significant money in free agency, but the Maple Leafs should avoid paying market value to a player who has posted just 31 points in 51 playoff games with Toronto. If Tavares wants to remain close to home in Toronto, the Maple Leafs should play hardball and try to finally have one of the members of the core four sign a contract that is significantly under market value. If Tavares isn’t interested in offering a discount, Toronto should use those savings elsewhere and try to bring in another free agent to give the forward group a fresh look.

Beyond that, the Maple Leafs should let their remaining UFAs go and lock up Matthew Knies to a long-term extension. If Toronto opts to sign Knies long term AFP Analytics projects his deal to be in the neighborhood of $7.22MM per season long term, which would leave the Maple Leafs with 17 players signed for next season and $17.6MM in available cap space (if Matt Benning and Ryan Reaves are buried in the AHL once again). That lack of wiggle room makes it impossible for Toronto to bring back Marner and Tavares, even if they wanted to (Marner is projected to receive $12.95MM annually, while Tavares is at $7.94MM annually). Still, they should consider other options unless Tavares takes about half that projection.

So, what can Toronto do to fill out those final six roster spots? Well, the short answer is not a lot, at least not on the trade market, since they don’t have a first-round pick until 2028 and lack impact prospects outside Easton Cowan, Topi Niemela, and Ben Danford. The Maple Leafs have two choices: sign players through free agency or make hockey trades using roster players. Regarding where the changes might occur, the likeliest changes will occur upfront, where the Maple Leafs have seven forwards under contract, not including the aforementioned Knies. On the backend, Toronto’s entire defense is locked up for next year, as are both goaltenders.

The good news for the Maple Leafs is that the defense and goaltending free agent markets are weak, while the forward UFAs are stronger. This could open up the Maple Leafs to move out a defenseman for a reasonable return and to acquire salary cap room to sign a forward. Oliver Ekman-Larsson played reasonably well this season and has a 16-team no-trade clause, so he could certainly be dealt, but a move like that would put added pressure on the bottom defensive pairing, which they might not want to do.

The Maple Leafs have some contracts up front that they would no doubt love to rid themselves of. The final year of Calle Järnkrok’s contract could probably be moved with a late-round sweetener, and perhaps that is something Toronto will explore to give itself an extra $2.1MM in cap space for next year. Another option would be to try to move Max Domi and his $3.75MM cap hit, but with three years on that deal, it might be something Toronto has to hold onto. Domi wasn’t terrible last season but was miscast in the bottom six and struggled in the playoffs at times, despite having seven points in 13 games.

All the options in Toronto create many moving parts, but the Maple Leafs have to be careful not to change for the sake of change. They must be strategic about shuffling the deckchairs and targeting players who can insulate their remaining stars. So, who should Toronto target to bring into the fold?

Florida center Sam Bennett would be a top target, particularly if Tavares moves on. Bennett is a true warrior who is battle-tested and still reasonably young at 28. He gave the Maple Leafs a front row seat to see what he could do and would give Toronto an element of skill and sandpaper that had been missing during their past decade of struggle. Bennett is from Holland Landing, Ontario, which is a little less than an hour North of Toronto and may welcome a return to home, but cost could certainly become an issue as he will be one of the most sought-after free agents. AFP Analytics projects Bennett to receive a six-year deal for $6.64MM annually, which could become problematic in a few seasons given his style of play, but it would be a price worth paying if he plays at his current level for even half of the deal.

Speaking of Florida Panthers forwards, Brad Marchand should be a target simply so he can stop torching the Maple Leafs in the playoffs annually. Marchand is no longer a top-end forward, but he has proved his worth in these playoffs, particularly against Toronto. Marchand is projected to sign a two-year deal worth just north of $5MM per season, which would be a very reasonable ask given his resume and ability to get better as the games get bigger. Toronto desperately needs the intangibles that a Marchand-type player can provide, and his personality would probably thrive in a big market such as Toronto.

An off-the-board target that wouldn’t provide a massive impact but could be an under-the-radar signing is two-time Stanley Cup Champion Brandon Saad. The 32-year-old can still produce at a 40-point clip and remains a decent skater who can play off the rush. Saad still does well to get to the net, and he can cause issues for opposing goaltenders, using his hands in tight to provide offense. Toronto doesn’t have much of what Saad offers, and he isn’t likely to cost much more than $2MM on a one- or two-year deal. Saad also has considerable big-game experience, which the Maple Leafs lack, and like Marchand, could provide some veteran leadership to help Toronto’s stars in those uncertain big-game situations.

Change is necessary in Toronto this offseason, as the team can no longer tinker around the edges of the roster. Big moves need to be made, and the Maple Leafs will likely need to replace one or two of the core four by committee rather than with one player. It’s a difficult task, but not impossible, as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane once said in the film Moneyball, “Guys, you’re still trying to replace Giambi. I told you we can’t do it, and we can’t do it. Now, what we might be able to do is re-create him. Re-create him in the aggregate.” While Billy Beane is discussing replacing one of the best hitters in baseball, the Maple Leafs might be tasked with replacing one of the best offensive producers in the NHL, and given the constraints in place, they will need to do it by committee. It’s a tall task, but as Beane showed back over two decades ago, it’s not an impossible one.

Photos by Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images and Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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