There’s something a little odd about the way this season is ending for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s certainly not meaningful in the standings. But with so many unanswered questions, the season still feels unfinished — the kind that lingers into the offseason.
A year ago, they walked into Ottawa Senators territory and came away with a first-round series win, 4-2. There was purpose, edge, something at stake. This year, they’re just trying to get through one more game before they pack up their gear for the summer.
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Toronto enters tonight’s contest against the Senators on a six-game losing slide, still wearing the bruise from that Dallas Stars game where a 3–0 lead somehow turned into a 6–5 loss. Meanwhile, Ottawa is gearing up for the playoffs, likely treating this like a tune-up skate with just enough bite to stay sharp. It’s a role reversal that says plenty without saying very much at all.
Item One: A Maple Leafs’ Defensive Question That Won’t Go Away
If you’re looking for the central riddle of this Maple Leafs season, start here: why didn’t the defence hold? This isn’t about one bad night or a tough week — it’s been a slow drip all season long. Leads never feel safe, and structure disappears at the worst times.
(Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
The offence has been decent in stretches thanks to the star players, but it’s never felt consistent or overwhelming. The real problem has been the inability to close games out. When it matters most, too many plays slip through their fingers, and they keep giving up chances they shouldn’t.
So now the questions come, and they’re not simple ones. Was it the system under head coach Craig Berube? Was it execution? Were players a step slow to react, or just not quite connected the way they needed to be? Or is this a roster issue — a blue line that doesn’t quite have the right balance to play the way they’re trying to play?
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Truth is, it’s probably a bit of all of it. And that’s what makes it uncomfortable. These last games, even without pressure, still tell you something. If the same breakdowns show up now, when there’s nothing on the line, then you’re not looking at a slump. You’re looking at a habit. And habits don’t fix themselves.
Item Two: Tavares Just Kept Showing Up Every Game
While a lot has wobbled this season, one thing hasn’t: John Tavares showing up every single night. All 82 games. At 35 years old.
(Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
That’s not going to be in a highlight pack. But it tells you something about the player. He did it in his first season in Toronto, and here he is again, doing it in a year that probably tested his patience as much as any he’s had here. This is a player who’s grown used to playoff rhythms in this city. This year, that door closed early.
You can’t help but wonder what that feels like on the inside. Is there a sense of relief when it ends? Or is he wired in that way where you just keep going, no matter what the standings say? With Tavares, you already know the answer. His routine doesn’t change. His work doesn’t dip. He prepares the same way whether the games matter in April or not. That’s the standard — quiet, steady, and stubborn.
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And for a team that’s going to spend the offseason asking hard questions, he’s still the kind of baseline the team should build around.
Item Three: The Trade That Still Bothers Dubas
On the management side, here’s a bit of a blast from the past. Former general manager Kyle Dubas offered a bit of honesty that caught some attention. When asked about regrets from his time in Toronto, he didn’t dodge. He pointed straight at Mason Marchment.
That one makes sense. Marchment wasn’t just another name on a transaction list — he was an organizational project the team brought along slowly, from the ECHL up through the system. Those are the ones you tend to believe in a little longer.
(Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images)
In 2020, the Maple Leafs traded him to the Florida Panthers for Denis Malgin, looking for more skill at the time. It was a reasonable bet. But Marchment eventually became exactly the kind of player Toronto had been looking for. He became a middle-six forward with some bite, some edge, and enough touch to make it count. Not a star, but the kind of player you notice when he’s not there.
Having watched Brad Treliving, who was fired as GM in March, stumble with particular kinds of trades, you have to wonder if that’s the part that sticks. Is there a lesson here? You don’t easily trade away players you’ve invested in for that long.
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The team has found that out with both Fraser Minten and Bobby McMann. Both probably felt a debt of gratitude to a team that offered them their first chance at their NHL dreams. Now that they’ve had success in different organizations, they’ve likely been shown that, for them, the grass is greener on the other side. Both will likely continue to develop into what the Maple Leafs need, just like Marchment did for Dubas.
What Comes Next for the Maple Leafs?
And so it ends not with a bang, but with a bit of a shrug. There’s no fixing the season now. No late push, no sudden jump in the standings. What’s left is simpler than that — can they put together a game that actually looks like the version of themselves they’ve been chasing?
Because what happens next is really about whether there’s anything here worth carrying into next season — or whether this whole thing needs a deeper rethink than anyone expected.
