Maple Leafs are stuck with little hope to revive their season

"Many NHL observers expected that the Toronto Maple Leafs might take a step back during the 2025-26 season, but not to the extent witnessed over the team's first month-plus of action. Losing long-time all-star winger Mitch Marner and replacing him with multiple new faces among the team's forwards was expected to bring growing pains, but few could have predicted the current mess the Maple Leafs find themselves in. Amid a four-game losing streak, the most recent a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Leafs find themselves tied for the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference."

"Maple Leafs' star center Auston Matthews was absent from the lineup against the Kings and has been placed on injured reserve (IR). The injury came as a result of a questionable hit from the Boston Bruins' Nikita Zadorov during the Leafs' previous game. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz also left that game after the first period with an upper-body issue. Those injuries, along with the continued absence of their best defensive defenseman, Chris Tanev, further diminish the Leafs' chances of regaining their footing and climbing the Eastern Conference standings."

"Yet, with the quarter-pole of the NHL season fast approaching (in the words of Yogi Berra, "it gets late early out there"), the Maple Leafs have left themselves little room for error if they hope to prolong their current, league-best streak of nine consecutive seasons of making the playoffs. Time is of the essence for the team to move up in the standings, but a deep dive reveals little hope of shaking up the roster and sparking a turnaround."

The Toronto Maple Leafs opened the 2025-26 season with a worse-than-expected stretch, including a four-game losing streak and a record tied for the second-worst in the Eastern Conference. The departure of long-time winger Mitch Marner and multiple new forward faces created anticipated growing pains that have manifested more severely. Key injuries have compounded problems: Auston Matthews was placed on injured reserve after a hit by Nikita Zadorov, Anthony Stolarz left with an upper-body issue, and Chris Tanev remains absent. The team has appeared old and slow through 17 games, leaving little margin to protect a nine-year playoff streak or mount a roster shakeup.

Read at Editor In Leaf