When the Toronto Maple Leafs step onto the ice for Game 5 against the Florida Panthers, they could have a different-looking lineup. They also might not.

That was Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube's update after the team's optional morning skate inside Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday morning. Usually, when Toronto holds an optional skate, the healthy scratches remain on the ice after for extra work.

However, that didn't occur ahead of Game 5 vs. Florida. Every player set to play, or be scratched, came off together.

"Game-time decisions. We got decisions," Berube said. "It was an optional skate this morning, and we got some decisions to make."

'There's Possible Moves': Maple Leafs Practice Lines Stay Intact, But Craig Berube Open To Changes For Game 5 Against PanthersDespite hinting at some possible changes to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup following a Game 4 loss to the Florida Panthers, Toronto head coach Craig Berube elected to keep his lines the same during the team's practice.

David Kampf hasn't appeared in the Maple Leafs' lineup since April 2, against the Panthers, 42 days ago. The 30-year-old missed the final seven games of the regular season after suffering an upper-body injury.

He scored five goals and eight assists in 59 games for the Maple Leafs this season.

Kampf is one player who is usually on the ice for an optional morning skate, given that he's been a healthy scratch for the playoffs. However, he wasn't on the ice on Wednesday morning ahead of Game 5.

'What Are They Going To Do?': Maple Leafs Dismiss Panthers’ Retaliation Threat After Emotional Game 4 FinishToronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was not in the mood to discuss the $5,000 fine he received from the NHL for his hit on Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov at the end of his club's 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers at the end of Game 4. 

Why?

"Just an optional skate," Berube said. "Game-time decisions, so they either go out or they don't go out, and we'll make the decisions at game time."

Nick Robertson is another player who has the potential to re-enter Toronto's lineup. He hasn't played since Games 1 and 2 of their series against the Ottawa Senators, but is usually dynamite when he's re-inserted into the lineup after being scratched.

It's unknown if there'll be one or many game-time decisions. Toronto has several players, including Calle Jarnkrok, Steven Lorentz, Pontus Holmberg, and Bobby McMann, who've registered just one point in the playoffs.

'It's Not Exactly What I Want To See': Why The Maple Leafs Are Hesitant To Split Up Mitch Marner And Auston Matthews Against PanthersToronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is in no hurry to break up the Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner pairing.

McMann had a career-high 20 goals in 74 games during the regular season, but has yet to score through 10 playoff games. His last goal came on March 25 against the Philadelphia Flyers, 21 games ago.

When observing how Berube has deployed his lineup in the postseason, he's liked his fourth line of Jarnkrok, Lorentz, and Scott Laughton. He's also leaned on Holmberg, moving him up to Toronto's second line when protecting a lead.

That leaves McMann as a possible option, unless Berube keeps his lineup intact for Game 5. He may change more than just one player. Toronto's head coach added, though, that if he does switch things up, it'll be "coaching decisions" rather than anything injury-related.

‘He Probably Didn’t Even Hear Him’: Craig Berube, Maple Leafs Unfazed By Extracurriculars Against Panthers With A Focus On Game 5As the Toronto Maple Leafs prepare for Game 5 against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, head coach Craig Berube doesn’t appear to be losing sleep over the end-of-game antics that spilled over in their Game 4 loss, or the shenanigans from Matthew Tkachuk directed at William Nylander.

Berube's leading several stones unturned before an all-important Game 5 against the Panthers. Does McMann come out? Does Kampf make his 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs debut?

Does Robertson return to the lineup, having not played since Games 1 and 2 against the Ottawa Senators? Does Berube make some out-of-left-field decisions?

We'll find out during warmups — or in the final roster report before Game 5 — on Wednesday night.

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On Tuesday, the NHL revealed the offer sheet compensation levels (based on the AAV of potential RFA poachings) for the 2025 offseason.  With that in mind, here's a look at some potential options for the Detroit Red Wings to reel in some added depth this summer.

Offer sheet comp levels for 2025:

<$1.54M no comp
$1.54M - 2.34M: 3rd
$2.34M - 4.68M: 2nd
4.68M - 7.02M: 1st, 3rd
7.02M - 9.36M: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
9.36M - 11.7M: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
11.7M+: 1st x 4@FriedgeHNIC had these 1st

Check out requirements:https://t.co/Cac7a5LRpE

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) May 13, 2025

Before diving into some candidates, a disclaimer: NHL offer sheets are exceedingly rare, and at his end-of-year press conference, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman essentially suggested that such deals hardly enter his calculus as an executive because of the complications and cost of pulling them off.  In September 2023, I wrote about the way that the modern NHL sees fewer offer sheets than MLB of the 1980s saw free agent movement in an era that eventually forced baseball's owners to pay out collusion settlements to the players association.

When Does a Lack of RFA Offer Sheets Become Collusion?By now, NHL fans know better than to expect any intrigue on the RFA market, but at what point does a lack of offer sheets become collusion and wage suppression?

Despite the scarcity of offer sheets, last summer did provide a model for adding talent via the RFA offer sheet, as the St. Louis Blues pilfered Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers.  Holloway in particular was a smashing success.  After scoring 18 points total in two seasons with the Oilers, he exploded for 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games in his first season as a Blue.

