The Toronto Maple Leafs will enter Tuesday night’s game against the New York Islanders ten points out of a playoff spot. However, they’re also six points from being in the NHL’s bottom five. Toronto has 14 games left to determine its final spot in the standings.
After losing eight straight since returning from the 2026 Olympic break, the Leafs have now won two of their last three games. They’ve collected five of a possible six points in those three contests. For the fans hoping to see the Maple Leafs tank into the bottom five, that’s not good news.
The Boston Bruins are hoping Toronto doesn’t finish in the bottom five, because they own the Leafs 2026 first-round pick. That pick is protected if the pick is within the top five of the NHL entry draft. Now, there is still a chance that the Leafs could finish with a top-five pick if they move up in the Draft Lottery.
The New York Islanders were sitting in tenth entering the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and ended up moving all the way to the top, and won the first overall pick. There is no guarantee that Toronto will be as lucky this year, but the possibility remains.
Maple Leafs Enjoying the Call Up of Bo Groulx
Bo Groulx has registered three goals in four games for the Maple Leafs. The Toronto Marlies’ leading scorer is making the most of his recent call-up to the NHL.
Groulx is no stranger to scoring. He is leading the AHL’s Marlies with 27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points. The next closest on the Marlies is team captain Logan Shaw with 40 points. It’s safe to say that Groulx is having a fantastic season.
Artur Akhtyamov Signs Extension
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Sunday that the team has signed Toronto Marlies goaltender Artur Akhtyamov to a three-year contract extension.
The deal starts as a two-way contract for the 2026-27 season. and then becomes a one-way contract for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons. The new contract will carry an average annual value of $900,000.
Akhtyamov is having a solid season with the Marlies this year. The 24-year-old Russian has an 18-10-6 record this season with a 2.86 GAA and a .904 SV% with one shutout. He is a homegrown drafted, and developed goaltender in the Leafs system. Toronto selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL draft with the 106th overall pick.
Toronto’s Future Moving Forward
During the GM meetings, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving was asked about how quickly this team can turn things around and become a playoff team again.
“Those are things that, as we go forward, we have a plan to put into place. We have underperformed this year. As I said at the deadline, there are certainly some changes we need to make. All of those things are the plan we’ll formulate moving forward to get this team back to where we think it is capable of being.”
Treliving will certainly have his work cut out for him in the off-season. As of Tuesday morning, the Leafs have $12 million in available salary cap space. A top-four defenseman and a top-six forward will be at the top of his free agent shopping list when the market opens on July 1st.
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