2 early Maple Leafs trade targets after missing 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

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2 early Maple Leafs trade targets after missing 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Steve Silverman, ClutchPoints

Wed, May 6, 2026 ·

4 min read

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2 early Maple Leafs trade targets after missing 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the most disappointing team in the NHL last season. After winning the Atlantic Division a year ago and advancing to the second round of the playoffs, the Maple Leafs were supposed to be a prime contender for the Stanley Cup this season.

Instead, the Leafs fell apart, fell into the bottom five of the NHL in the season-long points total and the season was a disaster. The Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving and it is expected that Craig Berube will be dismissed shortly. The Leafs have hired controversial John Chayka as the team's new general manager and brought in former stalwart Mats Sundin for a secondary management role.

Chayka may have to convince superstar Auston Matthews to return to a team that has multiple weaknesses. However, there is one positive as the Leafs unexpectedly won the NHL's Draft Lottery and will have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.

That's an excellent asset and it appears that Penn State forward Gavin McKenna will be the No. 1 picks. He has the skills and assets to become a star in the NHL, but he also has a troubling past that should not be ignored.

The new management team must convince Matthews that the Leafs have an excellent future and that he needs to remain in Toronto. The Leafs also have to look at Nazem Kadri and Clayton Keller as key offseason acquisitions.

Kadri could return as conquering hero

The Maple Leafs may celebrate having the No. 1 pick, but it is unlikely that McKenna will emerge next season as one of the team's key players. While NHL fans celebrate youngsters like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer, it often takes top draft picks years to establish themselves.

The Leafs need to bring in veteran talent to help turn the team around. The loss of Mitch Marner turned out to be disastrous for the team. Many blamed Marner for Toronto's multiple playoff failures, but it turned out that paring him from the roster was the wrong move when it came to competing in the regular season.

Nazem Kadri spent the first 10 years of his career with the Leafs. He was Toronto's first-round draft choice in 2009 and it took three full seasons before Kadri became a regular with the Leafs. He was instrumental in helping to turn the Leafs into a playoff team — even if they regularly lost in the first round — because he played with fire, desire and some degree of toughness that had been missing in the past.

Kadri has Stanley Cup pedigree

Kadri would cross the line from time to time, but it was obvious that he cared because he played with emotion. Since leaving the Leafs, he has gained maturity while playing with the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames. He helped the Avs win a Stanley Cup in 2022 and he may be on his way to winning a second Stanley Cup this season after being acquired by that team.

Kadri should be a 20-25 goal scorer if the Leafs can reacquire him in a trade. He may be 35 years old, but bringing back a player who has won the Stanley Cup and may win a second will play huge dividends

Kadri is a 200-foot player who can win games with his defensive play as well as his ability to set up scoring plays. He can set an example for the rest of the team and the belief here is that Kadri is no longer the player who will cross the line and put himself in a position to get suspended.

He could help the Leafs erase the nasty taste in the their mouths from the brutal 2025-26 season.

Keller would pay dividends for the Leafs

Clayton Keller is a 10-year NHL veteran who is in the prime of his career. Working a trade with the Utah Mammoth to acquire Keller could be the dynamic move the Leafs need to make in order to get back into playoff contention.

Keller is a legitimate goal scorer from the center position. He scored 26 goals and added 62 assists last season for the Utah Mammoth last season and finished with a plus-20 rating. He is a hard-skating, all-around player who can take the puck away from offensive players and reverse the flow of the possession.

Keller had scored 30 or more goals in the three previous seasons and he should be able to reach or exceed that figure again. Keller has been an All-Star four times in his career and he has a dynamic skating style that should raise the energy level if he gets moved to the Leafs.

Adding players like Kadri and Keller would raise the Leafs' level of competition and make them a much more difficult opponent in the 2026-27 season.

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