#maple-leafs

#maple-leafs

The rumor mill continues to grind as the season hurtles towards the Olympic break. The prevailing chatter has focused on Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright. The former fourth-overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft is reportedly on the trade block, as The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta first reported. This situation could provide an opportunity for the Maple Leafs to continue their roster turnover.

Leafs GM Brad Treliving has been sizing up the market on defence. Looking at his options, we mentioned, for example, potential interest in Luke Schenn. I think that's still there,

"It's a tough travel schedule, mixed in with a lot of late nights on the road trip," Maple Leafs' head coach Craig Berube said. "That's where you have to be smarter, manage the game a little bit better."

There will be some clips that we use, both good and bad. The big thing: I think we had nine turnovers, and seven of them became scoring chances the other way. This is not a team you can do that against - or against any team, really. We didn't manage the puck very well, especially in that second period. It was back a few games, so that is something that we've talked a lot about and worked on.

OH MY, DENNIS HILDEBY!! 😱 He makes a MONSTER in the dying seconds to secure the win for the @MapleLeafs!

I have been playing a lot of minutes down there, and that is fun. Obviously, I want to be here, but you can't really look in terms of what-ifs. I have been around here for a while with this organization and in the NHL. If you keep playing that (what-if) game, it's not good for you mentally. It is just about putting one foot in front of the other, working hard, and being a good teammate.

Reading between the lines, it has seemed from the outside like the player group - or some of the leaders in it, at least - might think the crowd should do more to stay on the team's side and help get them going in games, while the fans have (fairly) felt like the players need to give them more reasons to get fired up with their effort level on the ice.

Without fully understanding what Brendan Shanahan did on a daily basis, it seems very likely that not having someone in his role this season has been a hindrance to the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs parted ways with Shanahan on May 23rd, and this isn't about making a case that was the wrong decision but Keith Pelley's decision to keep the position vacant was.

I don't know if it got away from us. If you look at scoring chances, we out-chanced them in that period, but in the defensive zone, they had the one goal where we just didn't seal up. We got stick lifted, first of all, and then they made a play up the wall to Ovi. We have to have that backdoor sealed up.

Toronto has struggled out of the gate in a big way. From sloppy defensive coverage, to underachieving superstars, to injury woes, it has not been pretty through the first month of the 2025-26 season. Treliving has been rumoured to be searching for a top-six forward on the trade market, and also a right-handed top-four defenceman, but there's one serious problem. The Maple Leafs' GM has nothing to work with in negotiations.

You can watch the Toronto Maple Leafs with reverent attention, and it may still not be enough to figure out how this team operates. It appeared that the Maple Leafs were turning the corner, boasting the best 5-on-5 offence in the NHL. Saturday evening presented a winnable game against a divisional rival, but the Maple Leafs fell short in a 5-3 loss to an undermanned Boston Bruins side.

What is the concern level after a 3-3-1 start for the Maple Leafs? (0:50) The team's issues in the second period through seven games, and Craig Berube's messy/disjointed lineup situation up front (7:00) The team's poor response in the third period after the terrible second period vs. New Jersey, and the lack of accountability so far (19:00) Anthony Stolarz's fiery comments after the loss to Seattle (23:30) The Leafs' lack of an emotional leader (38:30)

He was great for us. I learned a lot from him. He's a super human and a really good coach. We were very happy that he got another head job in Seattle. They're playing really good defense and aren't giving up much. They take care of the middle of the ice really well. They have some good young players over there. To me, they're defending really well.

There was a lot of good, and there was stuff we have to work on, obviously. We did a good enough job to win the game. I thought our third period was our best period. We did a good job protecting the lead and closing it out. The goalie was good. We had some players who were really good tonight. Overall, our puck play wasn't great. That was the root of our problems, in general.

The Maple Leafs face just two playoff teams from last season this October, and one of them is tonight's opponent, who finished with just 91 points last season (17th in the NHL, eighth in the East). Eight of the 11 games this month are also played at home. Taking full advantage with a fast start technically isn't essential in a long 82-game season, but it is an important first step toward a successful Atlantic Division regular-season title defense.