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What Trade Is the Maple Leafs Roster Crying Out For?

Are the Toronto Maple Leafs finally a team that needs protecting at the trade deadline — not saving? How should the team proceed?

by
Old Prof
January 13, 2026

A week ago, when Craig Berube shuffled the lines, our first reaction wasn’t enthusiasm. The Maple Leafs had found a bit of rhythm. The guys were settling in. William Nylander was coming back, and it felt logical to make the smallest possible adjustment and move on.

That’s not what happened.

Berube Reshaped Three of the Maple Leafs’ Lines

Berube tore up three of the four lines and kept only the Nicolas Roy–Nick Robertson–Easton Cowan trio intact. On paper, it felt risky. In practice, it worked — and then some. The Maple Leafs didn’t just survive the change; they leveraged it into success. On Monday night, they went into Colorado, beat the best home team in the league in overtime, and looked composed doing it.

That win matters when you start talking trade deadline.

Over the last stretch, the Maple Leafs haven’t lost in regulation. They’ve climbed back into the playoff picture the hard way, in a league where three-point games make digging out brutally slow. The standings don’t jump much, but the odds do. What looked like a lost season before Christmas now looks like a real race — and that changes how you should think about adding pieces.

This Maple Leafs Team Doesn’t Look Like It Needs Saving

But does this team feel like a roster crying out for saving? Secondary scoring is already coming from inside the room. Matthew Knies has taken a step. Nick Robertson looks like an NHL player again. Bobby McMann keeps finding his way onto the scoresheet. Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are producing from the back end. And suddenly, Matias Maccelli looks like he belongs.

Knies Matthews Maple Leafs — Knies and Matthews are helping to lead the Maple Leafs.

Even depth players are holding up their end of the deal. This team is scoring more than last year’s group, and it’s not all coming from the same four names. That’s important, because it removes one of the most dangerous deadline impulses: overpaying for offence you don’t actually need.

Defensively, the improvement hasn’t come from new bodies so much as new habits. Early in the season, exits were rushed. Pucks were fired straight up the ice. Forwards cheated early. Turnovers followed. Lately, there’s patience. Defencemen use each other. A forward stays back. Nobody leaves the zone until possession is secure. The puck moves east-west before it goes north.

That’s structure. And structure is fragile.

Thinking About the Maple Leafs Trade Deadline

Which brings us back to the deadline. If this team adds, it shouldn’t be to chase a headline or “reward” the streak. It should be about fit. A depth defenceman who can move the puck without panic. A bottom-six forward who can forecheck, hold onto the puck, and survive playoff shifts. Support pieces, not disruptors.

This doesn’t feel like a team that needs saving. It feels like a team that needs protecting — mostly from the perceived belief that, at the trade deadline, there MUST be a hole to fill.

If Berube’s system is finally taking hold, it might be time for the Maple Leafs to run with what they have.