Scott Laughton

Scott Laughton lights up at the thought of returning to Toronto, where he cut his teeth before Philly called. His sandpaper style fits the Leafs' need for bottom-six bite amid their Cup quest. As free agency looms, bringing back the hometown hero could spark the grit Shanahan craves for deep runs.

Former Maple Leafs fringe guys Matthew McMann, Samuel Bolduc and Scott Laughton pack their bags and land elsewhere, sparking curiosity among Toronto fans still stinging from those deadline deals. Scouts whisper these castoffs find new life on rosters hungrier for their grit and skill, far from the Scotiabank spotlight.

The Maple Leafs send Bo Groulx back to the Toronto Marlies after his nine-game NHL stint, where the 26-year-old center lit it up with three goals and five points while filling in down the middle amid chaos like Auston Matthews' season-ending MCL injury and the Scott Laughton trade. Groulx thrives as the Marlies' scoring leader with 27 goals and 50 points in 54 AHL games, but Toronto keeps him eligible for emergency recall by stopping short of that 10th game.

The Maple Leafs send Benoit-Olivier Groulx back to the Toronto Marlies after his impressive nine-game stint where he lit the lamp three times and added two assists while logging heavy minutes down the middle. Recalled post-trade deadline to fill the void left by Scott Laughton's deal to the Kings and Auston Matthews' devastating MCL injury, the 26-year-old center impressed everyone with his +5 rating and physical play.

Easton Cowan stormed into Toronto's lineup after impressing Craig Berube at camp, clicking early with Laughton and Lorentz on the fourth line before notching his first NHL goal against Philly. The 20-year-old first-rounder has tallied 17 points in 43 games, bouncing between the NHL and a quick Marlies stint amid injuries, but Berube recently calls out his missing swagger and benches him as a healthy scratch.

Toronto's front office circles Vitali Pinchuk, the 6-foot-3 Belarusian center tearing up the KHL with 30 goals and 62 points for Dinamo Minsk, as their answer to recent center losses like Roy and Laughton. Scouts compare his game to Malkin or Kaprizov, and with 29 teams already knocking on his agent's door for a one-year ELC, Treliving faces a bidding war for a plug-and-play bottom-six guy who could slide right into the third line.