The Toronto Maple Leafs arrive in Los Angeles tonight in a curious state—mathematically eliminated, yet not entirely irrelevant. That alone gives their game against the Los Angeles Kings a certain texture. The Kings are scrapping for their playoff lives in a crowded Western Conference race, while the Maple Leafs are left to sift through the remains of their season: effort, evaluation, and, one hopes, a measure of professional pride.
Los Angeles has developed an unfortunate habit of tardiness. They fell behind 3–0 to the Nashville Predators in their last game before mounting a spirited comeback, only to lose in a shootout. It is becoming a pattern—sluggish beginnings followed by urgent recoveries. Against a team unburdened by consequence, that can be dangerous. The Maple Leafs may be out of the race, but they are not out of games, and a team playing freely in April can be a far more complicated opponent than one might expect.
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For Toronto, the message from head coach Craig Berube has been plain enough: shoot the puck, simplify the game, and compete with purpose. Against the San Jose Sharks, they managed just 19 shots. If ever there was a polite game, the Maple Leafs played it. Now we see what this group will do when playoff possibilities have officially evaporated.
Item One: Scott Laughton Finds His Place in a Different Fight
One of tonight’s more subtle backstories belongs to Scott Laughton, now wearing the Kings’ colours. From what we can see, he’s fit in rather well. He’s scored four goals in 14 games, which isn’t setting the world on fire. Still, he had only eight goals in Toronto in roughly three times as many games.
(Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Laughton has earned the Kings’ trust in a playoff chase—something he never quite seemed to secure with the Maple Leafs. He’s playing a direct, engaged, and urgent game. It’s an interesting shift. In Toronto, he often felt like part of the background noise: reliable, but not essential.
In Los Angeles, he is part of something immediate. Context, it seems, in hockey as in life, can be everything. The Kings are not asking him to dazzle; they are asking him to matter. From a Maple Leafs perspective, his effectiveness elsewhere is a reminder.
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Building a roster and deploying it properly can be two different things. With the Kings, Laughton looks like a playoff piece. Whether Toronto had enough of those when the games truly counted is a question that will linger. Regardless of whether Los Angeles makes the postseason, Laughton has to feel some satisfaction in playing a more defined and trusted role.
Item Two: John Tavares, Still Playing Hard and Producing
There is something almost old-school about John Tavares. He is polite, dependable, and stubbornly productive—qualities that tend to be overlooked until they are gone. This season, played out amid confusion and disappointment, has only sharpened appreciation for what he brings.
At 35, Tavares is not receding. His 29 goals and 65 points in 76 games tell the story of a steady producer. He still goes to the hard areas. He still wins faceoffs and contributes on the power play. He still shoots with intent. Lately, he has found a late-season rhythm—six goals in seven games, 16 points over 18 in March, and the occasional timely goal when needed.
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What distinguishes Tavares, however, isn’t merely the production; it’s the manner in which it comes. No fuss. No drama. He carries responsibility the way some players chase attention. On a Maple Leafs team that has lost its balance, he has been winning puck battles, taking contact, blocking shots, and logging intelligent minutes.
Tavares holds things together. His solid season is unfolding amid a difficult one for his team. The Maple Leafs may have disappointed. Tavares has not.
Item Three: Hayley Wickenheiser and the Shape of the Future
In the April 3 edition of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman provided an intriguing glimpse behind the curtain. The name that surfaced with unusual weight was Hayley Wickenheiser. Her standing within the organization—particularly with team president Keith Pelley—appears not only solid, but growing.
There was even some speculation that she might have been considered for an interim general manager role. Perhaps that reads too much into Friedman’s comments, but the suggestion itself is revealing. Organizations do not casually elevate voices into those conversations. They do so because they see clarity, authority, and alignment with where they hope to go.
Whether Wickenheiser ultimately ascends to such a position remains to be seen. But her increasing influence tells us something important: the Maple Leafs are not looking solely outward for answers. They are examining their own foundations, their own thinkers, their own internal compass. In a season defined by uncertainty, that may prove to be one of the more meaningful developments.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
It is tempting to assume that a team eliminated from playoff contention simply shuffles to the finish line. Experience suggests otherwise. Freed from expectation, players often rediscover their instincts. They play a touch faster. They hold the puck a moment longer. They try things.
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That is the danger the Maple Leafs present now. Veterans like Tavares continue to uphold their standards. Younger players are skating for contracts, roles, and relevance. Goaltenders are playing to protect their reputations. Somewhere in the mix is the simple desire to salvage something from a difficult season.
These final games are not meaningless. They are revealing. They will show who competes when there is nothing left to gain—and that, more than anything, may shape what comes next.
