Maple Leafs' McDavid Hopes Crushed by Re-Signing: Who's Next on Toronto's Radar?

On Monday, we saw the best player in the NHL, Connor McDavid, ink an absurdly cheap 2-year extension with the Oilers that will keep him in Edmonton until the end of the 2027-28 season.

The $12.5M cap hit caught everyone by surprise, including Auston Matthews, who was asked to share his thoughts following Leafs practice on Tuesday.

The two could have shared the same ice next year, as well as sharing the same agent in Judd Moldaver, but that dream will have to wait at least a few more seasons.

The extension forces the Leafs to look elsewhere at the 2026 free agent class that currently features names like Artemi Panarin, Anders Lee, Alex Ovechkin, Adrian Kempe and Nick Schmaltz.

Unfortunately, a few of the high-profile players have already chosen to re-sign with their current teams, leaving very few options for GM Brad Treliving to spend the more than $20M in cap space next summer -- as mentioned by TSN's Pierre LeBrun on 'Insider Trading' on Tuesday.

The Leafs' best option would have been to pursue Eichel, but the veteran forward chose to sign an extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

As for the players still available, Anders Lee fits the style of play Craig Berube and Treliving prefer, though he is not overly offensive and currently 35 years-old.

If the Leafs want more of an offensive punch and fail to land a top-six forward this season, Artemi Panarin could be a viable fallback option should Adrian Kempe re-up with the LA Kings.

With potentially the biggest free agent in NHL history in McDavid off the market, next summer could shape up to be a very interesting one in terms of options and how much money the Leafs are willing to spend on someone not named Connor McDavid.