The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the 2025–26 season coming off a dominant year, but things have unraveled quickly.
Sitting at 29–28–12 and second last in the Atlantic sivision, Toronto has been searching for answers throughout the entire season and is in serious danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 2016-17. The Maple Leafs have struggled in all facets of the game this year, from inconsistent scoring from their stars, secondary scoring, and their defensive structure being nowhere near what we saw just a season ago. The Maple Leafs were set for disaster from the very beginning.
The first season without the core four
The 2025-26 season was the first time in the Auston Matthews era that the Maple Leafs were without the core four, as Mitch Marner was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights ahead of the July 1st free agency period. The Maple Leafs were then forced to find a different style of hockey, the kind that worked while building around William Nylander and Auston Matthews, but also fit the mould of Craig Berube.
The Maple Leafs, during the offseason, went from more of a well-rounded style of hockey, acquiring players of the likes of Dakota Joshua, Michael Pezzetta, to provide physicality, Nicolas Roy to play key defensive minutes as the third line centre, and Matias Maccelli to help the offence continue to score. While in hindsight these looked like great moves, they simply didn't work the way the Maple Leafs had pictured. Roy is no longer with the Maple Leafs, while Joshua has struggled to stay within the lineup at times this season, and Matias Maccelli has been very inconsistent in the Maple Leafs top six.
Nylander has had a strong offensive season, posting 63 points, including 23 goals in 52 games, while dealing with a number of injuries throughout the campaign. Matthews, on the other hand, has struggled mightily before suffering a season-ending injury against the Anaheim Ducks, registering a career-low 23 goals and 53 points in 60 games. Mitch Marner may have played a role in the Maple Leafs struggles this season, but the problems stem a lot further than just this one move in the offseason.
Secondary scoring has been inconsistent
Another major issue for the Maple Leafs this season has been their lack of scoring throughout the lineup. Past William Nylander their hasn't been consistent offensive scoring from anyone down the forward core. Many of the Maple Leafs bottom six haven't contributed to the offence, with Nicholas Robertson leading the way with 29 points.
For a team that was losing a 100-point scorer, the management staff was depending on some role players being able to step up in higher roles, but they simply haven't seen it consistently. Matias Maccelli has seen some recent success; however, a lot of this can be attributed to getting key minutes alongside William Nylander. The additions to the lineup by Brad Treliving did not work as effectively as he expected, and it has shown.
Defensive play has collapsed
The Maple Leafs' structure in the defensive zone, from just one season ago, that led them to first in the Atlantic Division, has faltered completely. From beginning season struggles to a slight improvement throughout the season, they never found their footing to help carry the Leafs to important wins. Morgan Rielly has been at the forefront of the Maple Leafs struggles, as he is on pace for the worst season of his career with a minus-16 rating.
With trade chatter picking up, it is tough to say whether he will be with the Maple Leafs heading into next season. Brandon Carlo has also struggled this season, just one year after the Maple Leafs were fleeced by the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline. The Maple Leafs, 69 games into the regular season, sit just one position ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in goals against with 241. At this point of the season, the Maple Leafs have allowed 10 more goals than the entirety of last season.
With the offseason right around the corner, Brad Treliving is going to have a lot of questions to answer, as their only pending unrestricted free agent is Troy Stecher. He has emerged as a player that you want to have on your team moving forward, because of his ability to provide serviable minutes up and down the blueline due to the resurgence of his career in Toronto. Heading into the 2026-27 campaign, the Leafs are going to need to find a way to play more consistently while finding players that fit within Craig Berube's style, if he remains the coach of the team.
Final thoughts moving towards next season
In the end, the Toronto Maple Leafs have fallen out of the playoff picture because they’ve simply been too inconsistent across all areas of the game. While stars such as William Nylander have produced, the lack of depth scoring, poor defensive play, and unreliable goaltending, combined with long losing streaks, have left Toronto well outside of a playoff spot, rather than securely in one like years past.