Hockey is coming.
And one of the surest signs is the overwhelming response to our late-summer call for Maple Leafs Mailbag questions.
Enough time has passed since Raygun ruled our timeline for us to flip our attention to winter sports. Fans are already wondering what drama and changes are in store for Leafland.
So, let’s dig right into all of it: Mitch Marner, Alex Nylander, Craig Berube, Nick Robertson, and much more.
What are you most looking forward to this season? —@Cassand94237424
As a sucker for international competition who may find himself jumping off the couch and fist-pumping during a hammer-throw contest, I’m eager to see the Olympic teaser that is the 4 Nations Face-Off. I’m (perhaps naively) hopeful the participants compete hard for their flag and don’t give a three-quarters effort in this All-Star Game substitute.
If you’re talking Leafs specifically, Cassandra, I’m eager to see how much of a difference Craig Berube, the first new coach in five years, will make on Toronto’s unaltered core. Does he reimagine the power play? Give more minutes to the bottom six? Completely reimagine the forward lines? Come down harder on the stars after a flat effort?
And on a strictly personal note, I’m looking forward to road trips to Western Canada — always a highlight and an energy boost — and Utah. After unique and enthusiastic debuts in Vegas and Seattle, I’m curious to see how Salt Lake City reps its hockey club.
Who benefits the most from Berube? —@Leafs_Universe
Brad Treliving.
Perhaps that’s not the answer you’re looking for, but I do believe the GM and the head coach share an aligned view of how the game should be played and the type of players the club should re-sign, recruit and remove.
Player-wise, the new bench boss is going to adore Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit, and Max Domi.
Berube should help get more out of Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann, who need to take another step as power forwards.
Will Nick Robertson be traded before training camp? —@ArunanIvy2196
Best guess: No.
But it’s possible.
Yes, Robertson — an unsigned restricted free agent — is looking for a change of scenery, but if Treliving hasn’t found a swap to his liking by now, why would the trade market for the scoring winger suddenly spike over the next two weeks?
The Leafs have a history of giving RFAs their way. Lacking leverage, Robertson is an easy one to draw a hard line with.
Treliving can afford to wait for a favourable trade offer or simply call Robertson’s bluff, and let someone else benefit from those LW reps.
Not reporting to camp to either skate his way out of town or into Berube’s good books hurts the unproven Robertson more than the organization.
Every training camp we obsess over some random rookie with a tiny chance of making the team out of camp. Who will it be this time and why? —@ColinBradbury95
Easy. Easton Cowan — because the 19-year-old ran the OHL to the tune of 34 goals and 96 points in just his second full junior campaign and skipped London Knights camp to focus solely on cracking the NHL.
We can see the Cowboy being salivated over in pre-season (again) and earning a nine-game tryout in the show.
A dark-horse candidate is Nikita Grebenkin, a sturdy six-foot-one and 191 pounds.
The 21-year-old winger is shaping up well for a fifth-round pick (2022) and arrives in North America with two full pro seasons against men and a KHL championship under his belt.
Who do you think gets the most NHL games this year and why? Cowan, Minten, Grebenkin, or Hildeby? —@Fogelhund
Good puzzler.
In a perfect, full-health world, the Maple Leafs would prefer Fraser Minten, Grebenkin, and Dennis Hildeby (still fourth on the goalie depth chart) to all ripen their skills with the AHL Marlies. But we could see a scenario where all of them get a callup at some point.
Let’s throw a dart and say Grebenkin, the oldest skater on the list. Maybe that’ll light even more fire under Cowan — not that he needs it.
A lot of talk surrounding Mitch Marner after the Game 7 loss vs Boston. Under a new coaching system, can we see the best version of Mitch Marner yet this season? The guy obviously loves playing in Toronto, I feel he’s going to thrive under Berube. —@anthonycarb0ne
Anthony, your question is certainly one of the more positive ones framing the Marner situation.
Thing is, Marner always thrives in the regular season, regardless of the coach. He’s an elite talent in his prime, and no one should be surprised if he hangs 100 points in a motivated contract season.
Ultimately, Marner is like the rest of this core: He will be judged on his post-season performance.
What separates him is that his future compensation — and future uniform — will also be determined by how things go next spring.
