Many NHL observers expected that the Toronto Maple Leafs might take a step back during the 2025-26 season, but not to the extent witnessed over the team's first month-plus of action.
Losing long-time all-star winger Mitch Marner and replacing him with multiple new faces among the team's forwards was expected to bring growing pains, but few could have predicted the current mess the Maple Leafs find themselves in.
Amid a four-game losing streak, the most recent a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Leafs find themselves tied for the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. Luckily, few teams have distanced themselves from the pack, leaving open the possibility of recovering from their slow start.
Yet, with the quarter-pole of the NHL season fast approaching (in the words of Yogi Berra, "it gets late early out there"), the Maple Leafs have left themselves little room for error if they hope to prolong their current, league-best streak of nine consecutive seasons of making the playoffs. Time is of the essence for the team to move up in the standings, but a deep dive reveals little hope of shaking up the roster and sparking a turnaround.
Leafs are Handcuffed in Hopes of Significant Roster Upheaval
Maple Leafs' star center Auston Matthews was absent from the lineup against the Kings and has been placed on injured reserve (IR). The injury came as a result of a questionable hit from the Boston Bruins' Nikita Zadorov during the Leafs' previous game. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz also left that game after the first period with an upper-body issue.
Those injuries, along with the continued absence of their best defensive defenseman, Chris Tanev, further diminish the Leafs' chances of regaining their footing and climbing the Eastern Conference standings. Even with its top player and number-one goaltender, Toronto has looked old and slow through its first 17 games.
Despite returning much of the roster that won the Atlantic Division last year, the Leafs' early-season play has been confounding. A team that made huge defensive gains in its first year under Berube is now leaking oil, with a league-worst 3.83 goals-against per game.
In 2024-25, the Maple Leafs were often outshot but protected the high-danger areas, and Stolarz and Joseph Woll provided top-level goaltending. This season has seen an about-face. The Leafs are frequently dominated in shots on goal, spend too much time in the defensive zone, are prone to defensive lapses that create grade "A" scoring chances for the opposition, and their goalies aren't coming up with crucial saves.
So, what can the Maple Leafs do to rebound from their slow start? Not much.
The Leafs' most-prized younger assets are Matthew Knies, Easton Cowan, defense prospect Ben Danford, and goaltenders Dennis Hildeby and Joseph Woll. Parting with any of them for an, at best, roll-of-the-dice veteran injection would be reckless.
Knies has joined Matthews and William Nylander as untouchables. Stolarz's performance so far in Year 2 in Toronto has manifested Woll's importance, and Hildeby needs more development with the Toronto Marlies. The Leafs already have an aging roster and desperately need to keep youthful, proven NHL talent.
The Maple Leafs have multiple players with no-trade, no-movement, or limited no-trade clauses, further restricting their ability to make transactions. How about a coaching change? Berube just arrived and was handpicked by general manager Brad Treliving. Besides, the Leafs' most important players have already been through multiple coaching changes without the desired effect.
All of it combined means the Leafs have little choice but to ride out the season and hope for internal improvement with their team structure and from individual players. Then, try to add significant talent through an increasingly declining talent pool scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2026.
The Maple Leafs are left with the hope to somehow stay afloat within striking distance of the playoff race for as long as they are without Matthews, Stolarz, and Tanev. Then, find momentum to make a move up the standings. It's an unexciting proposition, but it's all they have.