Here\u2019s why a teardown should be an option of last resort.<\/p>\n
A draft pick problem<\/p>\n
When the Leafs intentionally bottomed out in the 2015-16 season, there was a grand prize waiting at the end \u2014 a first-round pick that turned out to be first overall and brought Matthews to Toronto.<\/p>\n
Tear it down this summer \u2014 and break bad essentially \u2014 and there may or may not be a prize waiting at the end of the 2026-27 season. That, of course, is because the Leafs don\u2019t own their own 2027 first-round pick outright.<\/p>\n
![\"NCAA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Image+Asset+Light_x2.png\")
\n ![\"NCAA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Image+Asset+Dark_x2.png\")
<\/p>\n
BEAT OUR EXPERTS<\/p>\n
Predict how you think the tournament will
play out. Can you beat one of our experts?<\/p>\n
It might belong to the Bruins. It might belong to the Flyers. It might belong to the Leafs.<\/p>\n
The status of the pick will only sort of begin to crystallize in the weeks ahead, thanks to the conditional 2026 first-round pick that went to Boston in the Brandon Carlo trade. If that pick falls in the top five, the Leafs will keep it, but then lose their top picks in 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n
If the \u201926 pick falls outside the top five, on the other hand, the Leafs will send it to the Bruins and maybe shuttle their 2027 first-round pick to the Flyers \u2014 if it doesn\u2019t fall in the top 10. And if it does land in the top 10, well, then the Leafs will keep the pick and send an unprotected first to Philadelphia in 2028 \u2014 which, if the teardown were to take effect this summer, could conceivably become the first overall pick.<\/p>\n
All of which is to say that bottoming out won\u2019t necessarily come with the reward of a top young player(s), which, in some ways, defeats the purpose.<\/p>\n
The superstar trade challenge<\/p>\n
A full teardown would presumably mean trading the two best players on the roster, Matthews and William Nylander, in the hopes that they bring back a barrel full of present and future goodies.<\/p>\n
Simple, right? Well, not exactly.<\/p>\n
Matthews and Nylander both have full no-movement clauses in their contracts, which means both would dictate their respective trade destinations. And that means those teams wouldn\u2019t necessarily have to give the Leafs everything they want, knowing they are a destination of choice.<\/p>\n
Which means a return that\u2019s maybe not as rosy as it should be, given the talent in question.<\/p>\n
The New York Rangers extracted only a conditional third-round pick and prospect Liam Greentree for Artemi Panarin at this year\u2019s trade deadline because Panarin, with a no-movement clause in his contract, controlled his fate and sought an extension with any trade<\/a>. It\u2019s not a perfect comparison, certainly. Panarin was a 34-year-old pending UFA who sought and eventually got that extension from the Kings. Matthews and Nylander are younger, still in and around their primes, with term on their contracts. And the Leafs wouldn\u2019t be trading them at the deadline but rather in the offseason.<\/p>\n What the trade illustrates is the power of the no-movement clause and the impact it can have on trades.<\/p>\n \n Auston Matthews and William Nylander both have full no-movement clauses in their contracts. (John E. Sokolowski \/ Imagn Images).<\/p>\n Another consideration to keep in mind: NHL stars never seem to fetch as much as they should in trades, not like in the NBA (Luka Don\u010di\u0107 trade notwithstanding!) or MLB.<\/p>\n This past December, the Canucks dealt Quinn Hughes, either the best or second-best defenceman in the NHL, to the Wild and got back the following: A 2026 pick that will fall late in the first round, a young forward of TBD upside in Liam Ohgren, a young centre of TBD upside in Marco Rossi and a young defenceman of TBD upside in Zeev Buium.<\/p>\n A handful of lottery tickets, in other words, some better than the others.<\/p>\n What may have scared many teams off and thus limited the return: Hughes has only one more year left on his contract and might not stick around after the trade.<\/p>\n Now, maybe Matthews, who has two years to go, and Nylander, who has another six remaining, bring back more in a trade because of it \u2014 though, again, the no-movement clause would inevitably loom over the entire process.<\/p>\n Maybe the Leafs get lucky like the Ottawa Senators did when they dealt Erik Karlsson (as his contract was nearing its end) for a bunch of stuff that included Josh Norris and a first-round pick that became Tim St\u00fctzle. Or maybe they don\u2019t and end up with what the Senators nabbed for Mark Stone: Oscar Lindberg, who played 20 games, prospect Erik Brannstrom, who now plays in Switzerland and a second-round pick who ended up playing 13 NHL games.<\/p>\n Even the Matthew Tkachuk trade, which seemed like a win initially for the Flames, now looks like a misfire with the way things have gone for Jonathan Huberdeau.<\/p>\n The value of superstars<\/p>\n Matthews and Nylander aren\u2019t over-the-hill stars either.<\/p>\n Matthews will be 29 in the fall. And while maybe he\u2019s no longer a 60-goal scoring Selke Trophy candidate, he might just be a 40-goal scoring Selke Trophy candidate.<\/p>\n Nylander will be 30 in May. It hasn\u2019t been a great season for him, certainly. However, he still ranks 12th in the NHL in points per game. He is producing at a 99-point pace.<\/p>\n It is\u00a0hard\u00a0to find great players like this, something the franchise experienced in the decade after Mats Sundin left.<\/p>\n The Leafs can\u2019t win with them, right? Maybe, maybe not.<\/p>\n Steve Yzerman famously didn\u2019t win his first Stanley Cup with the Red Wings until he was 32. The San Jose Sharks reached the 2016 Stanley Cup Final when Joe Thornton was nearing his 37th birthday. Joe Pavelski, who led the team with 14 goals that postseason, was 31 going on 32.<\/p>\n The Leafs don\u2019t feel anywhere near that kind of team right now. But with smart leadership in the days, weeks and years ahead, they could still contend down the road with Matthews and Nylander.<\/p>\n The head coach consideration<\/p>\n What does this roster (with some important and admittedly needed tweaks to make this offseason) look like with an upgrade in the coaching department?<\/p>\n The Blue Jackets have been, literally, the best team in the NHL since they swapped Dean Evason for Rick Bowness in January.<\/p>\n In-season changes tend to always spur some kind of bump, so here\u2019s a better example of what the Leafs would be shooting for with a different person behind the bench: The Washington Capitals, who went from 80 points and missing the playoffs with the old-school Peter Laviolette, to 91 points and a playoff berth in year one with Spencer Carbery followed by\u00a0111 points and the best record in the Eastern Conference in year two.<\/p>\n Two more examples: The Boston Bruins\u2019 resurgence this season under first-year coach Marco Sturm and the Pittsburgh Penguins\u2019 shocking turnaround under Dan Muse.<\/p>\n \n What would the Maple Leafs look like with a new coach? (Nick Turchiaro \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27775945-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28524393-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n