As we turn the page to a new 2026 year, the Toronto Maple Leafs should do the same to their first half of the 2025-26 NHL season. After all, they struggled to just an 18-15-6 record and often found themselves near the bottom of the standings, including the Atlantic Division basement for a little while.
In order for the Maple Leafs to turn things around for the second half to give themselves a chance of still making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there are three main areas that they will need to improve upon. Otherwise, Toronto could be on the outside looking in for the first time in over a decade by the time all is said and done.
Road Record
One area that had been dreadful for the Maple Leafs this season had been their play away from home. With a 5-10-1 mark for 11 road points in total, they currently own the worst road record in the entire league. In fact, in their last four road games, Toronto is 0-3-1 while being outscored 14-6 in the process. On the other hand, the Leafs certainly have an impressive 13-5-5 mark at home, but it would all mean nothing if they can’t win at all away from Scotiabank Arena. Especially with the way things are going, even if Toronto somehow manages to make the playoffs, they will likely not have home-ice advantage.
During the past few seasons, the Maple Leafs never had such a huge discrepancy between their home and road records as they were usually about the same. As a result, the Leafs better start learning how to win on the road like they have in previous years before it ends up being their nail in the coffin for this season.
Power Play
Having had one of the top units in the entire NHL since the turn of the decade, at least during the regular season, Toronto has somehow lost their mojo on the power play so far in 2025-26. With a dismal 16% success rate with the man advantage, the Maple Leafs currently rank 26th in the 32-team league. Special teams could play a huge role in a team’s chances at winning on a nightly basis. What has managed to keep the Leafs afloat is the fact that their penalty killing is among the tops in the league at 84.2% to sit in fourth place.
It is quite baffling to see their power play mark flounder this season, especially with a top unit that consists of proven producers in Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Matthew Knies, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly. On the good side, their play with the man advantage has seen an uptick in recent games ever since Steve Sullivan took over as assistant coach of the Leafs. Hopefully, it is a first step in the right direction to right the ship for supposedly one of the most potent units in the league.
Goals Against
Finally, for a team that had been stingy for giving up goals in recent years, Toronto finds themselves once again near the bottom of the league in goals against this season. With 129 pucks having found the back of their net so far, only nine other teams have given up more to date. A lot of it likely has to do with the plethora of injuries that have hit their blueline and goaltending throughout the year. Whether it be goalies Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz, or defensemen in Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, the Leafs have been missing their key starters for a fair chunk of the 2025-26 NHL season. It would be hard for any team to perform at their best without their top players, not to mention multiple ones at the same time.
Hopefully in the second half, Toronto would see better health in their players so that they can contribute on defense effectively once again. Otherwise, it won’t matter how much they end up scoring because they would be giving up just as much, making it that much tougher to win any game on any given night.