Maple Leafs Targets For 2026 NHL Free Agency
With multiple moves completed already on the trade front by GM John Chayka, here are some targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs in this free agency period.
Video Transcript
Mike, what do you think of the decision with Michelli, not to qualify him, and, and do you see all the other RFAs earning contracts here?
first on Michelli, if John Chaika's marching orders was to flush every remnant of Brad Treliving, then he's succeeding because one of his biggest mistakes was the trade, for Matias Michelli.
Not that Michelli's not a bad A, a good player, but, they did it to make up for the play-making, that was lost by the, the trade to, of Mitch Marner to Vegas.
he was not Mitch Marner.
No- nowhere close to being Mitch Marner.
He, you know, could not find a spot in the lineup, and he only started to really score when they were completely out of it.
So to qualify him at over $4 million would've been a traumatic mistake, and hopefully they don't go back to him.
I think there are enough players in free agency that they, they could add in their bottom six that could do a much better job than Michelli.
As for all the other players, I, I would sign Robertson too.
I think he's got two years until unrestricted free agency.
I Jim Hiller may give him an opportunity that I've been looking for them to do, which is play him a little higher in the lineup and a little more than 12 minutes a night, because the guy can score.
He can score 20 to 25 goals if he's played.
And, you know, the other names that you mentioned, Andre's probably gonna be a bottom pairing guy.
I like Jacob Quillen.
Craig Berube stupidly played him 10 minutes a night and didn't give him any offensive opportunity when he was scoring at the American hockey level.
So I mean, Verburg I think is probably an AHL-er, and Villeneuve should get a look at training camp on the bottom pairing.
So there are some players there, and I think that hopefully Jim Hiller has more of an open mind than the previous administration
