The Maple Leafs wanted these 2 player trades to change their roster, but they didn't happen
This could've helped at least a little bit.
The Maple Leafs wanted these 2 player trades to change their roster, but they didn't happen originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Toronto Maple Leafs pursued multiple trades during the offseason.
They knew that replacing Mitch Marner wouldn't be easy, and while some moves ended up getting completed, others failed. It's those failures that may have contributed, in part, to a nightmare 2025-26 season. Without Marner, the Leafs weren't the same team.
It wasn't just his loss that hurt them, but it sure didn't help. And it turns out they could've had two different pieces that may have made things better. The Athletic reported in a new story on Wednesday that the Maple Leafs pursued offseason deals for both Bryan Rust and Rickard Rickell from the Pittsburgh Penguins .
MORE: Maple Leafs' president brought AI trade pitches to deadline meetings Maybe they would've just landed one, or maybe the aging Penguins would've considered moving both. It certainly would've created a different tone around Toronto's offseason beyond this simply being the year they lost Marner. "(Fired GM Brad) Treliving believed he had rounded out the forward group without the 102-point man and altered the 'DNA' of the team in the process," The Athletic's Jonas Siegel, Chris Johnston and James Mirtle wrote in their new article.