Without question the Toronto Maple Leafs had one of their worst seasons in over a decade in 2025-26. Not only did the Maple Leafs end up missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they actually finished fifth-last in the entire league. If it hadn’t been for the hockey gods handing the Leafs the first overall pick for the upcoming 2026 NHL Entry Draft, it could even go down as one of the worst campaigns in franchise history.
Why was it that bad? Practically everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong for the Maple Leafs this past season. Whether it be the offense, the defense, the goaltending, or their surprising encounter with major injury woes all year, they all played a role in leading to their demise in 2025-26. But among all of the faults, none was bigger that their main weakness, which was allowing too many shots and goals. If Toronto wants any sustainable success at all in their future, they will need to aggressively address their play in their own zone going forward.
Maple Leafs need everyone to step up their play defensively
That is because the Leafs actually ranked second-last in the NHL last year by giving up a whopping 295 goals, just five away from the vaunted 300 despised milestone. The last time that Toronto had given more goals than that? You have to go all the way back to the 1990-91 season when they yielded 318 in an era where goal scoring trumped goaltending in a landslide. That is over three and a half decades ago, so you know what the Maple Leafs had accomplished this past season was quite dreadful.
Also, the Leafs ranked dead-last among the 32 teams in the NHL in 2025-26 in shots given up per game. By giving up a gaudy 32.4 shots on average each night, let’s just say you won’t be winning much games in the long run. Even if Toronto had adequate goaltending and defenders to offset it, there’s no doubt they would eventually be physically tired and potentially battered and bruised after facing that barrage each game with that many shots. Consequently, over time, their effectiveness is bound to wane, leading to goals galore.
As a result, the Maple Leafs really need the entire squad to step up their play defensively in their zone for this upcoming season. Forwards need to back check to help out the defenders. Defensemen need to help clear out bodies from getting close to the net and their goaltenders. Goalies will need to be better in keeping the puck out of the net. Together, Toronto can quickly revert to their prolific ways that we have seen prior to the 2025-26 season. But if they fail to address that once again in 2026-27, Leafs fans can expect another long season ahead and more.
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