A Toronto team in the final of a playoff tournament.
Wait, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, AFC Toronto, the Toronto (Hamilton?) Rock, and the Toronto Argonauts told me to scratch that.
Okay, let's start again.
A Toronto hockey team in the final of a playoff tournament?
There we go, that sounds more like it.
But yes, those 11 words apparently belong in a sentence now.
The Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate to the Toronto Maple Leafs, are now four wins away from earning their first Calder Cup championship since 2018.
Yes, what the Maple Leafs were supposed to do in almost a decade with Auston Matthews and Co in tow is exactly what the Marlies just did in the eighth year (including the two COVID seasons) following their first championship.
The run started with a first-round win over the Rochester Americans; the Marlies took the series in three games. Their division semifinal series saw them take on the Laval Rocket, which is affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens; Toronto won that series in five games.
Despite going down 2-1 in the North Division finals, the Marlies won the last two games of the series to advance to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Marlies held a 2-0 series lead, but the Penguins rallied to level the series at two games apiece. But Toronto won the last two games of the series to book their ticket to the Calder Cup Final, where they will take on either the Colorado Eagles or the Chicago Wolves.
Goaltending a massive part of Toronto's success in the Calder Cup Playoffs
After coming over from the Russian hockey system, goaltender Artur Akhtyamov quickly established himself as the Marlies' star netminder. His first season for the AHL affiliate saw him put together an 11-8-7 record, a .901 save percentage, and a 2.81 goals against average, all through 26 games of action.
His 2025-26 season (including a record of 21-12-6, a .904 save percentage, and a 2.88 goals against average) was strong enough to warrant some playing time with the Leafs as they navigating a tough goaltending situation. One of the three games he played in saw him record saves on all five shots faced in a relief effort against the Oilers. But the remaining two appearances came late in the season when the Leafs were already eliminated from playoff contention; he gave up a combined 11 goals in the two games against the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars.
But he would once again find his stride upon returning to the Marlies for the Calder Cup Playoffs. He put an 11-6 record together through his 17 starts in the playoffs thus far while also recording a .927 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average. His most recent effort saw him record 39 saves as the Marlies secured the series win against the Penguins in what was a 2-1 overtime victory.
Could the Maple Leafs once again be a trade partner for Edmonton?
Including Akhtyamov, the Leafs have four NHL-calibre goaltenders that are either part of the Leafs' roster or that are in the AHL. The three netminders that the Leafs carry on their roster are Hildeby, Joseph Woll, and Anthony Stolarz.
Stolarz is under contract until the end of the 2029-30 season, while Woll and Hildeby are under contract until the end of the 2027-28 campaign.
Cap space isn't an issue for the Leafs, who have well over $22 million of it to use this summer, but you'd have to imagine that Woll's $3.67 million cap hit has to be sticking out like a sore thumb. While Woll's numbers were only slightly worse than that of Stolarz, his struggles at the 2026 IIHF World Championship (4.65 goals against and a .761 save percentage through three games) served as a hint that the Leafs should try to find a stronger option in net.
If Akhtyamov is part of the Leafs' goaltending future, then maybe there is a world where the team carries Stolarz as the starter, while Hildeby and Akhtyamov are the younger netminders learning from the former Florida Panthers netminder. In this scenario, Woll and his cap hit would likely be moved elsewhere in a trade.
While the Oilers' latest effort to trade for a goaltender didn't exactly pan out that well, they could buy low and take on the final two years of his contract, with any extension coming on the basis of Woll regaining his past form. After all, we are talking about the same goaltender that came into the 2025-26 season off the heels of a 27-14-1 record, a .909 save percentage, and a 2.73 goals against average during the previous campaign.
Woll also has no trade protection for this coming season; he will have an eight-team no trade list for the 2027-28 season.
A potential return could see the Oilers send the Leafs a package mainly comprised of draft capital, though the front office could include a prospect or two. A potential package could see the Oilers send Toronto their seventh-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-round selection in the 2028 draft.
Prospect-wise, the Oilers could send non-roster forward Quinn Hutson as part of a package, though David Lewandowski could be a very enticing option. He just came off a four-point performance with Germany at the World Juniors while also recording 65 points in 57 games with the Saskatoon Blades. With the Oilers more than likely looking to other NHL teams for forward depth and with the Leafs looking to fill their own non-roster needs, Edmonton could feel inclined to take a chance at trading one of their two big-name prospects.
That said, a sizeable portion of their non-roster forwards are heading to free agency within the next few years. And Lewandowski is eligible to re-enter the draft if he isn't signed to an entry-level deal in the next year. As a result, if Toronto is looking for term with non-roster assets, then they might be reluctant to talk about prospects to a significant degree.
Overall, a Woll trade would be a win-win for both the Leafs and the Oilers. The Oilers get a short-term fix for their goaltending situation with Connor Ingram who is expected to leave in free agency,while the Leafs get to build a forward group for the future and fill some holes in their roster of draft picks. And Woll wins as well, with a change of scenery potentially allowing him to flourish once more and to potentially get nine wins closer to the Stanley Cup.
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