A lot went wrong for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season as their playoff streak came to an end. They may not even have their first-rounder at the draft. Here's a look at the past and at the immediate future for this squad.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were officially eliminated from playoff contention Thursday night.
They lost 4-1 to the San Jose Sharks, and wins by the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings mean it's impossible for Toronto to get enough points to continue its playoff streak.
Going into this season, the Maple Leafs had the longest active playoff streak in the NHL, appearing in the post-season for nine straight years. But now, a new era is underway in Toronto, as it's the first time the team has missed the playoffs since Auston Matthews was drafted.
There have been a lot of changes to the Maple Leafs organization, and missing the 2026 playoffs is the result.
What Went Wrong For The Maple Leafs?
Just in the last few years, Toronto let go of Kyle Dubas, hired GM Brad Treliving, fired coach Sheldon Keefe, hired Craig Berube, then parted ways with president Brendan Shanahan, watched superstar Mitch Marner walk out the door, and fired Treliving.
All of this turnover occurred within a three-year window.
In hindsight, the results of bringing in Treliving and Berube have turned out to be costly.
One event that no Leafs fan will forget anytime soon is Treliving's 2025 NHL trade deadline.
He acquired center Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers for a top-10-protected 2027 first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin. That same day, he splashed the team's top-five-protected 2026 first-rounder and Fraser Minten to their rivals, the Boston Bruins, in exchange for defenseman Brandon Carlo.
Neither of those trades panned out in Toronto's favor. In fact, Laughton isn't even a member of the Leafs anymore as he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings at this year's trade deadline.
On the ice, they went from Atlantic Division champions last season to out of the playoffs and a bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference.
The downgrading began in the off-season with the aforementioned exit of Marner. Coming off a 100-point campaign, Marner was a big piece of the Leafs roster and could be argued as the most important player last year. Matias Maccelli, Nick Robertson, Bobby McMann, Max Domi and Easton Cowan weren't extremely effective replacements in the top six, though none were expected to completely replace Marner's production.
In addition, the team struggled to get the puck out of their own zone throughout the year, and the loss of Chris Tanev for nearly the entire season was a major factor in the team's defensive weakness.
Ultimately, it's on the coach to provide a structure and system that best suits the players and team on the ice.
Instead, Berube stuck to his north-south, direct and predictable system, which not only has them second in the league for the most goals allowed in the NHL but also diminished the team's scoring.
Matthews and William Nylander, who are supposed to lead the team offensively, just haven't been the same in Berube's second season behind Toronto's bench.
Before Radko Gudas kneed Auston Matthews and injured him, the Leafs captain had 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games. Meanwhile, Nylander may not even reach the 30-goal mark after finishing second in the Rocket Richard Trophy race last year with 45 goals. He missed some time due to injury, but his 26 goals in 59 games right now are a 36-goal pace in an 82-game season.
Toronto was better defensively last year, finishing with the eighth-fewest goals conceded in the league, but that was also a result of the cream of the crop goaltending from Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz. But that impressive run between the pipes just wasn't sustainable, and they didn't have it for this season.
What Comes Next For The Maple Leafs?
Despite getting eliminated from playoff contention as early as they did, there's no guarantee the Leafs will have a first-round pick to use at the upcoming draft, since their 2026 selection could belong to Boston. It'll be the same story in 2027 since that first-rounder belongs to Philadelphia unless it falls in the top 10.
So while the Leafs weren't the perennial playoff team that everyone is accustomed to and expected this year, they'll have to get back to that soon, because there is not much to look forward to in terms of future assets.
More changes will come this off-season. The team must hire a new head of hockey operations, whether that's just a GM, a president of hockey operations and a GM, or someone who assumes both roles. They are expected to be data-driven, and the team has no budget constraints.
There's also the possibility of Berube being fired after his second season as the coach. The new GM will likely decide what happens in that regard.
The franchise, specifically MLSE president-CEO Keith Pelley, has indicated they will not roll over next year and intend to get back to the Leafs team everyone saw over the last nine regular seasons.
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