Tony Marinaro suggests a rebuild for the Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs won the NHL draft lottery on Tuesday night, and that gives them plenty of options for the future.

It's a silver lining to the miserable season Toronto just went through, but now they need a plan.

Appearing on TVA Sports' JiC show on Wednesday, Tony Marinaro suggested a rebuild for the Leafs.

For @TonyMarinaro, the Leafs' lucky break should open their eyes to the path they need to take moving forward https://t.co/YIZ8nG7dcA

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 6, 2026

It feels strange to say, but it might be the most logical solution, even though Marinaro realistically expects Toronto to refuse to rebuild.

Let's look at this. The Leafs have Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and the first overall pick (who is expected to be Gavin McKenna).

That's a lot of firepower on offense, but nothing on defense or in net. That's not how the Maple Leafs will give themselves a chance to win the Stanley Cup.

Rebuilding would allow Toronto to reshape its roster in a more balanced way. It's all well and good to score five goals a game, but if you give up six, you still lose.

Another interesting point is the dominance in the Atlantic Division. It will be extremely difficult to compete with the heavyweights like the Canadiens, the Sabres, the Lightning, and the Panthers (who will have several injured players returning next season).

And that's not even counting the Bruins, Senators, and Red Wings, who are holding their own in this division.

Rebuilding would allow the Maple Leafs to avoid this mad scramble for the next two, three, or four years. They could use that time to build a solid team and wait for the other teams to age.

We still don't know what the Leafs' plan is for the future, but with new faces in team management—Mats Sundin and John Chayka—we can expect at least some changes.

In Brief

– Speaking of Gavin McKenna and the Maple Leafs.

“McKenna is the playmaker that Auston Matthews desperately needed” @SEllisHockey on Gavin McKenna & whether the Maple Leafs should draft him first overall.

Presented by @FandDuelCanada@JeffMarek | #TheSheet #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/MGT4yNdsjA

— The Sheet with Jeff Marek (@thesheethockey) May 6, 2026

– Nathan MacKinnon is currently dominating.

The #mnwild have their hands full with Nathan MacKinnon! @MurphysLaw74: “Nathan MacKinnon was an absolute monster”#GoAvsGo #thesickpodcast pic.twitter.com/yAFjO7sQpp

— The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test (@sickpodnhl) May 6, 2026

– Everything is going great for Rory McIlroy.

Relaxed after his second green jacket, McIlroy is more motivated than everhttps://t.co/pK1q2tzFfH

— RDS (@RDSca) May 6, 2026