The offseason is here for the Toronto Maple Leafs. General manager Brad Treliving will explore all possible options, including potential trades. As it stands, Toronto don’t have a large pool to work with as trade bait. However, there are a few names on the roster and in the system that could draw in an opposing general manager. In addition, Treliving hinted in the season-ending press conference that the team needs a DNA change. With Brendan Shanahan gone, all hockey operations are in the hands of Treliving.
In no particular order, here are three players who can be used as trade chips this summer.
Summer Trade Chips
Mitch Marner‘s Signing Rights
It’s no secret that Mitch Marner’s contract expires on July 1. It has essentially been the talk of the town that he hasn’t signed an extension with the Maple Leafs. Reports suggest that he still hasn’t made a decision and hasn’t shut the door on signing with Toronto yet. Nonetheless, Treliving and the Maple Leafs might have to make a decision soon.
What some teams like to do is trade a player’s signing rights away to another team. This happens when the original club knows that the player won’t sign a new deal with them. The Maple Leafs followed this practice in the 2024 offseason. Treliving acquired the signing rights of defenceman Chris Tanev. In exchange for Tanev’s rights, the Leafs gave up. minor-league forward Max Ellis and a 2026 seventh-round pick. In the end, it paid off for Toronto as they were able to lock down the veteran D-man, and he’s been a huge piece for the team ever since.
However, Marner’s situation is a little different. He has a full no-move clause on his contract, which doesn’t allow him to be traded or waived without his approval. That means Marner has the power to block a trade for his signing rights if he pleases. Nonetheless, it’s worth a shot for Toronto to get back a draft pick rather than have Marner walk for nothing in return aside from cap space.
Morgan Rielly
Everyone wants to know what happened to Morgan Rielly. The player who was Toronto’s bona fide No. 1 defenceman has not played up to expectations for the last three seasons. Firstly, Rielly has not produced offensively like he’s shown he can in the past. In the 2018-19 campaign, he scored 20 goals and 72 points, he finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting. However, since then, he hasn’t come close to that confident puck mover from the back end. In the last three seasons, he’s accumulated a plus-minus rating of minus-10.
Compared to anyone else on this Maple Leafs roster, Rielly could use a change of scenery the most. In addition, moving Rielly for something else in return could be the change in DNA that Treliving is looking for. After all, Rielly is the longest-tenured Maple Leaf on the team.
With that, a trade to send the 31-year-old defenceman seems unlikely. Like Marner, Rielly has a full no-move clause until the last two years of his contract. In the final two years of his contract, he has a 10-team no-trade list, as well as the no-move clause to keep him from being sent down or claimed in an expansion draft.
Easton Cowan
Easton Cowan has just played his final season with the OHL’s London Knights and is set to play professional hockey. However, it’s uncertain what level that might be at. It all depends on how he impresses head coach Craig Berube in training camp and preseason in an attempt to make the Leafs roster. If not, there is no harm in him getting reps with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
Nonetheless, Cowan is still considered to be a trade chip. This is because he is still considered a prospect at 20 years old, on a team that is contending for a Stanley Cup every season. In addition, there might be a hint of concern with his offensive production in junior, specifically during the regular season and the World Junior tournament. Cowan’s point totals took a big hit this past season compared to the previous campaign, where he scored 96 points. This season, he recorded 69 points, 27 fewer points than the season before. At the world juniors, he scored one goal and three points in five games, producing below expectations.
However, points aren’t everything, and to Cowan’s defence, he stepped it up in the OHL playoffs. He scored 39 points in 17 games and won his second straight OHL championship with the Knights. It didn’t stop there as Cowan went on to lift his first Memorial Cup. He was the joint-leader in points for the tournament with seven in five games.
Main Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
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