Mitch Marner’s Parting Gift to the Maple Leafs
Mitch Marner may have given the Toronto Maple Leafs a parting gift that keeps on giving.
What looked like a major loss for Toronto may have set off a chain of events that might just change the franchise for the better. As the 2024/25 NHL season progressed, it slowly became obvious that Marner’s time with the Maple Leafs was coming to an end. Then, on July 1, 2025, Toronto pulled the trigger on a deal that sent Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for centre Nicolas Roy.
What the Maple Leafs received for Marner was a pittance in comparison to the player they lost, but it was more than they would have received had Marner simply walked as an unrestricted free agent hours later. After a so-so 2025/26 season from Roy, Toronto dealt him to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a first-round selection in either 2027 or 2028. The Leafs used the fifth-rounder to select prospect Cooper Williams.
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Then the Maple Leafs’ dominoes started falling.
That alone doesn't seem like much compensation for the hole Marner left in the Maple Leafs lineup. But his departure also became the first domino in a series of events that may ultimately leave Toronto in a much stronger position than anyone expected when he left. The Maple Leafs went from first place in the Atlantic Division in 2024-25 to last in the division and second-last in the Eastern Conference one year later.
The disastrous season led to major organizational changes. Brad Treliving was replaced by John Chayka as general manager, and Craig Berube was replaced behind the bench by Jim Hiller. Then came the biggest domino of all. Toronto won the NHL Draft Lottery and used the first-overall selection to draft Gavin McKenna.
From Marner to McKenna for the Maple Leafs.
The irony is difficult to miss. The Maple Leafs lost one of the NHL's premier playmakers in Marner and, one disastrous season later, landed one of hockey's most highly regarded young playmakers in McKenna. As we explored in “Mitch Who?”, there are some fascinating similarities between Marner and McKenna. Whether McKenna eventually becomes as good as Marner—or even better—will take years to determine.
But that's not really the point. The Maple Leafs appear to be in a considerably better position today than most people could have reasonably expected when Marner left on July 1, 2025. They have the exceptionally talented McKenna, Cooper Williams, a new organizational direction, and still have that future first-round selection from Colorado in the bank.
Marner's departure was the first domino to fall. Had it not fallen, the chain would have been broken before it even started.