Top Defensive Prospect Topi Niemela Abandons the Toronto Maple Leafs

Topi Niemela was the third-round pick for the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2020, and now, the defenseman is 23 years old and is still showing promise with the Toronto Marlies.

Although he has not played a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, there are still hopes that he can join the team within the next two years. After all, he has been producing at the AHL level.

Unfortunately, he will not be in Toronto this season. Instead, he has decided to spend his 2025-26 season in Sweden, where he will play for the Malmö Redhawks.

There were reports months ago that Niemela was going overseas and that the Leafs would be the ones who come out of this worse for wear.

However, it was his agent who eventually came out and stated that these reports were untrue. While that was the case at the time, Niemela has since decided to take a trip to Sweden.

The Finnish national would prefer to be closer to home, and that is certainly a valid stance to take. It should be noted that Niemela can still play for the Toronto Maple Leafs going forward.

By June 30th, the Leafs must extend a qualifying offer to the defenseman. If they don't, they will lose their rights, and he will be able to go wherever he wants.

This could very well be the doing of Brad Treliving, who has taken a hard stance against the administration of Kyle Dubas. In fact, it seems like going forward, Treliving wants to separate himself from those previous decisions.

If the Leafs refuse to extend an offer to Niemela, then it is proof that Treliving simply doesn't care for some of the picks Dubas made.

This power struggle is a fascinating one, and this will be a storyline we follow for the next few days and weeks.