It’s the final lap now. After weeks of scintillating NHL action, the 2025 Stanley Cup contenders have come down to the last two, and the Florida Panthers camp is fired up. “Obviously the toughest team that we’re going to face is coming up next,” said Brad Marchand of the towering challenge coming up. The 37-year-old winger, despite coming to Miami only in March, has been a significant contributor to the Cats’ title defense campaign. In fact, had it not been for him, the Panthers would probably be in their offseason now.

After all, it was his goal at 15:27 of overtime in Game 3 that potentially saved the Panthers’ second round, after Paul Maurice’s boys had dropped both of the previous games in the series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marchand ended the series with eight points in seven games and went 5-0 against the Canadian outfit in the playoffs—an NHL record. “Yeah, we just had to beLEAF,” quipped the ex-Bruins player after Game 7. And now, funnily enough, it looks like Marchand could go on to ‘be (a) Leaf’.

It was a fairly good season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Finishing the regular season at the top of the Atlantic Division and then starting off the postseason in style by defeating the Ottawa Senators to emerge victorious from the Battle of Ontario. And while their playoff train was stopped by the Panthers, Toronto could be eyeing Brad Marchand to turn things around in the next season, as per a post on X by NHL Rumour Report from May 30.

The social media update shared what TSN’s Chris Johnston speculates about Brad’s NHL future. “Chris Johnston: Maple Leafs could look for short term deals on veterans, guys like Brad Marchand, Patrick Kane, Jamie Benn, Claude Giroux,” reads the X (formerly Twitter) post.

His 51 points this past regular season marked his 14th 40+ point one. Moreover, it’s not like he has only performed against the Maple Leafs this season, having bagged 14 points already in 17 playoff games. Naturally, it’s not difficult to fathom why Bruins fans were livid seeing the team part ways with the long-time squad leader.

Along with Marchand, the other names who are allegedly on the radar for Toronto are also pretty special in their own right. With 49 points in 80 games, Dallas winger Jamie Benn is a force to be reckoned with. However, in coherence with the Stars’ postseason woes, Benn also failed to make a ripple in the playoffs (3 points in 18 games).

Patrick Kane’s 59 regular-season points are also a testament to his incredible talent as a winger. However, NHL writer Luke Fox thinks these stars shouldn’t be on the target list for the Maple Leafs. Brad Marchand and the others are all aged 35 or older. Referring to that, Fox said, via Sportsnet, “They need to get younger, not older,” while also mentioning that a likely $7 million for the Canadian wouldn’t make sense for Toronto to go ahead with the deal. While it’s still early rumors and Fox’s thoughts cannot be dismissed, the Maple Leafs could well go for a more ambitious signing.

Brad Marchand may not be the only Panther on the Leafs’ radar

The Panthers could lose more than just Brad Marchand to Toronto in the upcoming season. After four years with Florida, Sam Bennett‘s contract will be rendered void at the end of this season, making him an unrestricted free agent and a potential target for the Toronto Maple Leafs should they let John Tavares and Mitch Marner walk. Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin notes that if neither Marner nor Tavares chooses to return to the Leafs, that could free up $21,903,000 in Toronto’s books with the salary cap getting a bump from $88 million to $95.5 million. Even if an extension for RFA Matthew Knies is factored in, they would still be left with enough to afford the raise from the $4.425 million that the Bennett camp will be expecting. Needless to say, it would be a terrific addition.

Bennett has been crucial in Florida’s Stanley Cup success and its defense campaign so far. He is leading the Panthers in postseason goals this year with 10 of them and has a rating of +2. He also played a crucial role in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning campaign last year, scoring 14 goals in 19 playoff games. “There’s a reason that teams are going to be lined up to pay Sam Bennett 10, 11 million dollars for seven, eight years, whatever they can get their hands on,” Biz Nasty said recently.

Bissonnette may not be off the mark with the 10-11 million dollar figure for Bennett, considering how the Leafs may need to overpay in order to compete with US rivals (including the Panthers) who could manage to sign Bennett for a lower AAV because of no state income tax.

Do you think the Atlantic Division heavyweights would be able to land either Brad Marchand or Sam Bennett? Let us know in the comments.