The Maple Leafs' Next GM Must Stop Dishing Out No-Move Clauses

One of the first things the Toronto Maple Leafs' next GM will need to address is the team's roster flexibility.

For far too long, the Maple Leafs have allowed their players to have far too much control over their long-term future by handing out way too many no-move clauses or no-trade clauses - and it has effectively painted them into a Blue and White corner.

That needs to stop.

Over the years, Leafs management has handed out NMCs and NTCs like they were candy at Halloween. When you look at Toronto's current roster, it's stunning to see the lack of control Maple Leafs management has created for itself in dictating the future of its players.

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Look at the Montreal Canadiens as a team that has been managed extremely well in terms of their flexibility.

The Canadiens have only five players with some form of NMC or NTC. Two of those five players, Patrik Laine and Phillip Danault, got their modified NTCs from other teams. Meanwhile, Habs captain Nick Suzuki doesn't even have one. Neither do star wingers Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky nor defensemen Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson.

When including Ivan Demidov, who's on an entry-level contract, the Canadiens' top six scorers in the regular season don't have any trade protection.

If things should go sideways for the Habs - or if they need to make a change to address a particular roster need - GM Kent Hughes has kept open more than a few exit lanes.

The Leafs, however, appear to be on a dead-end street when it comes to roster flexibility.

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It's not all bad for Toronto.

Somehow, the Leafs haven't given an NMC or NTC to Matthew Knies - at least not yet. That could change in the future, or maybe it's the beginning of a new trend for the team.

Either way, you can't change the no-move and no-trade clauses that Toronto has given out. But from this point on, any new contract the Leafs give to players can't include them. Toronto's management can't keep willingly awarding all their leverage to all their players.

It just doesn't make much sense. It never really did.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 3:19 PM.