CHICAGO — ​​Sam Rinzel heard the “noise” around him entering this season. It was hard not to. He had gone seemingly overnight from an under-the-radar prospect to being thought of as the Chicago Blackhawks’ No. 1 defenseman and potentially a Calder Trophy dark horse.

CHICAGO -- Colton Dach broke a tie at 15:35 of the third period for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at United Center on Saturday. Dach deflected in a shot from the right point by Louis Crevier for his second goal of the season.

With David Kampf exiting Leafs Land, attention turns to Toronto players whose contract status is up in the air at the end of this season. Here are the Maple Leafs' soon-to-be free agents to keep your eye on this year.

The Toronto Maple Leafs could look to shake things up to escape their early-season woes, but don’t count on them selling the farm to do so.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are searching for answers after an 8–8–2 start exposed major roster flaws, especially on defense. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas, however, there’s one problem with any quick fix: The Leafs don’t have the assets to make one.

Connecting Brad Treliving to every Calgary Flames player from his time with the club seems inevitable at this point. Like Nazem Kadri, like Noah Hanifin, and more successfully, like Chris Tanev, it’s easy to say a GM who liked a player once is highly likely to be interested in them again.

Toronto Maple Leafs face mounting pressure after four consecutive losses, with defensive struggles highlighted. Amidst the growing frustration, forward William Nylander offers a logical perspective, emphasizing that defensive issues are fixable.

The Toronto Maple Leafs held an internal team meeting on Monday that was described as “blunt,” “intense” and “brutal,” according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. But two losses later, any intended impact remains elusive.