After another disappointing playoff exit, this time in the second round, there have been plenty of questions surrounding the Leafs and a number of their players as fans call for change. Not only have fans called for changes to the roster in a big way, but Kyle Dubas shocked the hockey world during his media availability earlier this week when he said that he would either be the GM of the Leafs next season or take some time away from the game. Dubas also said that if he was to return as the GM of the Leafs that nothing is off the table in terms of trading a member of the "Core 4" which is the first time he has said such a thing during his tenure.
Yesterday on the Steve Dangle Podcast, TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston was asked about a number of players on the Leafs and whether or not they would stay or go. Some were RFAs, most were UFAs and others were under contract. Let's begin with which UFAs he thinks will stay or go.
It isn't really a surprise that he believes that most of the UFAs the Leafs have will be gone and Leaf fans won't exactly be disappointed with most of them leaving. However, many hope that he is wrong about O'Reilly. The one RFA he touched on was Ilya Samsonov and he believes Samsonov will stay, meaning that Matt Murray is likely gone as Joseph Woll is no longer waiver exempt and has done enough to earn a full-time spot on next season's roster.
The most interesting part of Johnston's roster rundown was when he touched on the players currently under contract. The following players are the ones he believes will not be traded by the Leafs: Morgan Rielly, John Tavares, Jake McCabe, TJ Brodie, Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, William Nylander. CJ's most shocking prediction is that Mitch Marner will be traded at some point this summer. With 2 years left at $10.9M per season, it will be difficult to find a deal where the Leafs "win" the trade. Not only is his salary difficult to move, but his playoff performance in the second round left much to be desired.
Many believe the most likely trade candidate of the "Core 4" to be dealt is Nylander, but his performance in the playoffs may have changed management's minds as he was more dominant than both Marner and Matthews. It will be a very long six weeks for the Leafs until we get to free agency and there will be constant questions surrounding their free agents and "Core 4" until we get a clearer picture of who the GM will be and what the plan is going forward.
