OverDrive
LeBrun on the Maple Leafs' team future, becoming a seller and Pettersson's next steps
02 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What recent trades have impacted the NHL landscape?
here's our tsn hockey insider pierre lebrun joining us um pierre it's good to see you as always it appears as if the uh edmonton oilers have made a trade what's going on here yeah it's still not been official yet but um kind of murphy edmonton should be processed here in the next hour and uh Why are we laughing? What's going on? Your mic is like in your hoodie, I think.
You sound like the guy in the movie Saw. Yeah, that could be. I don't know. Everything okay? There we go. Whatever it is, I just made noodles day. Sorry, we're all over the place here because noodles wasn't on at the start. Now we're talking about Stevie and Kevin. Anyway, Connor Murphy going to Edmonton for a second round pick. Is that what we're believed is happening here?
Yeah, not official yet. They still haven't had the trade call. So that should get processed in the next hour is what I was trying to say before Noodles started giggling at me. But yeah, that's where it said, no, I deserve it. I thought you guys would respect the Expos hat today. They haven't lost a game in 20 years. Yeah, that's true. Get them back. Get the Expos back.
I was in Montreal all weekend. One of my daughter's hockey teams was in a tournament. The Etobicoke Dolphins, champions in Montreal. And I was surrounded by Leaf fans, hockey parents. And I got to tell you the anecdotal I know, but it reflects what you guys were saying in the first hour. But the mood among the Leaf fans right now, my goodness. It was hard to put those folks in a good place.
That's for sure. Well, listen, for nine years, they took run after run after run, and they never got it done. And now this year, it's just a disaster. It's the end of whatever promising era they might have had. And, you know, I guess we'll ask, but every Leaf fan wants to know, what is realistic in terms of change? And I'm not only just talking about the deadline, Pierre.
Is Tree Living coming back? Is Berube going to survive this? Like, how does this work for the Leafs, in your opinion, between now and opening night next year? Yeah, I mean, that's just it. There's a lot of bigger questions than just, you know, how do you improve this roster? And right now, I don't think anyone can answer for sure whether the GM or the coach are back next year.
You know, and where does Keith Pelley stand in all of this? I mean, you know, he's got to answer for a lot as well. You know, after parting ways with Brendan Shanahan a year ago. So there are certainly some bigger questions to answer at the end of the season.
In the here and now, I know from talking to other teams around the league, I mean, the Leafs certainly, and this wasn't a response to Saturday night's debacle, but for a while now, the Leafs have let every team in the league know that, you know, they're obviously sellers and open to, to be listening to a lot of their guys and that's what's happening right now.
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Chapter 2: How are the Maple Leafs planning for the future?
I also think if the Leafs can thread the needle, they'd like to look at checking off a couple of to-do list items from June. If they can fast-forward their off-season and do something this week that is a way to improve the roster for next season, they'll look at that too. But that's hard to do in the middle of the year.
But I'm just saying, if you see a trade where it looks like, what are they doing? They're out of it. Why are they doing this? It's not about now. It would be for trying to have this bounce back offseason where they assemble Austin Matthews with a better roster for next year.
So, Pierre, is it as simple as saying, okay, Bobby McMahon and Scott Lawton potentially in play because they're the unrestricted free agents? Or from what you're hearing, is it a lot more on the table and we're listening on pretty much everybody except for maybe 34 and 88 type of thing? Yeah, Noodles, it's more than just those two.
I mean, I think they would move OEL if there was a good offer on the table, which I don't think there is right now. You know, they're listing more than just their pending UFAs. I mean, this is about, you know, turning parts of this roster over to be in a better position this offseason for sure.
But certainly, I know you guys have addressed this, they can't be in a position where they're completely nuking the entire roster and rebuilding. You can't do that while Austin Matthews is still in the roster. Right. I mean, this is about trying to do like Boston a year ago and and being in a better spot come next September.
But until you know, while 34 is still part of things here, you know, this is about, you know, trying to turn things over, but not certainly nuking the entire roster. So, Pierre. I know you said there's some interest in some guys that are pretty positive stories for the Maple Leafs, whether it be Lawton, McMahon, OEL.
But I'm sure the fan base and a lot of keeners are wondering, like, how are you going to remove some players that are a part of not getting it done and underperformed like... don't they have to focus on trimming some of that fat as well? There are some guys that just flat out haven't fit and are not getting it done, so what are they going to do about those guys?
Or is that one of those situations where it's like, ah, that crap happens and you're stuck with it? Yeah, no, listen, you're bang on. I mean, listen, are you referring to Morgan Rielly, for example? Is that where you're going here? You know, it's been a tough go. He's got a full no trade. Has never shown any appetite to want to go anywhere.
Either way, to me, that feels like an off-season discussion again with Morgan Rielly, not something between now and Friday. Yeah. And I think, again, I think what's important to figure out in my mind is in terms of the heavy lifting is who is running this team next year. Going back to Hayes' original question, because I think that'll tell you a lot about where this is headed.
