Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

NHL Trade Rumors – Conor McDavid to Maple Leafs, Canadiens Closing In on Few Targets for Center

Is there any truth behind McDavid and the Maple Leafs?

Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

The NHL offseason is in full swing. Several teams have already completed a majority of their moves, either by extending players with new contracts or via the trade route. However, there are still potential possibilities for more moves to be made as the offseason continues.

Trade rumors in the NHL are nothing new, and while some of them pan out to be true, others are just that, rumors. Whatever the case, Connor McDavid has been linked with a move to the Toronto Maple Leafs presently, while the Montreal Canadiens are in the market for another center.

Is McDavid Heading to Toronto?

The latest buzz around the league revolves around top player Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers’ center is in the final year of his contract, and until both parties reach an extension, rumors of him leaving the Canadian franchise will continue to circulate.

Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report listed our multiple landing spots for the Ontario native, of which one of them was the Maple Leafs. As per Gretz, while Toronto already has its own superstar center in Auston Matthews, the addition of McDavid to the team would be a tremendous boost, especially given that they keep finding themselves bounced out of the playoffs in the early rounds.

At the moment, there has been no response by the star player to these speculations, and NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, who is one of the more trusted sources of the league, has expressed that such a move is likely not going to happen. As per Friedman, the question is not whether McDavid will resign with the Oilers; rather, it is when he will re-sign.

Connor McDavid's fantastic solo goal comes in on our countdown at No. 45! 💨 pic.twitter.com/XqrmxtbIOm
— NHL (@NHL) July 13, 2025

Canadiens Could Add a Center With Their Next Offseason Move

Moving on to Montreal, the Canadiens have already put together a decent offseason by acquiring Noah Dobson and Zack Bolduc from the Islanders and the Blues. These moves have added to the defense and wing position, but it seems that they are now in the hunt for a center.

Currently, the Canadiens have been linked with the Wild’s Marco Rossi, the Ducks’ Mason McTavish, and the Bruins’ Pavel Zacha. Rossi’s name has been floating around the trade rumors throughout the offseason, and the young center would provide a nice boost for the Canadiens if they end up landing him. Rossi just set his career-best numbers with 24 goals and 60 points during the 2024-25 season.

The clock is ticking on a Marco Rossi deal. With contract talks stalled, could a rival GM force the Wild's hand with an offer sheet#mnwild #nhl #NHLTradeRumors https://t.co/RZeuVNhNGr
— NHL Trade Rumors (@nhltraderumours) July 14, 2025

Another young candidate linked with Montreal is McTavish. He, too, is coming off a career-best year with 22 goals and 52 points from 76 games. Having said that, there is little chance of this move happening as the Ducks consider him one of their future stars, and would not be willing to let him go easily.

The third player linked with the Canadiens, Zacha, would probably be the best option to consider. He has shown the ability to put up plenty of points as his three seasons in Boston have yielded 57, 59, and 47 points, respectively.

There is still a good deal of work to be done for teams during the offseason, so ruling out any potential trades is never an option. Whether or not these rumors end up having any relevance, only time will tell. But till then, it is always fascinating to find out what may end up happening.

Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Connor McDavid

Marco Rossi

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!