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The Official 2026-27 Leafs Season Thread: New Regime, Who Dis?

Speaking of cap, for those following at home, we have $8M tied up in Domi and Joshua. $12.25M if you add Sissons. You can keep going with Blueger, etc.

It really sucks that we missed an opportunity to add what would've been considered an expensive player (pre-Carlsson offer sheet), potentially for term, instead of the dead weight/bottom feeders we filled into the spots. And now expensive has an entirely new definition, which makes the formerly expensive players crazy cheap steals.

Granted, if that contract would've created any obstacle to landing McDavid, which these 2 year deals don't do, then better we did what we did. But still would've much rather taken on some team's "expensive" problem and slotted him into the top 6.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Speaking of cap, for those following at home, we have $8M tied up in Domi and Joshua. $12.25M if you add Sissons. You can keep going with Blueger, etc.

It really sucks that we missed an opportunity to add what would've been considered an expensive player (pre-Carlsson offer sheet), potentially for term, instead of the dead weight/bottom feeders we filled into the spots. And now expensive has an entirely new definition, which makes the formerly expensive players crazy cheap steals.

Granted, if that contract would've created any obstacle to landing McDavid, which these 2 year deals don't do, then better we did what we did. But still would've much rather taken on some team's "expensive" problem and slotted him into the top 6.
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Domi’s not really a factor. All signs seem to point towards him being on Robidas Island for the remainder of his contract.

But agreed 100% on your larger point. Our oodles of cap space this summer was a huge opportunity to add both McKenna on his ELC and another big-ticket difference-maker up front in one off-season. And that’s what I was screaming for us to do.

Instead, we pissed all that space away in drips and drabs on a pile of mediocre players. And with player salaries blowing up now, guys who their teams were previously looking at as pure salary dumps (like my preferred target, Elias Petterson) suddenly have far more reasonable looking contracts. So that opportunity is largely gone.
 
Well there wasn’t really a big ticket that moved other than Raddysh and Bob.

They went after Werenski.

I don’t think they will have a hard time making cap space for a big deal and I kinda expect them to still be in on big names.
 
leafman101 said:
Well there wasn’t really a big ticket that moved other than Raddysh and Bob.

They went after Werenski.

I don’t think they will have a hard time making cap space for a big deal and I kinda expect them to still be in on big names.
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Not talking about free agency though. Obviously there wasn’t a whole lot there.
 
PreSeason Nerdies cuz i want to


5v5

Matthews 2gms, 14;32, 64.8xgf%
Knies 2gms, 14:13, 67.2xgf%
Roslovic 2gms, 14:12, 68.1xgf%

Tavares 2gms, 13:45, 68.5xgf%
Nylander 2gms, 14:34, 67.1xgf%
McKenna 2gms, 15:30, 73.8xgf%

Paul 2gms, 10:00, 14.8xgf%
Cowan 2gms, 14:24, 29.5xgf%
Sissons 2gms, 13:09, 32.0xgf%

Blueger 2gms, 15:06, 68.8xgf%
Duhaime 2gms, 12:46, 61.7xgf%
Joshua 0gms,

Groulx 2gms, 10:24, 41.2xgf%
Lorentz 2gms, 11:03, 37.5xgf%
MacEwen 2gms, 8:16, 20.2xgf%



Rielly 1gms, 19:04, 91.7xgf%
Raddysh 2gms, 17:13, 63.0xgf%

McCabe 2gms, 16:18, 51.0xgf%
Tanev 2gms, 15:33, 64.1xgf%

OEL 2gms, 15:40, 48.6xgf%
Stecher 2gms, 17:10, 62.9xgf%

Blankenburg 2gms, 14:20, 32.5xgf%
Andrae 2gms, 14:10, 49.3xgf%


So McKenna led the forwards in ice time and had the highest xgf% of any player who played 2gms (Mo and Johnstone the only ones ahead).

cool.
 
Preston said:
Bye Matthew
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Nahh. I do expect Marchenko would be a guy Chayka would be interested in, as a good right-shot scoring winger.

But it doesn’t make any sense trading five years of Knies at what is rapidly becoming a bargain salary for one year of Marchenko before he has to be re-signed to an extension at the current market rates (or he potentially walks to UFA in 2028).
 
LeafGm said:
Nahh. I do expect Marchenko would be a guy Chayka would be interested in, as a good right-shot scoring winger.

But it doesn’t make any sense trading five years of Knies at what is rapidly becoming a bargain salary for one year of Marchenko before he has to be re-signed to an extension at the current market rates (or he potentially walks to UFA in 2028).
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Oh yeah I'm just trolling our boy lof. I don't know exactly what they could and would trade for him tho without their 1sts. Probably Cowan+ I guess.

I'd forgive the square patty boy if he managed to get this player without giving up much of importance on the roster.
 
you would need to be pretty sure Marchenko is going to outproduce Knies significantly in the next 5 years for that to make sense

we only have one trade bullet. I'd really prefer to save it for a big time blueline or centre upgrade
 
Super Intelligence breakdown.

1790347852933.png

  • Possession & Play Driving: Marchenko holds a distinct edge in possession metrics. He consistently drives play, posting a 53.2% CF% and 52.0% xGF%, indicating the Blue Jackets heavily control the shot share and expected goal share while he is on the ice. Knies, conversely, dipped below a 45% possession share in his 2025-26 campaign, heavily reflecting the defensive struggles of his specific line combinations.
  • Deployment & Role: Marchenko is heavily sheltered with an offensive zone start percentage of 66.5%. Columbus positions him primarily to score and create in the attacking zone. Knies is deployed far more dynamically (52.0% oZS%), bearing a higher share of neutral and defensive zone responsibilities.
  • Shot Volume vs. Efficiency: Marchenko is a pure volume shooter. He registered 218 shots on goal at a lower shooting percentage. Knies chooses high-danger positions near the crease; his 140 shots resulted in a highly efficient 16.4% shooting clip, which compensates for his lower overall shot volume.
  • Physical & Defensive Contributions: Knies fits the archetypal mold of a modern power forward. He out-hits Marchenko by an approximate 3-to-1 margin. This allows Knies to act as the primary forechecker and space-creator on his line.
 
Marchenko is definitely better right now, but I'm not sure by how much and if that's permanent. And his next contract will suck, so not worth it for what could be a marginal upgrade at most.

Shoot for the stars, I say. Add him to the lineup without losing anyone in the top 6. Otherwise, not worth it. Keep the knies trade chip for werenski.
 
Blue Jackets are desperate to make the playoffs. Futures doesn’t help that… that’s why Habs deal was always a long shot.

Leafs can dangle Knies +
 
Last 2 years he's at 1.75p1/60, which is basically what broken Auston has been at for the last 2 years, granted in harder usage. He is one dimensional for sure, but a points producing machine. It's the one thing that I'd kill to add to the lineup, though obviously you wish he were a center and you didn't have to lock in crazy $$$ to 2 wingers, soon to be 3 once McKenna gets paid. And their forwards are already kind of iffy defensively, particularly in the top 6. He's not a perfect fit, but worth it if you're keeping the rest of the gang in tact.
 
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