Why Saturday was a preview of what new Maple Leaf boss could face

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Where might the Leafs be in the playoff hunt had they reversed less than half of their 14 overtime/shootout defeats?

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Published Apr 05, 2026 • 4 minute read

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Troy Stecher, right, trips over goaltender Joseph Woll during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Los Angeles. Photo by Mark J. Terrill /THE ASSOCIATED PRESSArticle content

If anyone in the wide field of candidates intrigued by running the Maple Leafs wanted a peek at what they’d inherit, Saturday night’s conclusion of a four-game trip was an eye-opener.

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Their 7-6 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, ending the trek at 1-2-1, was Toronto’s mixed-signals season in a 62-minute, 33-second microcosm.

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ORDERING ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOTS

The last puck Joseph Woll faced was the 40th of the game as the once-competent breakout Leafs continue to post the NHL’s highest shots against per game of 32.4. In a dizzying span of 1:36, the Kings scored three, with Woll and his five compatriots hacking up what had been two very good road periods.

Feeding the shot clock were Saturday’s 11 giveaways, charged to 11 different Leafs, including a cringer by Woll, which keeps them near the top of the NHL’s highest gaffe list. Teams with enough strengths in other areas can compensate for such sloppiness, as four of the highest giveaway clubs are in playoff positions. But the Leafs, with a conference-worst goals against 5-on-5, aren’t insulated.

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They’re also bottom 10 in shots for per game, a reflection of missing Auston Matthews, but backing up their coach’s contention that they over-pass when earning puck possession.

FAIL TO THE CHIEF

Toronto’s stunning 30-point drop in the standings from last season has yet to see Craig Berube shown the door on Bay St.

While it’s admirable that he and his team found ways to win a few games post-trade deadline with two centres and a first-line winger moved out, the same breakdowns and lineup decisions puzzle.

Just as he kept Easton Cowan in a limited role much of the season (the rookie is now one of Toronto’s bright spots as a top-six winger) feisty Jacob Quillan should be seeing double figures in ice time. But he was in the stands Saturday as Berube went with Michael Pezzetta’s muscle. Pezzetta had just seven shifts and 5:06 with the Leafs killing five penalties.

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Though Berube barks a lot at mistakes made in practice and urged his team to get their hearts and heads into playing for pride and each other, it was too little too late.

Teams that did fire coaches, L.A., Columbus, Vegas and remarkably the Islanders, who replaced Patrick Roy with Peter DeBoer on Sunday, remain at or near playoff status heading into the final 10 days of the season.

Berube survives for now after Brad Treliving was purged first, but unless his old St. Louis GM, Doug Armstrong, is in the picture next year, Berube will likely move aside for whomever becomes the 23rd Toronto coach since Punch Imlach last won a Stanely Cup.

NET RESULTS

The Western trip as a whole saw Anthony Stolarz retain a slight edge as Toronto’s go-to goaltender.

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Woll had been amply rewarded with key starts even after Stolarz came back from an upper body injury, but his record is 2-7-2 since the Olympic break with an .898 save percentage in March. That was partly due to some atrocious team defence and low run support, but the vocal Stolarz is playing well and asserting himself against invasive forwards.

Starting next year with both goalies healthy will help the new folks in charge, while the depth that Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov provide could see one of the quartet traded for positional help elsewhere.

MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH

Where might the Leafs be in the playoff hunt had they reversed less than half of their 14 overtime/shootout defeats?

Leading scorer and breakaway specialist William Nylander flubbed the game winner on Saturday against a team that has lost more in extra time than any other in a single season. So many more ‘what-ifs’ preceded one extra-time win since Jan. 17.

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Last year’s Leafs lost only four OT decisions, their fewest in more than 20 years.

FATHERS AND SONS

Watching the mojo build between Cowan and John Tavares on Saturday is encouraging for both extremes of the Leaf age demographic.

Cowan has risen from the roster fringe in October to top-line minutes, by being a sponge around veteran centres Scott Laughton, Nicolas Roy and now Tavares. The former duo’s departure and Matthews’ surgery has elevated Cowan to tier one with Tavares and Nylander, Cowan joining a rare group of Leaf drafted rookies, post Core Four, to reach 10 goals in a season.

At 35, Tavares just keeps on truckin’, reaching 30 goals for the eighth time in his career in L.A., nearing the top 100 games played in NHL history. He’s a cap friendly $4.389 million US the next couple of years for a team Pelley indicates will re-tool, not rebuild.

DO THE MATT

Shunning talk he should shut it down after a slow-healing mid-season injury and the team’s fall from playoffs, winger Matthew Knies is finishing strong physically and statistically. Two goals Saturday brought him to six points his last six outings. In four fewer appearances this term, he has bettered his output to 64 points in 74, which should take him out of further trade speculation for his next superior.

Lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

Why Saturday was a preview of what new Maple Leaf boss could face

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