The Toronto Maple Leafs’ latest disparaging 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils is raising concerns for the top line's production. Despite Auston Matthews being on the first line side alongside Matthew Knies, who is on the other wing has been inconsistent. Toronto has tried playing Max Domi, Easton Cowan and Matias Maccelli in Mitch Marner’s vacant position, with limited success.
The last loss has put the team 3-3-1 on the season, and they are underperforming in terms of Toronto standards.
Multiple members of the team's star players have faced criticism from fans and their own teammates. Anthony Stolarz made comments last week about William Nylander’s effort levels, which Willy responded to with a greatly improved game against the Devils. Other stars, such as Matthews, have not been able to break out of their slump.
In seven games the Leafs' captain has earned six points, which may seem like decent production, but his energy and effort on ice say otherwise.
Another downside from the New Jersey game was Chris Tanev taking a hard hit that resulted in him leaving the game. He has since been placed on injury reserve with an upper-body injury and will be out for an unspecified amount of time. The defenceman has been a reliable force on the blue line and has led to even more line shuffling.
After Thursday's morning skate, Jonas Siegel took to Twitter to report the new first line.
Auston Matthews’ linemates today: William Nylander and Bobby McMann.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) October 23, 2025
Nylander and McMann are set to join Matthews on the first line, in hopes of improved production. The second line is projected to be Knies, Tavares, and Macceli. Getting Nylander to play with Matthews could be a short-term fix, but it also impacts the rest of the lineups.
Fans online are divided about Berube bringing out the blender and switching around players.
I don’t mind that top line at all; McMann deserves a prime time spot. But all this line juggling from shift to shift and game to game is giving me whiplash. I hope Berube gives that top six more than a game before abandoning ship.
— Marie (@mariezo34) October 23, 2025
Others are more concerned about the amount of tailoring that seems to be needed for the Leafs' to get their top players rolling.
Imagine being a captain and best player on the team but needing other players to make you better 🤷🏼♂️. He needs to be the example for good reasons not the bad
— Tim Potter (@timpotter0) October 23, 2025
The team, coaches, and fans alike seem to be frustrated with the early-season results. The first test of the new line changes will be this Friday, October 24, against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres sit right below Toronto in the Atlantic standings in fifth place.