The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to continue trying to determine how much they should sell before Friday's trade deadline. One of their major decisions is whether or not they should trade or re-sign pending unrestricted free agent winger Bobby McMann.
His name has been constantly involved in trade rumours ever since insiders around the league felt it was necessary to start talking about potential moves at the deadline. As a winger who is able to score some goals while playing that "playoff-style" brand of hockey teams crave, it seems logical that the Leafs might just move on from him and try to re-coup as many assets as possible as they are set to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Bobby McMann addresses swirling Maple Leafs trade speculation
The noise around McMann's name is not quiet and on Monday, just days away from potentially being traded, the 29-year-old said how he felt about the idea of being moved from the only NHL team he's ever known.
Bobby McMann on his situation ahead of the looming trade deadline:
— Anna Dua (@AnnaNoelleDua) March 2, 2026
"I mean, that's hard to put into words. not really necessarily trying to speculate on officially leaving either. I wanna just battle here and it's been fun my whole career… working my way into the NHL here and…
"I mean, that's hard to put into words. not really necessarily trying to speculate on officially leaving either. I wanna just battle here and it's been fun my whole career… working my way into the NHL here and given the opportunity. I want to make the most of it and continue to put my best effort forward no matter the situation," McMann said, via Sportsnet's Anna Dua.
It would be certainly hard. McMann is a player that took the long route to the NHL. An undrafted forward, he signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies after playing all four years of college hockey at Colgate University -- and he didn't even look that good, only scoring four points in his first 21 AHL games. He followed that up with scoring 24 goals and suddenly he found himself more in the picture as a key figure for Leafs organizational depth.
And now, a few years later he's on his way to scoring back-to-back 20-goal seasons in the best league in the world. McMann is a massive success story for the Leafs' development staff and it's difficult to think of him moving on from this situation.
It's so easy to cheer for a player like McMann, working his way up from Wainwright, Alberta and being a goalscorer in the NHL. But the Leafs are going to push forward with a little re-tool and it might not make sense to re-sign him at this time. A whole lot of mixed emotions coming from both the fan base and the player who could possibly be dealt any day now.