The Maple Leafs Have a Problem Heading Into 2025-26 and It's Not Easy to Resolve

After mentioning the need to change the DNA in Toronto this summer, Leafs GM Brad Treliving made good on his word, shipping off Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign and trade, and replacing his vacant cap space with the likes of Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua and Michael Pezzetta.

The one area that the Leafs have not exactly performed much of a face-lift on was their defensive corps, who largely played well last season.

The Leafs swung a pretty substantial deal with the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline to acquire hulking defenseman Brandon Carlo, but this summer thus far, the Leafs have not made any substantial moves to improve their blueline or get any younger. Therein lies the problem.

While the Leafs do have Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit, who will be 29 and 27 this season, respectively, the rest of the D corps is on the wrong side of 30, which means that the start of a decline for the blueline is possible.

Morgan Rielly (31), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (34), Chris Tanev (36), and Jake McCabe (32) represent the other members of the Leafs, top-6 defensemen.

While it's probable that Rielly and McCabe won't yet enter their decline for the next couple of years, it's a reasonable assumption that Tanev and OEL may begin to decline as early as this season -- especially Tanev, who takes more hits than any other defenseman in the National Hockey League.

It's even more concerning when you consider the significant cap dollars tied up on the blueline in Toronto, most notably the contract of Morgan Rielly, who earns $7.5M per season through 2029-30.

The Leafs did bring in 24-year-old defenseman Henry Thrun this summer, but with how much he struggled in San Jose, I doubt we'll see the former Sharks blueliner play much of a role, if any, for the Leafs this season.

The Leafs would be wise to potentially attach a young, attractive asset to one of these aging defensemen in a trade to help get a little younger on the blueline before the start of the season. However, with limited draft capital, it makes it difficult to swing any significant deals.

The Leafs could very well just start the season as is and just wait and see how the blueline performs, but if they do show any signs of wear and fatigue by the trade deadline, Brad Treliving will need to act fast to avoid dragging an aging, slowing D corps into the playoffs where performance and durability are paramount.