The Toronto Maple Leafs made massive changes to address the complete failure that is the 2025-26 season. After losing Mitch Marner, everything started to go wrong, and small changes would not suffice.
This offseason, the Leafs replaced the general manager and other front office members, the coaching staff, and saw a decent turnover in the locker room. The Leafs look very different going into this season than they did going into last season.
They made a few big additions this offseason among the players, but the biggest addition was defenseman Darren Raddysh. The former Tampa Bay Lightning star came over in a sign-and-trade deal that gives the Leafs a number one they haven’t had since Morgan Rielly fell off.
It was a desperate need because the Maple Leafs' defense was terrible last season. Even with their goalies doing decently at making big saves at even strength, they just gave up way too many chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Leafs gave up 826 high-danger chances at 5v5. That is fourth-worst in the entire NHL.
The addition of Raddysh will be well received, but another addition is expected to make a huge impact. The Leafs were without Chris Tanev for almost all of last season. He suffered a laundry list of injuries, including a concussion, a spinal injury, and a core muscle injury that required season-ending surgery.
It's still not clear if Chris Tanev will begin training camp with the Maple Leafs
Tanev revealed to the Toronto Star that he is waiting on doctor’s clearance before he is officially able to compete in team activities. He has been skating this offseason with the likes of Connor McDavid and his brother Brandon Tanev, so he has taken steps towards recover, but the Leafs need him to be 100 percent going into this season to ensure they have a defense that can compete in the Atlantic Division.
Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev waiting for clearance from doctors, anxious to put 'slow rehab' behind him https://t.co/xIDzJsKxQd
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) September 4, 2026
Tanev signed a controversial contract with the Leafs that pays him $4.5 million until he’s 40 years old. Many believed he could eventually be an long-term injured reserve candidate in the future, but nobody expected the injuries to pile up this quickly.
Tanev is important in giving the Leafs a lockdown presence that they sorely needed last season. If he’s not playing off the bat, Troy Strecher and Emil Andrae are both likely slotting into the left side of the defense. That should be fine for a short period, but the Leafs will want more of a guarantee quickly.
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