The 2025-26 NHL hasn’t been kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs in terms of the injury front. Earlier on in the season, the Maple Leafs had lost some key players up front due to various ailments, including Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton. However, what actually has been hit the most has been their back end, which consists of their defensive corps and goaltending.
Both of the Leafs’ starting goalie tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll are on the mend on the IR, with Stolarz being indefinitely and Woll hopefully just a week. As a result, it has forced Toronto to utilize their young 3rd and 4th string options in Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov to hold down the fort for now. As for the defense, the Leafs are missing their top defensive defensemen in Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, and took another hit on Monday when Dakota Mermis went down to a lower-body injury after a nasty knee-on-knee hit by Gage Goncalves of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
How many more hits can the Maple Leafs take to their back end this season?
With the significant decimation of the Maple Leafs back end, how much more will they be able to withstand such adversity? Well, despite it all, Toronto has still managed to hang around in the playoff picture. In fact, they have even gone on a hot streak lately, winning four of five games or pull within a few points of first place in the Eastern Conference standings. More surprisingly had been the fact that they had held their opponents to just six goals during that stretch. So how is that possible?
For one, the stars have picked up the pace after a slow start to the season. Veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly has recorded 16 points in his last 18 games, Matthews has tallied three goals and six points since returning from his injury, while William Nylander had been leading the way all season atop the Leafs team points scoring with 11 goals and 32 points in 25 games. More notably, some of the young guns on the squad have made important contributions as well. Rookie Easton Cowan has begun to show his impact with the team, registering two goals and five points in his last eight games, while Hildeby has stood tall taking over the Leafs net, compiling a 2-2-2 record with a stellar 2.15 GAA and .936 save percentage in nine games played, including posting his first career NHL shutout against the Lightning on Monday.
Nevertheless, no matter how well that Toronto has managed to perform under such circumstances, missing their front-line starters for any prolonged period of time is an eventual recipe for disaster in the long haul. As a result, the Leafs and their fans should pray for no more injuries and better health for their players, with hopefully some reinforcements for the back end due back in the coming weeks before things fall completely apart before they know it.