Leafs will continue to be active in free agency

When free agency opens across the NHL on Wednesday, one of the big market teams in the league will be looking to add talent for the 2026-27 season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of some significant change, though they still plan on improving after a tough 2025-26 season. New general manager John Chayka has already made some moves to improve parts of the roster, but still has few more holes to plug. With July 1 just a couple of days away, he can easily use that platform to add significant talent to the team.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, David Pagnotta joined Jonny Lazarus and Carter Hutton to explain what the Leafs’ plan of attack will be in free agency.

David Pagnotta: Going into the draft, they were considered…I talked to a bunch of teams and some agents, and all the word around the league was they’re the most active team, or at least one of the most active teams that are out there. I think fans wanted to see more activity, but I don’t think the Leafs are done by any stretch. They’re going to go into July 1, they’re going to look at a couple options there, but they’re still figuring out Morgan Rielly’s situation. It is possible they hold on to him, although I think the preference would be to find him a new spot, but they’re not going to do it just for the sake of doing it.

They’re looking for a 3C. There’s some talk that they’re still in that market for another winger to jump into their top six, or maybe bounce within the top nine. I don’t think they’re done on D. They moved out Brandon Carlo for picks. They’re still kind of navigating the defensive waters, as well. Then there’s the goaltending discussion. They’re looking at every option to see how they can make this team better. Zach Werenski would likely cost [$9 million-plus], and I’m not sure where they’re going to go on that front, but the Leafs are looking at everything…turning over every stone, kind of thing. That’s what Toronto has been doing over the last couple of weeks, and it’s escalated going into the draft. It’s from all indications still on pace for this week, but you know, we’ll see what else they have up their, up their sleeves.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…