There is no sense today that Marner is willing to waive his no-move clause, nor any sense that Treliving is in a rush to extend him.
We wait. We watch.
Who’s playing on the new captain’s line? —@VernaSc46519779
Do you think Knies will solidify his spot as LW1 by the end of the year? What would a contract extension look like for him? —@Gregz_23
We’ll pencil in Marner on captain Auston Matthews’ right side and fellow Arizonan Knies on his left, considering Tyler Bertuzzi’s departure. Though we’re sure Berube will experiment with a few combinations and reunite Matthews and Domi at some point.
As for Knies, we loved the confidence he flexed in the Boston series and can envision him taking another big step as a sophomore.
Who knows how the season unfolds, but Treliving made a point of securing a 2025 second-round pick, which, depending on deadline needs, the GM could flip into a top-six left wing in advance of the playoffs and take some pressure off Knies.
Now that the cap is going north, a long-term extension for Knies — eligible to re-sign yesterday — makes sense for Treliving, especially if the GM believes in the player.
How does six years at $5.5 million sound?
Pretty rich for a guy with 15 career goals. But one of the surest ways for GMs to get value in a cap world is to bet early on their own studs.
Is Alex Nylander a real option for the Leafs? Or does this just travel easier for the Nylander family so they can see Leafs and Marlies in one trip? —@DCassie_YYZ
Can Alex Nylander be the dark-horse winger they need? —@DarkKnight7272
Tons of queries regarding Toronto’s younger Nylander, who signed only an AHL contract as an unrestricted free agent.
The proximity of the NHL team is always a useful sell to AHLers with hopes to make the jump, and it says here that Alex will suit up for the same team as big brother William by Christmas..
Alex has played NHL games in six of his past seven seasons and posted a career-high 11 goals in his 23 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last winter.
Toronto’s forward depth is too questionable, and hockey injuries are too common, to not envision a scenario where Alex gets a peek at Scotiabank Arena.
The brothers will unite.
Favourite movie ever? —@WatchMyReview
Back to the Future.
It has everything: a mad scientist, a banging soundtrack, a flying car, a skateboarding ’80s teenage heartthrob (no relation) all the guys wanted to be and girls wanted to be with, a bizarre brush with time-travelling incest, a cozy vest, an iconic villain, an alternate timeline decades before the MCU made them mandatory, a cliffhanger finish, and enough cultural impact to spawn two sequels and a smash Broadway musical that I gleefully enjoyed on an off-night during the Panthers-Rangers series.
My psychiatrist suggests Back to the Future is the reason I married a woman named Jennifer.
Do you think the Leafs will look to acquire a true No. 3 centre by the trade deadline, or hope Minten can secure that spot? Seems risky hoping a rookie can step into that role on a team with Cup aspirations. —@KevinRandhawa
The Leafs will and should absolutely explore outside options for 3C, a position left unaddressed at the 2024 trade deadline.
I like Domi better on the wing, and David Kämpf doesn’t have enough offensive talent to play above the fourth line on a contender.
Minten is on target to be the third-line centre of the future, yes, but the best course for the player’s development would be a full season in the AHL matching against grown men.
Looks to me like a patchwork position that will need addressing mid-season.
What needs to be different this year for the Leafs to have a deep playoff run? We always have a good regular season and make the playoffs. Something is needed to get us deeper than Round 2. What is it? —@Leaf4Ever
Healthy goaltending. Scoring depth and a more balanced lineup. And ultimately, all the handsomely stars must be available and awesome.
Another thing that would help: Win the Atlantic Division outright and earn a weaker first-round opponent. The Eastern Conference’s wild-card teams, as was the case in 2024, should be flawed and easier to dispatch.
What do you think the lines will look like for Game 1 of the season? —@tonguesplitter
This one is more of a stab in the dark than usual, only because Berube could tackle a mostly returning roster from a different angle than his predecessor.
Scribble in light pencil and keep an eraser handy:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Järnkrok – Domi – Cowan
Dewar – Kämpf – Reaves
Rielly – Tanev
Ekman-Larsson – Liljegren
Benoit – McCabe
Woll starts
Stolarz
What time is the parade? —@Melonshaker69