The Toronto Maple Leafs have done most of their offseason work already but they still have to fix a lack of talented depth at the center position.
According to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, that could prove to be a hard task to complete. The combination of a lack of talented free agents at the position and the lack of assets to offer in potential trades paint a dark picture of the Leafs to fix that need.
“One problem GM Brad Treliving will face on that front (adding center depth): a lack of trade ammunition,” Siegel wrote on July 8. “The Leafs have only one pick in the first four rounds of the 2025 draft at the moment, and it’s a second they acquired from Florida at last month’s draft. Their most attractive pick to move is a first in 2026. Another top trade asset, potentially: Easton Cowan.”
According to PuckPedia, Toronto has four picks in the 2025 draft but only one in the first four rounds. The Leafs also have just three picks in 2026 (one first-round pick but no second-rounder), and all picks from the 2027 draft.
Maple Leafs Looking for Versatile Free Agents
According to Siegel, one of the reasons for the Leasf re-signing free agent Max Domi instead of Tyler Bertuzzi (the latter left to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks) was his versatility.
“Part of the appeal for the Leafs front office in bringing Max Domi back with a four-year contract on the eve of unrestricted free agency is his ability to play centre,” Siegel wrote. “The Leafs wanted a centre in free agency, but few were available.”
The insider revealed the Leafs’ failed chase of former Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson, who decided to sign with the Seattle Kraken instead.
With Chandler off the board, the Leafs brought back Domi signing the forward to a four-year, $15 million deal after he joined the franchise ahead of the 2023-24 season under a one-year, $3 million contract.
“The Leafs would have loved to bring in Chandler Stephenson, but he chose Seattle on a seven-year, $43.75 million deal,” Siegel wrote.
Outside of their top-six centers (Auston Matthews and John Tavares) the Leafs lack talented players at the position to deploy on the third and fourth forward lines.
According to Daily Faceoff’s projected depth chart, the Leafs have a rotation of Matthews, Tavares, Domi, and David Kampf at the center position, but they could try to move Kampf in a trade this offseason.
The Leafs have just $180,333 in cap space and still need to fill one roster spot, which limits their flexibility on top of not having many assets to trade away in potential deals.
Potential Trade Targets for Maple Leafs’ Center Position
As the free-agent market for centers has dwindled, the Leafs may need to look toward trades to strengthen their lineup.
The Fourth Period updated its annual Trade Watch after the flurry of free-agent deals signed during the first days of July. The top centers available for trade, according to their updated list on July 5, are as follows:
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – New York Islanders: Pageau has two years left on his deal but has a 16-team no-trade list in his contract and might block a trade to Toronto.
Marco Rossi – Minnesota Wild: The Wild made Rossi available and want to complete a hockey trade, which TFP describes as a “talent-for-talent swap.”
Scott Laughton – Philadelphia Flyers: According to TFP, the Flyers wanted a “low first-round pick” in exchange for Laughton in the summer of 2023, and “that price tag doesn’t seem to have changed.”
The Leafs might also explore options within their system if they cannot complete a trade for another center.
In that case, promoting top-prospect center Easton Cowan, who played with the London Knights in the OHL during the 2023-24 season, would be the most probable option to join the NHL roster in the 2024-25 season.
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