Maple Leafs’ 2025-26 Season Was One to Forget – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

This time last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division and went on to beat their long-time rival the Ottawa Senators in the first-round of the playoffs. Then they were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in embarrassing fashion on home ice.

With a new season and massive changes to the team, things would be different and the hope was that they would still be a strong defensive team and players would step up to fill the void of those that weren’t on the roster anymore. That was far from it, as this was the worst season in the Auston Matthews era. The Maple Leafs had their fair share of heart breaking loses in the playoffs, but they were at least competitive during the regular season which couldn’t be said about 2025-26.

With more changes already underway and Brad Treliving out as general manager, many are left wondering what happened with this season. While he constructed this team, there are other factors at play. 

Defensive Woes Noticeable from the Start

The defensive woes for the Maple Leafs were evident from the very beginning as there was no consistency on how they defended within their own zone. There was no structure, there were constant and careless turnovers and their play was abysmal to say the least as they were outshot by their opponent 62 times this season.

It truly was tough to watch most nights as no team at the pro level should be making the mistakes that they made on a nightly basis. There were constant call outs from head coach Craig Berube and even from Anthony Stolarz about their defensive game needing to be better, but clearly the message never sunk in. They were one of the worst defensive teams in the league and the numbers reflected that as they were either towards the bottom of the standings or dead last in a number of key statistical categories.  (from, ‘Anthony Stolarz sounded the alarm in October and the Maple Leafs didn’t listen’, Toronto Sun – 4/14/26)

The Maple Leafs had ample time to try and turn things around, yet they continued to spiral out of control and not learn from their mistakes. It was the one constant why they had the fifth worst record in the league and were chasing games. They were never prepared and when things looked like they were going right, it went south completely and they never had a chance to regroup. 

Yes, they had injuries on the backend to key players like Chris Tanev, but they were incapable of replicating that same style that made them successful last season. The shut-down, keep everything to the outside and quickly breakout style was nonexistent. This team was lost all season and it showed.

Not Having Each Other’s Back

While intangibles like compete, heart and having a team mindset plays a big part for any team, the Maple Leafs had none of that going for them as they barely had each other’s back. Whenever something happened, they sat idly by and did absolutely nothing. The character they displayed was really unacceptable. 

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Whether it was Stolarz taking matters into his own hands after getting bowled over by Mason Marchment, players taking shots at the rookie Easton Cowan or seeing their captain Auston Matthews suffer a dirty knee-on-knee from Radko Gudas that required surgery and miss the rest of the season, this team let everyone didn’t have each other’s back and it was down-right embarrassing. It got to a point where Treliving called those involved with Matthews’ injury and was furious about it.  

That lack of response for their captain in that moment showed that they didn’t care what happened to each other. It took them after the fact to show any sort of fight or emotion when something happened that they didn’t like. Was it all for show because everyone expressed their frustration about the situation or did they actually form a team mindset? Time will tell, but it felt like an obligation more so than a reactionary response every time something happened. 

If anyone went near or touched Matthew Schaefer, the New York Islanders jumped in to defend him. If any star on another team faced the same outcome that Matthews did, you can rest assured they wouldn’t be waiting until the next period to do something, they’d be going after who committed the hit and letting them have it. 

What team mentality will we see next season? The one where they’re quiet and look the other way? Or the one where we finally saw emotion after the Matthews injury and even if the slightest bump sets them off, they’ll go after them. Time will tell, but they seriously need to have each other’s back as a group in order to be successful.

Trade Deadline and Tank Mode

There wasn’t any doubt that the Maple Leafs would go into sell mode at the trade deadline as they had a lot of quality assets. However, it was the return that Treliving got for his assets that left many disappointed compared to what the market was going for. 

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Bobby McMann went for a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 even though he was playing and continued to produce like a winger that should’ve got a first-round pick. Scott Laughton went for a conditional third-round pick, which is now a second thanks to the Los Angeles Kings making the playoffs. Treliving managed to get assets back, but the return was underwhelming. With key players gone, it was an opportunity to see who could step up, but for the fans, it was a chance for them to hope for a tank after the Brandon Carlo trade last trade deadline. 

When the consensus wants to lose to keep a pick rather than seeing their team show some heart and pride down the stretch, you know it’s a real low and times are rough given the circumstances surrounding the Maple Leafs’ first-round pick in this draft that could go to the Boston Bruins. That pick is top-five protected, which is a little riskier given how teams usually make it a top-10 protection as a safeguard. With the losses down the stretch piling on, it increased their odds of trying to secure their pick and they have secured it for the time being. Clinging to a first-round pick that hangs in the balance of the draft lottery is the only hope the fan base has. 

This season was a chaotic one and lost cause for the Maple Leafs as there were a number of instances and signs that it was never going to get better. The hope is now that with the season over, it’s a time for reflection and for everyone to come back and prove that this season was an anomaly and they can get back to being a playoff performer. 

Otherwise, things could continue to go south.

Statistics from Natural Stat Trick and NHL.