The Toronto Maple Leafs have certainly had a rough 2025-26 NHL season to date. Whether it be the injury woes that they have encountered over the course of the year or the underperformances of various players on the roster, they have ultimately contributed to the Leafs struggles thus far. As a result, Toronto currently find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoff picture and are in danger of missing the postseason for the first time in ten years.
So who has been the main culprits in contributing to the team’s lack of winning success? Here, we will take a look at the three biggest disappointments so far for the Maple Leafs in their 2025-26 campaign that have had a significant effect on their current place in the NHL standings.
3 biggest disappointments for the Maple Leafs so far this 2025-26 NHL season
Anthony Stolarz
It may be harsh to put the burden on one of the players that just recently returned from a long absence due to injury. But without question goaltender Anthony Stolarz has left a lot to be desired after signing a four-year extension worth $15 million with the Leafs prior to the start of the 2025-26 season. As one of the top goalies in the entire league last year, Toronto was looking for more of the same performance from Stolarz in leading the Maple Leafs to winning success this season.
However, it has been a truly forgettable campaign for the 32-year-old veteran goaltender as he has struggled to a 6-6-1 record with a bloated 3.63 GAA and .880 save percentage in 14 games played. To make matters worse, Stolarz would miss over two months due to an upper body injury, putting the burden on Joseph Woll to shoulder the load despite being injury-prone himself. Had Stolarz not missed so much time and played up to the standards that we witnessed from last season, we would likely be talking more about whether or not the Leafs will finish in first place in the division, instead of whether they will miss the playoffs or not. Nevertheless, he will have the coming three months to get his game back on track. Otherwise, the Leafs can really kiss their postseason chances goodbye.
Simon Benoit
As one of the mainstays on the Leafs bottom defensive pairing during the past two and a half seasons, Simon Benoit has certainly not playing up to expectations thus far in 2025-26 for Toronto. Known to be a responsible, reliable, hard-nosed player, Benoit has struggled for the most part whenever taking the ice. In 5-on-5 situations, the 27-year-old defender has posted only a 41% CF%, a 45% expected goals rate, and a 42% scoring chances rate this season, constantly tilting the play in the opposition’s favour. For someone that is supposedly facing lighter competition on a nightly basis as a bottom-pairing defenseman, those numbers are actually quite worrisome as he should be dominating in his play rather than dragging the team down.
Moreover, Benoit sports a greater than 5-to-1 giveaway-to-takeaway ratio, which is currently his worst mark of his entire NHL career. By giving the puck away at that rate, it will be hard for the Leafs to generate any momentum in the offensive zone as a result. In addition, Benoit isn’t expected to be an offensive juggernaut, but with only three assists in over 45 games played, it has made it easy for opponents to defend against as they could just focus on other players on the ice. As a result, he has even suddenly found himself on the trade board recently. Hopefully Benoit can turn his game around and be the aggressive, commanding force that he once was for the Leafs.
The Maple Leafs power play
The third disappointment isn’t just on a particular single player but a collective instead in the Leafs power play. For a team that had constantly been in the top 10 in the league with the man advantage for the past few years, Toronto has been totally underwhelming in that department in 2025-26. With the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies on your power play unit, anything short of a 25% success rate and a top 10 in the NHL would already be a disappointment. Not to mention that the Leafs are actually much worse, being currently 24th in the entire league with just a 17.2% success rate.
They may have shown some life with the man advantage after Steve Sullivan joined as assistant coach for the Maple Leafs. But with only one power play marker in their last five games, it certainly hasn’t been clicking for them once again. Winning the special teams battle could be the difference between winning and losing during a tight playoff series. As a result, if the Maple Leafs fail to convert it back into one of their strengths in due time, chances are it will be the one that determines their playoff fate this season.