The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t had the best off-season, to put it lightly. When you lose a world-class superstar, new Vegas Golden Knights [http://thn.com/vegas] right winger Mitch Marner, you’re assuredly going to feel the loss. However, we’re seeing some observers suggest the Maple Leafs are destined for the draft lottery and fall out of a playoff position in the wake of Marner’s departure. Really? Is the removal of one part of Toronto’s attack – albeit, a large part – going to cause a Jenga-like collapse and push the Buds out of the playoff picture for the first time since 2015-16? We don’t think so. The Leafs [http://thn.com/toronto] are a far more developed team than one that relies solely on one player. We expect Toronto to be defending its regular-season Atlantic Division title before we expect to see the Leafs on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. For one thing, Marner’s departure doesn’t affect two of the Maple Leafs’ strong points – their goaltending tandem of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz and their deep and skilled defense corps. In our estimation, Toronto has one of the top five goalie duos in the NHL [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/top-five-nhl-goalie-tandems-entering-2025-26]. Similarly, the group of blueliners Leafs GM Brad Treliving has assembled blocks a ton of shots and shuts plays down. Depending on what Treliving does with veteran Morgan Rielly [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/what-could-morgan-rielly-s-next-year-with-the-maple-leafs-look-like], that defense corps could be even tougher to play against by the time training camp rolls around. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Matthew Knies (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1a32579c-9a0d-4854-a1a1-9430398c6b33.jpeg] Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Matthew Knies (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images) We’ll grant the skeptics this much: Toronto’s offense won’t be nearly as potent with Marner gone. The addition of former Utah Mammoth [http://thn.com/utah] left winger Matias Maccelli won’t replace Marner’s 102 points [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/matias-maccelli-could-be-the-answer-on-the-maple-leafs-top-line] from this past year. Marner’s defensive talents will also result in the Maple Leafs having more significant challenges in their own zone. But you know what? Even if we acknowledge there’s an element of the game the Leafs may struggle with, Treliving has mitigated the impact of Marner’s departure. By adding veteran center Nicolas Roy as part of the Marner sign-and-trade with Vegas, Treliving has bolstered the Leafs’ third line. Consequently, while Toronto won’t be as explosive a team as it was in the Marner Era, the Leafs still will be one of the best teams in the Atlantic and the Eastern Conference, for that matter. Now, is there a potential road ahead where the Leafs could miss the playoffs? Sure, there is. That potential road will materialize if one of Toronto’s key players – Auston Matthews, William Nylander [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/maple-leafs-william-nylander-must-prepare-for-a-season-he-s-never-experienced-before] or John Tavares – suffers an injury that keeps them out of action for a significant stretch of time. But you could say the same thing about nearly any team in the league. The injury bug can derail the best-laid plans of almost any franchise, and the Leafs are no different in that regard. But here’s what’s equally possible: the Leafs get out to a strong start next season and ride that start all the way to home-ice advantage in next year’s playoffs. Youngsters, such as Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan, burst out of the gate and do their best to produce enough offense to make people forget about Marner. Treliving can also make further additions with the $5.33 million he has in cap space [https://puckpedia.com/team/toronto-maple-leafs] or more if he accrues space during the season. Once they do get into the playoffs, the Leafs benefit from experienced hands like Roy and other veterans Treliving adds along the way. There’s no doubt about it – the Atlantic will be even more competitive next season than it was this past year. But the Maple Leafs won the division last year in no small part because they had the deepest, most talented group in the division. And while the post-Marner Era may have its rough spots, the truth is that Toronto is still positioned to do very good things in 2025-26. So quit it with the pearl-clutching, Buds fans – the future in Leafs Land is still very bright. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
