The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in the basement of the Atlantic Division with a record of 9-10-3. Despite being in last place, they are six points out of top spot in the Division. So, with a good run of games and a four or five game winning streak, they could be back in the thick of things which could turn around their season. Because of that, there is a sense of panic amongst the fan base, but when it comes to the front office, they are remaining calm.
Leafs Nation is practically begging for a change, for something that could shake up the roster and get them headed in the right direction. However, when general manager Brad Treliving spoke with the media last week, the message was essentially trust the process. Which isn’t ideal when the team is playing as bad as they have been over the first quarter of the season.
As you might imagine, there are a lot of positives and negatives to talk about over the first 22 games of the season, so let’s get into the first edition of Maple Leafs 3 Up, 3 Down.
Related: Maple Leafs: 3 Potential Trade Targets From the Vancouver Canucks
1 Up: Nylander Has Been Outstanding
One of the biggest positives from this season has been William Nylander. Since the start of the season, he has been awesome. He has been the one constant in a season of bad. In 19 games, he has 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs haven’t played well enough as a team, or at least, there is a very good chance that he would have more points.
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
It isn’t just on the scoresheet though. On the ice, from shift to shift, he is showing just how confident he is. He is making a case for what his career would have looked like if he was the guy. Without Mitch Marner, there isn’t just more ice time for Nylander, there is a major hole in their lineup and he has done a great job filling that in terms of point production. He is on pace to have one of the best seasons of his career.
1 Down: Slow Start to the Season
Next to the injury issue that the team has faced, their incredibly slow start to the season has hurt them the most. They just haven’t generated enough to win games. Yes, they are scoring three to five goals per game, but they are giving up too many. Their goaltending hasn’t been good, their defence has been atrocious and their depth scoring has made things difficult. Night after night, there are times in the game where it looks like they are in full control and then in just a few minutes the game is turned upside down and they are losing. It has put them in a spot that nearly no one would have predicted and is going to take a serious turnaround to fix, but if they can come together and play more 60 minute games, they have a good chance to do it.
2 Up: Nick Robertson Finds His Spot
This past offseason, it looked like Nick Robertson was on his way out of the city. In fact, there was a report that they offered him to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Yegor Chinakhov but the deal was rejected. Now, less than two months into the season, he has found his spot and is doing well. No, he isn’t scoring a ton. He has 11 points in 21 games, but he is making his mark on the game on a nightly basis. He also isn’t taking bad penalties as often. Instead, he is drastically more confident with the puck. At times this season, he has controlled the puck and worked hard to get in a better spot to shoot. He also isn’t afraid to carry the puck into the zone and hang on to it to get a shot off.
Related: 3 Maple Leafs Players That Could Be Moved In a Roster-For-Roster Trade
In the past, we’ve seen times where he gets rid of it and that could lead to a turnover or a less dangerous scoring chance. But this season, he has gained confidence and played well enough to earn himself a spot in the Maple Leafs’ top six, something that not a lot of people saw coming but nearly everyone wanted to see.
2 Down: Injuries Have Plagued the Group
As mentioned before, there have been two very bad things to happen to this team. First, a very slow start and second is injuries. They have had a huge impact on the lineup and have made things very difficult not only on the coaching staff but also the players themselves. Right now, the Maple Leafs have six of their regulars on the injury reserve (IR) or long-term injury reserve (LTIR). That has drastically impacted the lineup. Especially when the players that are out consist of Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Nicolas Roy, Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo and Anthony Stolarz.
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies celebrate a goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images)
Yes, that’s right. Their captain and two thirds of their top line are on the shelf. Arguably their most reliable center in Roy is out. Plus, Tanev and Carlo, who are some of their most defensive defensemen, are out of the lineup. And to add the cherry on top, their starting goalie in Stolarz is out as well. It makes things extremely difficult to gain traction or even win games when more than a quarter of your lineup is on the IR. So, it’ll be very interesting to see how this team rebounds when they are fully healthy again.
3 Up: McCabe’s Injury Not Serious
On the injury front, the Maple Leafs got some good news regarding Jake McCabe, who left the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets last Thursday night after taking a puck to the face. He missed the game on Saturday but is expected to return on Wednesday against the Blue Jackets. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t too bad and he is able to return after missing just one game. McCabe has a huge impact on the blue line and having him in the lineup will make them better defensively.
3 Down: Maple Leafs Power Play Is Bad, Very Bad
It is another season of a bad power play for the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, even with Marc Savard behind the bench, this team can’t seem to figure it out. This season, they have had 58 power play opportunities in their first 22 games of the 2025-26 season. According to Statmuse, they have a power play of 15.5 percent, which puts them at 26th in the NHL. They will need to make the most of the opportunities that they get over the next month if they want to move up the ranks and increase their percentage. Even if they can raise it five percentage points, that could put them around 15th in the NHL. With the talent that they have, they should be within the top 15 in the league.