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The keys to pulling off those deals were two-fold: First targeting a contending team like Edmonton facing challenges with the salary cap and second offering a salary that pushes toward the upper limit of the relevant compensation tier while also representing an overpay (at least to some extent) on market expectations.

We probably won't see a budding superstar move in restricted free agency.  Players like Edmonton's Evan Bouchard or Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils are likely valued too much by their teams to move under any circumstances.  Still, St. Louis showed that offer sheets can be a tool to acquire quality depth.

With that in mind, let's consider a few candidates.

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Matthew Knies

Perhaps just by virtue of playing in Toronto, Knies seems to be the first name in any RFA poaching conversation.  The 22-year-old out of the University of Minnesota is coming off an outstanding season: 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points in 78 games.  From a Red Wings perspective, he's exactly the sort of profile Detroit wants to add to its top six: a fast and physical battle winner, who combines finishing touch with 200-foot responsibility.

The case for acquiring Knies is easy, the path to doing so is much more complex.  Toronto certainly wouldn't want to let Knies walk, but it's possible that the summer's Mitch Marner sweepstakes could put the Maple Leafs in a position where there aren't enough dollars to go around for Knies.  If (and it's a big if) that proves the case, he could be a highly appealing target for a bunch of teams around the league, and the Red Wings would certainly fit that description.

Will Cuylle

I don't think it's disrespectful to characterize Cuylle of the New York Rangers as something like a Knies-lite.  He put up 20 goals and 25 assists for the Rangers this season, and like Knies, he brings size, speed, and physicality.  It's hard to see why New York wouldn't want to keep Cuylle around in the long-term, but we know the Rangers are in for a long summer of upheaval, and they aren't a team with lots of flexibility with respect to the salary cap.

Within that context, perhaps Cuylle could shake loose.  To make it happen, the Red Wings would likely have to follow the Blues' Holloway playbook: offering a bit more than his numbers would suggest he's really earned and hope that with an increased role, he could reward his hypothetical new team with an increase in production.

Nicolas Hague

Detroit could certainly use some more depth on defense (frankly, what team couldn't?), and Nic Hague of the Vegas Golden Knights could fit that description.

Hague won't provide a lot of offense, and he realistically isn't fit for a massive role, but he's shone in Vegas that he can play sound defensive minutes for a Cup contending team on a deep playoff run.  He stands at six-foot-six, and no Red Wings fan needs to be told about Yzerman's predilection for big D-men.

Of the three players listed here, he's probably the likeliest to actually spring loose.  That's not to say he could be had easily, but because of the Knights' big cap commitments on the blue line (an $8.8 million AAV for Alex Pietrangelo through 2026-27, $7.35 million per year for Noah Hanifin through '31-32, and $7.425 million a season through 2029-30 for Shea Theodore), it's not impossible to conceive of a world where he becomes too rich for Vegas to hold onto.

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Not so long ago, Carey Price was the first Montreal Canadiens player to be mentioned in any list of best NHL players. Now that he has been forced to stop playing, the Habs are led by someone else in The Hockey News’ top 100 NHL players list. Only three Canadiens made the list: Nick Suzuki, sniper Cole Caufield, and rookie defenseman Lane Hutson.

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The captain is the first to appear at number 61, and it's understandable. He has been the juggernaut of Montreal’s qualification for the playoffs; he’s the forward who was called upon the most by coach Martin St-Louis, both at even strength and on the power play, and whenever a penalty killing forward ends up in the box, he’s the one who gets the call. He has become the team's undisputed leader, speaking to Kent Hughes and asking that nobody be traded at the deadline. He quickly rose to the challenge the GM gave, being one of the league’s best forwards after the 4 Nations Face-Off break, on top of playing a fourth consecutive 82-game season.

Not so far behind at number 66 comes his linemate, Cole Caufield. After a fantastic start to the year in goal scoring, he cooled off, but he still scored 37 lamp-lighters, putting the league on notice that in a future not so far away, he may be a Rocket Richard Trophy contender. Under St-Louis’ tutelage, he has become more than a goal scorer; he’s aware of his responsibilities without the puck, and he’s shown a knack for picking unsuspecting forwards’ pockets, creating his opportunities. Have we seen the best of Caufield yet? I don’t think so. The ceiling is high for a 24-year-old, and it keeps getting higher.

COLE CAUFIELD WITH THE OT GOAL OF THE YEAR 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Wrv8Kfk9C9

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) February 28, 2025

The third and final Hab on the list barely makes it, coming in at number 100. Unsurprisingly, it’s rookie defenseman and Calder Trophy favourite, Lane Hutson. The blueliner has had a significant impact on his team right away. It only took him weeks to wrestle the first power-play quarterback role from Mike Matheson, and he was definitely up to the task. He set records for the Canadiens’ franchise and has impressed crowds everywhere with his smooth skating and ability to evade pressure at both ends of the ice. When Hughes signs him to a new contract, he will become the Canadiens’ best-paid player.

Canadiens Lane Hutson collects his 64th assist, setting an NHL record for a defenceman's rookie season (Reg. season + playoffs)#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/9sGMS3oeJc

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 28, 2025

Three players in the top 100 is not a lot, but it’s more than the Canadiens have been accustomed to in recent years. With the young Habs continuing to improve, expect these three to make their way up in the list next season, and who knows, there might even be a new member of the top-100 club on the team next year.

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