When teams make moves, it sometimes takes a few years before the effects of them are felt. You can trade for a player, and it takes him a couple of seasons to live up to his potential. Or you can move on from a player, and while it seems like nothing at the time, it comes back to bite you. They start playing better than they ever did with you, and you wonder why they couldn't have done that a couple of seasons ago. That is how the Toronto Maple Leafs are feeling about Pontus Holmberg.
Holmberg was not tendered a qualifying offer back during the 2025 offseason by then general manager Brad Treliving -- one of his many blunders.