When you look at the 2025-26 version of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it looks errily similar to the 2024-25 version, which is a scary thought.
It's funny that I'm getting upset that this version of the Leafs is looking like the team that just won the Atlantic Division and made the second round of the playoffs last year, but we all know the culture was broken. It's possible that Mitch Marner was the only problem on the Leafs and his loss will turn this team into a better playoff team, but I ultimately don't believe that is true.
As much as I love Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander, I find it crazy that we think this team is all of a sudden better than they were last year. We've somehow brain-washed ourselves into believing that Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nic Roy will fix Marner's departure, when it's quite possible that Marner will be a top-five point getter next year in Vegas.
I understand that regular season statistics don't matter when it comes to winning a Stanley Cup, but who would you rather have: Matthews, Tavares, Nylander, Maccelli, Joshua, Roy and Matthew Knies or the Florida Panthers with Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand?
Marner's departure is not enough
I know that Matthews is a former Hart Trophy winner, Tavares is a consistent point per game player and Nylander scored 40 goals last year, but I think I would take every other player on Florida, beside maybe Lundell. Some of their point totals may be less than the Leafs top players, but they play with a competitiveness that Toronto's players don't have and over the past three years, the Panthers are winners.
When things get tough, the Panthers battle back and win in the biggest games, which is something the Leafs can't do. The petty fan will say that the Leafs are cursed but that's not a real thing. If the same players are losing in the same fashion every year, it's not an organizational curse but instead is an issue with the players.
I'd love to see something change and for these players to win in the playoffs, but unfortunately it doesn't feel like the Marner departure will be enough and as much fun as we'll have watching Matthews win the Rocket Richard Trophy this year, he'll find a way to go scoreless in the playoffs and the Leafs will ultimately fall apart.
I appologize for this pessimistic short essay, but the Leafs need to make more changes and retool this roster more if they think they'll ever beat Florida and compete for a Stanley Cup.