3 Maple Leafs players that should be untouchable in a rebuild

"It would be hard to have a successful rebuild without having at least a veteran leader present to help make the transition go as smoothly as possible. The last time that the Leafs had to endure a rebuild, it was just before the arrival of Auston Matthews. At the time, Toronto had the likes of Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri go through the harsh process with the organization."

"John Tavares would be the perfect candidate to get the Leafs past the hump in the coming years. First of all, Tavares has a full no-movement clause up until after the 2026-27 season, so he won't be going anywhere any time soon. More importantly, recall that he took a major hometown discount at $4.5 million AAV a season for his current contract to give Toronto the flexibility to recruit the necessary players to build a winning lineup."

"It is often very hard to recruit high-end defensive talent to a team, let alone trying to attract them to come to a rebuilding one. As a result, if there is any exceptional pieces from the blue line that is worth building upon, that talent should be retained."

The Toronto Maple Leafs faced a disappointing 2025-26 season with significant declines across offense, defense, and goaltending. This poor performance raises questions about whether a simple retool suffices or if a complete rebuild is necessary. A rebuild would require veteran leadership to guide the transition smoothly. John Tavares emerges as an ideal candidate due to his no-movement clause through 2026-27 and his willingness to take a $4.5 million AAV discount to support team-building efforts. Jake McCabe represents valuable defensive talent that should be retained, as recruiting high-end defensive players to rebuilding teams proves exceptionally difficult.

Read at Editor In Leaf