The Toronto Maple Leafs are not guaranteed a playoff berth this season.
For the past nine seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been playoff bound. There's a correlation between their playoff run and Auston Matthews joining the team as the blue-and-white have never missed the postseason with him on the roster.
Despite being criticized for their lack of playoff success, it's still very impressive that this team has at least given themselves a chance to win the Stanley Cup every year for essentially the last decade. This team is not off to a great start, but they've also had just as bad opening months and have still managed to reach the playoffs.
The last time things were this bad was probably the season when Mike Babcock got fired as the team had a 9-10-4 record on November 20, 2019 when they let him go. The season ultimately turned around when they hired Sheldon Keefe, but it was a rocky start. Some are suggesting that the team should do the same with Craig Berube right now, but it's pretty clear that the coaching isn't the issue.
Although the team is scoring at a decent clip, their age is showing on the blue-line. The team is desperately missing Chris Tanev and the lack of having a number-one defenseman or goalie is the reason why they're not currently in a playoff spot.
For years, many fans wanted Mitch Marner gone, but now that he is, the team looks different. In those hypothetical trades of year's past, the Leafs would typically recieve a number-one defenseman in return but since Marner left for nothing (no offense Nic Roy), the team wasn't able to upgrade another position and just got worse.
How Leafs could miss the playoffs this year
There is some hope as Joseph Woll will return soon, but should we really put the entire team's season on the back of a goalie who has only played 78 regular season games? Not only that, but he's had multiple injuries over his short career, so why would we assume this season will go any differently?
It may be early, but the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings are a few surprising teams ahead of the Leafs in the standings, as all four missed the playoffs last year. Not only are those teams ahead of Toronto, but the Leafs are only three points up on the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets, who are currently last in the Eastern Conference.
If this team rattles off a few more losses in a row, they could find themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference by American Thanksgiving, which is where most teams use as a touchpoint to guide where the season is going.
As much as you'd hate to miss the playoffs in a prime year with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, it could be the best thing that has ever happend to the organization. The Leafs are a good team, but they are far away from being great, so a re-tool could be very important as life without Mitch Marner looks tough for our beloved blue-and-white.