Toronto Sports Rumor Roundup — Nov 17, 2025

TSN’s Darren Dreger says Brad Treliving is open to conversations on almost every player, but the Leafs are limited by a shallow prospect pool. Toronto is specifically looking at money-in, money-out, roster-for-roster trades, but meaningful moves are unlikely until more teams fall out of the standings.

He confirmed Treliving continues to talk with Calgary and has interest in Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri, but the Flames would ask for Matthew Knies — something the Leafs will not consider.

Dreger strongly dismissed rumors that Craig Berube is on the hot seat, calling it “clickbait.” He said there is zero consideration of a coaching change unless the 5-game skid becomes something like 10–15 games. The issues lie within the roster, not the coaching staff.

Matthews is “feeling better,” but Dreger reports he is not expected to play Tuesday or Thursday. Brandon Carlo is also unlikely to return this week. Chris Tanev, Scott Laughton, and Nick Roy are expected to miss Tuesday’s game. Toronto recalled Jacob Quillan and added Troy Stecher for blue-line depth.

Toronto’s players are not consistently committing to Berube’s north-south forecheck system. Dreger says too many Leafs are choosing “the easy play,” causing systemic breakdowns, extra pressure on the defense, and stress on the goaltending.

He believes above-average goaltending is the first thing that must stabilize for the team to recover.

Nick Robertson has injected life into his game since being promoted to the top six. Dreger says this has briefly reduced Toronto’s willingness to move him. But if Robertson slips into the bottom six or press box again, agent Pat Brisson could renew his push for a trade.

Julian McKenzie and Chris Johnston reported that the Leafs’ front office is evaluating the roster “day-to-day, week-to-week.” They are monitoring the trade market and checking prices on several players, but the belief is Toronto is “not one trade away.”

If the team loses several more games, significant internal decisions may follow.

On the same episode, Johnston said this is the most adversity the Leafs organization has dealt with in ten years. Toronto’s defensive collapse and lack of young depth have “brought the rent due” on years of trading futures. Management is exploring moves, but also trying to see whether the current group can pull itself out of the slide.

Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas shared a fun moment from Saturday: Bedard appeared annoyed when Cowan chirped him on the bench, joking about his Olympic chances. The exchange later turned light-hearted. Also: the Leafs did not hold a morning skate on Saturday, staying at the hotel due to the early start.

Former MLB GM Jim Bowden said he has spoken to multiple executives about Tucker’s market — projecting anywhere from $300M to $500M. Bowden said Tucker is a “perfect fit” for Toronto and confirmed he’s hearing the Jays are “really interested.”

Bowden concluded: “If you had to pick a favorite right now, it’s probably Toronto.”

Mark Feinsand reports that both the Blue Jays and Bichette want to continue their relationship, calling him one of the “favorites to be the next big free agent to sign.” Feinsand suggests a reunion could happen before the Winter Meetings.