3. Leafs penalty kill will be weakened
Marner was also a big part of the penalty kill for Toronto for many seasons. In fact, he was so effective in it that at one point in time, the Leafs penalty kill was considered a “power kill” as Marner and company had transformed the unit into an offensive threat despite being shorthanded. During the 2021-22 season, the Leafs had their best ranking on the penalty kill in years when they sat in eighth by the season’s end.
With Marner’s ability to block shots and take away pucks from the opposing players, it played a huge role in the team’s success with a man short during the past few seasons. But with his departure now from the club, other members of the Leafs, including potentially Matthews and maybe even William Nylander will need to step in and fill the void. With that setup, expect some growing pains in the upcoming season for Toronto without their usual penalty kill general on the ice.
4. Leafs overall goals total will fall drastically
Since his third season with the Leafs and onwards, whether by scoring or assisting, Marner had consistently contributed close to 30% or more of the goals scored by Toronto each year. That kind of production does not get easily replaced, unless of course the Leafs manage to reel in a player who’s calibre is even greater than Marner, which unfortunately hasn’t materialized.
Having averaged 289 total goals for each of the past four seasons, the Maple Leafs will be in tough to match that total this upcoming year. It could even potentially be substantially less if Toronto’s offense ends up stalling without running the usual plays through Marner.
5. Leafs will be fighting for their lives for a playoff spot
With all of the above deficiencies that could arise for the Maple Leafs for the upcoming 2025-26 season that they will need to address, they can forget about battling for the division title. Instead, Toronto will likely be fighting for their lives just to get into the playoffs this year. Marner may not have been a big-time difference maker for the Leafs during the Stanley Cup Playoffs over the years.
But one thing is for sure, he was more than good enough to be a game-changer for Toronto during the regular season year in and year out to help them to the postseason in every season he has played with the team. As for his importance to the team in winning, guess what the Leafs all-time record is without Marner in the lineup? That would be an uninspiring 21-17-5, which is practically just about a .500 record, enough said. Therefore, like it or not, Leafs fans should be expecting some hard times for the Blue and White in the upcoming season.