Toronto Maple Leaf offseason things are not named Mitch Marner – Hockey Writer – Toronto Maple Leaf

The offseason of Toronto Maple Leafs, disrespectful re-faced due to disrespect for Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua.

Just four days in the club’s Game 7 of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Florida Panthers announced that team president Brendan Shanahan’s contract will not be renewed, ending the “Shanaplan” era. Early summer was dominated by a divorce between Maple Leaf and Mitch Marner, and eventually ended up with a signature deal to see the team’s dominant leading scorer with the Vegas Golden Knights. Somewhere along the way, main assistant coach Lane Lambert was hired by Seattle Kraken as their new backup boss.

Since these departures (especially Mana) dominate the headlines, it’s easy to miss the less important but still noteworthy personnel losses caused by the organization. Toronto’s Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies and John Tavares should be fine too, but it’s worth noting that some of the upcoming players are trying to understand why they are no longer with the club.

Pontes Holmemberg

Of all the players on the 2024-25 Maple Leafs roster that are no longer with the club, Pontus Holmberg is probably the biggest head grab. The versatile 26-year-old won praise from head coach Craig Berube (even advanced to the second line at some point), his two-way game and free throw ability show his value even with only seven goals this season. He even saw all the moves except for the team’s 13 playoff games.

To make things more confusing, Holmberg is not even an unrestricted free agent. General Manager (GM) Brad Treliving and Maple Leafs chose not to offer qualified offers to the Swedes, leading him to a two-year, $3.1 million contract with the division’s rival Tampa Bay Lightning, which reportedly was extremely sought after. Treliving has since admitted concern about the losses Holmberg may have paid in arbitration and whether they could put him at the upper limit.

Max Pacioretty

Prior to last season, Max Pacioretty won a place with the Maple Leafs in the professional trials at training camp and signed with a one-year contract. The 35-year-old 939 NHL game veteran offered the club a reward with outstanding moments in blue and white, including three clutch playoff goals. Unfortunately, the six-time 30-goal scorer is also loyal to his injury reputation, playing in just 37 regular season games.

The fact that Pacioretty has not yet returned to folding does not relate to the Maple Leafs organization. He still has time to sign a low-risk one-year contract in the locker room as a respected veteran who can still produce in a healthy time. The former Montreal Canadiens captain proved last season that he still had some gas left in the tanks, so he might find the NHL home before opening night. Whether that house is in Toronto may depend on the club’s roster and ceiling situation and his suitability.

Ryan Reaves

When it comes to a season with 35 games for players, no goals and two assists, the player’s departure may not be a big news, but it proves the strength of Ryan Reaves’ personality. The long-time executor won a lot of courage in Toronto by winning some fans in two seasons in Toronto, occasionally throwing gloves away. However, the 38-year-old wrote on the wall when he was assigned to Toronto Maris in March.

In short, he has no room for the Maple Leafs roster, with $1.35 million left on his contract to better use elsewhere. Treliving did a great job finding a house for him in San Jose, while adding some valuable defensive depth to 24-year-old Henry Thrun. Toronto needs to find a new face for their pre-match scoreboard video, but swapping Reaves for Thrun is a neat business that saves the club $350,000 while bringing more useful players.

Carry forward

Of course, the Maple Leafs are expected to feel Mana’s loss, but don’t reduce the impact on Maris this summer. The American Hockey League club lost three of the top six leaders since a season ago, watching Alex Steeves reunite with Boston’s Fraser Minten, Nick Abruzzese’s land and Russia’s Joseph Blandisi’s logo. Additionally, Kyle Clifford recently chose to hang up skates and transition to the organization’s front desk position.

Steeves held a memorable 2024-25 campaign, becoming Marlies’ all-time leading scorer in 36 goals and also scored his first professional NHL goal. The 25-year-old is likely to compete for a spot on the NHL roster, making his exit surprising. Although neither Blandisi, Abruzzese or Clifford are expected to play a meaningful role in the Maple Leafs, Coca-Cola Stadiums will certainly feel their absence this season. With Blandisi disappearing, who will rush out of the ice like a madman at the end of the warm-up?

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Jani Hakanpaa

Assuming we’ve reached the end of Jani Hakanpaa and Maple Leafs, it’s a weird year trip. First, he was signed, then he didn’t, and then he came again. The chaos throughout the offseason was equal to two games as the 33-year-old defender was restricted by the knee issues that signed first.

Treliving said to Hakanpaa signing on the supply of media at the end of the season: “There is always a risk. We are swaying, but there is no solution.” Given the assessment of the club’s one-year experiment with Finnish Blueliner, it’s unlikely that we’ll see his blue and white again.

Matt Murray

When Maple Leaf (and then under GM Kyle Dubas) got Matt Murray from Ottawa Senators, they got their goal-guard situation from Ottawa Senators in the summer of 2022. When they re-signed the free agent racing after two shortfalls, they created another curious reaction in the summer of 2022. However, the three seasons signed with Lambert and Claken in July seemed sufficient due to the often-damaged goalkeeper.

Murray struggled with injuries and underperforming in his first season in Toronto. In his second year, he remained healthy in all three games against MARLIES. In fact, he played well for the team’s AHL branch last season (0.934% record 10-5-4, saving percentages with an average score of 1.72 goals), but that wasn’t enough to keep him in touch. As Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov prepare to take the seizure back with Marlies, whether the group will add further senior goalkeeper depth behind Maple Leafs Netminders Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll.

Maris’s Finnish Task Force

Earlier, we discussed the departure toward marriage in the former legion. This doesn’t even include the hits from the AHL team going into their backend – almost all from a part of the world. Indeed, it would be a tough summer if you were a Finnish defender in the Maple Leaf system. In addition to the outgoing Hakanpaa, Topi Niemela, Roni Hirvonen and Mikko Kokkonen, all signed overseas contracts.

Niemela and Hirvonen received qualified offers from Maple Leafs, allowing the club to travel to Finland and Sweden respectively, and could also retain their NHL rights. But Kokoning completely left the organization. Either way, the fact that all three young men (Niemela and Hirvonen are 23 years old and Kokkonen 24 years old) will play elsewhere next season shows that Shine has stood out and was once the highest prospect, and Treliving probably didn’t put them in the same way as Dubas did, who chose them in the 2019 and early 2020 and 2020 draft.

Needless to say, none of these losses would have had Mana’s emotional weight or ice impact. But in a city where even a four-tier grinder can be a household name, each of the absenteeism will be felt one way or another.