New Maple Leafs additions set to revive this major weapon

For most of the Auston Matthews-William Nylander era, the Toronto Maple Leafs could always count on a lethal power play to help their offense.

That wasn't the case during a dreadful 2025-26 season. Last year, Toronto ranked 15th in the league with the man-advantage. That was the worst ranking the Maple Leafs have had over the past decade.

The 2025-26 season was the fourth successive year that the Leafs' power-play ranking dipped. Starting in 2022-23, when Toronto was fourth-best at 24.1 percent, the numbers have regressed to 23.4 percent (8th), 23.1 percent (11th), before the very mediocre 21.3 percent last year.

Two key additions during John Chayka's first offseason as Maple Leafs' general manager, however, should reverse this negative trend and bring back a prominent weapon to the team's repertoire.

Why Raddysh and McKenna Are Key to Reviving the Power Play

Before the Maple Leafs' recent negative trend, they had seven consecutive seasons with a top-five ranked power play. In 2025-26, they missed the playmaking abilities of former setup man Mitch Marner. Also, the Leafs lacked a threatening point shot. Matthews and Nylander combined for only twelve power-play goals, their lowest combined total since 2017-18 (ten), when Nazem Kadri and James Van Riemsdyk were scoring the bulk of the team's power-play goals.

After trading away goaltender Joseph Woll, Chayka's next major roster move this offseason was acquiring hard-shooting defenseman Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs' GM then chose Gavin McKenna and his divine playmaking first overall at the NHL Draft. Those two players should invigorate the Maple Leafs' power play.

The Leafs have never paired a booming shot from the point with Matthews and Nylander during their time in Toronto. Raddysh had the most 90+ MPH shots of any player in the NHL last season, and it wasn't close. The "Raddysh Ripper" occurred 97 times. Next closest was Evan "Bouch Bomb" Bouchard with 51.

The threat of a cannon from the blue line should free up both Matthews and Nylander on the flanks for more power-play production. Raddysh also scored ten of his twenty-two goals with the man advantage last year.

It's no coincidence that the Maple Leafs' power-play production dropped significantly without Marner. His playmaking and vision, both at even strength and on the power play, weren't properly replaced. McKenna, even as a rookie, will help in that area. The Leafs will look to take advantage of his hockey IQ and deft passing to give their power play a jolt.

Fixing the power play is not just about changing the strategy; it is about injecting the right personnel. By adding Raddysh's point shot and pairing it with McKenna's vision, new head coach Jim Hiller has the tools required to orchestrate a major offensive turnaround.

There will undoubtedly be growing pains as McKenna adjusts to the NHL and Raddysh develops cohesion with his new teammates, but this new-look top unit has a high ceiling. If these two additions can quickly find chemistry with the team's core stars, a stagnating power play can once again become a lethal weapon that helps the Maple Leafs reclaim a playoff position.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow