#toronto-maple-leafs

#toronto-maple-leafs

I thought our process was better tonight, I thought we had the puck more,

A festivus approach is required with this organization that has enjoyed too much goodwill this season. Optimism is nice and the holidays are a time of year to be a little happier and full of joy. I'm not sure any of this applies to the 2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs who have now enjoyed over 30 games of leeway in figuring it out and getting on track.

Thursday night's display in Washington was downright despicable. When your coach has no words to defend your effort, you know you had yourself a night. But sadly, the lack of effort and care has been a theme for most of the season thus far. This team is absolutely cooked. Obviously, we kicked off the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take by giving our initial comments on whatever that game was. We were harsh, we were critical. At the end of the day, it's getting to a point where the players may be forcing Brad Treliving's hand. This isn't on the coach, but ultimately, it's easiest scapegoat to pull.

This Toronto Maple Leafs team seems incapable of capitalizing on momentum of any kind, and it's getting more painful to watch by the day. On Thursday night, they were shut out 4-0 by the Washington Capitals and limited to only 22 shots, going 0-for-5 on the power play with Auston Matthews and William Nylander kept from the scoresheet and from making any sort of impact.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were dangerously close to back-to-back disappointing losses on home ice, but the Leafs found a way to come out victorious on Tuesday night. After Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, one that drew ire from fans with the way things collapsed, the Leafs found themselves trailing the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 almost halfway through the third period.

Down 2-0 midway through the third period, the Maple Leafs pushed, eventually getting on the board with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal at the 9:59 mark of the third. The goal breathed new life into the Maple Leafs. However, it seemed like the Blackhawks were going to hold on to the lead. But then, the Leafs pulled off an amazing feat. First, Nick Robertson drew a penalty that set up a tremendous goal by Auston Matthews to tie the game.

The Leafs made a few acquisitions in the offseason, trying to fill a massive hole in the lineup that was caused by the Mitch Marner departure. In the Marner deal, forward Nicolas Roy was the return. Toronto also acquired forward Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks, with hopes of him adding more depth. To round out the trades, they also got their hands on Finnish forward Matias Maccelli. They have also given youngster Easton Cowan a try.

The veteran blueliner was previously seen on the ice in a non-contact jersey but was held from practice while the Leafs were searching for their options with his health. During the practice, he was on a line with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, which could suggest that the Toronto native could make a return for Tuesday night's clash against the Chicago Blackhawks. If Tanev were to return to the Leafs' lineup, we would likely see Henry Thrun taken out of the lineup.

Great teammate,

The Vancouver Canucks sent their captain to the Minnesota Wild for an eye-watering haul. The Canucks essentially got four first-round picks as the return featured three players selected in the first round plus a future first-round selection. So, the question begs: How does the Quinn Hughes trade affect the Toronto Maple Leafs? The short answer is: Not much. This trade mainly affects the balance of power in the Western Conference. The Wild will now move into a whole different category of contention.