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Chapter 3: What challenges is Morgan Rielly facing in Toronto?
in Carolina. And I like their pathway because the Metro is pretty mediocre in general. I mean, no offense to the Penguins who continue to surprise, and the Islanders have been a great story. But in general, I think Carolina has such a direct path, at least in the conference finals.
I think the problem for the Wild, who have been unbelievably impressive, Bill Guerin, obviously the blockbuster for Quinn Hughes, he's got another move up his sleeve. He's going to go get a top six forward, whether it's a center or a winger, between now and Friday, whether that's Vincent Trocek or someone else. I love the way the Wild have played.
I have them right there with almost any team as far as Stanley Cup chances. The problem is they may get Dallas right off the hop in the first round. I mean, last year's Dallas-Colorado is this year's Minnesota-Dallas right now, if you look at the format. And it's, first of all, the playoff format is awful, needs to change, don't get me going.
You guys know how many times I've talked about that, but... But that's the problem for the Wild is, to me, you're already in. You might as well double down. I mean, and don't forget, it's not just about the fact that the Wild believe they have a chance to win the Cup.
You're also trying to prove to Quinn Hughes, who you would like to extend when you can, that this is the team that's going to go for it now every year. So there's another layer to it all. So I think the Wild, I'd be absolutely shocked that the Wild don't do something significant here between now and Friday. I think they should. I think they're an excellent team.
And, Pierre, you mentioned some of the trades and stuff. Vegas will be active. I saw that Mark Stone is going on LTIR, but now there's different rules. I mean, their teams have to be mindful of the cap compliant in the playoffs, correct? A lot different than in past years. Yeah. I wrote about this today in The Athletic, guys, and it's a great point, Noodles.
It was interesting hearing from teams and from agents in the last 24 to 48 hours, and that's why I wrote about it. First of all, it's the first time in a long time the weekend before the trade deadline didn't produce a major move or any move. Very quiet, right? And what a lot of people have been telling me, listen, it's going to be busy. It's just that...
What teams and agents are dealing with this year is, one, what you just talked about. The playoff loophole is gone. You can't use a player's entire salary if he's going to come back to you in the playoffs. There's a playoff cap now. So the LTIR loophole is gone. On top of that, they got rid of double retention. They got rid of the third-party broker, which kind of went...
You know, didn't get as much attention as I thought it should last June when the CBA details were being released. But this is a time of year where you'd see three teams partake in a trade.
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Chapter 4: Why are the Maple Leafs considered sellers before the trade deadline?
So the player's salary essentially got cut twice. 75% of his salary got cut. There is no more double retention of salaries in the CBA. And believe me, there are people complaining to me here this week that they're feeling it right now as they're trying to thread the needle. So a couple of reasons why, even though it will still be busy before Friday, We've already seen this weekend.
It's not been as busy as what we're used to, and those are some of the reasons why. With Pierre Lebrun, our TSN hockey insider. Vancouver, you know, we keep hearing about them and this Patterson situation. Would you trade for him? I mean, no, I wouldn't touch him. I think I would take a chance, as stupid as that sounds. What team? No. Oh, what team?
Jamie, I don't even care what team, but I just... I would be so enticed to try to bring out that talent I saw a couple years ago. I agree. I agree 100%. I'm just saying, like, there should be some teams that should be circling around this kid. Yeah, like, would Carolina ever pull the trigger on that and, like, swing for the fences and hope the guy turned into a stud again? I don't know.
I don't know who would take a chance. But it would just be so enticing. But, man, would you hate yourself if he was just the same guy. It's a make-or-break play for your whole career as a GM, basically. Honestly, if you acquire him and he's the same or worse, you're fired. Nice pickup. Thanks for coming out. Go ahead, Pierre.
Yeah, well, it's just a contract that scares the heck out of you if he isn't the player of old. I mean, that's a massive financial commitment, and no question the Canucks would move him. Carolina is a team that at different times over the last year and a half has had conversations with the Canucks about him.
You know, the one scenario that I've always wondered about is whether if Cockney Emmy was part of a trade, is that a way in which the Hurricanes could justify it and say, well... You know, there's our way of balancing the books a bit in terms of the financial obligation of cock and yammy was going the other way. But I don't know. I think it's I think it's a tough sell.
I hate to say this about a player because, honestly, I hope he makes me eat my words, but he looks like a guy, and this has happened to a lot of other players, that once he got that deal, his belly got full. And that's a red flag for some people. And boy, I hope he proves me wrong, but I've heard that from a couple teams when I brought up his name.
Yeah, it's an incredible story how it's just completely fallen off for him. Unrecognizable. Yeah, like getting benched. The way he speaks with the media, he's always been a little bit uncomfortable. But now, like you can tell, it's just a very strange existence in Vancouver. Decided like early before training camp he was going to take training seriously. It's like, what? Yeah.
No, it's not good in Vancouver. It's certainly not good with Pedersen. Anyway, all right, Pierre. We've got a busy week, buddy. I think we'll be seeing you later in the week. We look forward to it. But we're bracing for impact this week. It should be a fun one. Yeah, hopefully more to talk about on Thursday, and I'll try to resolve my mic situation by then. I'll make you a promise on that.
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