The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a major crisis with the 2025-26 season having gone off to a disastrous start. The team has struggled to string together consistently strong results, the star players are failing to produce, the power play has been a disaster, and the coaching staff is seemingly out of answers for how to turn things around.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action on Saturday when they host the Ottawa Senators, but not before one of Canada’s most beloved tournaments kicks off.
You couldn’t have drawn up a better way for the Toronto Maple Leafs to close out their schedule before the holiday break than how things unfolded against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday afternoon.
If you’ve been wondering why the reaction from Toronto Maple Leafs management seems oddly restrained, you’re not alone. Losses pile up, the power play sputters, Auston Matthews looks human for long stretches.
The Maple Leafs didn’t just fire an assistant coach this week — they sent a very deliberate message about who is, and isn’t, under scrutiny. Frankly, the whole thing smells funny.
NHL head coaches have to hire good assistants. They have to set an overarching philosophy, juggle lineup configurations, and do the kind of “man management” that is impossible to track statistically.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are free-falling, sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division and second last in the Eastern Conference. They get outplayed almost every night, and even when they do play well, they usually lose.
The Toronto Maple Leafs fired assistant coach Marc Savard on Dec. 22 after struggles in the first half of the season. This firing comes after a road trip where they lost three straight to the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, and Dallas Stars.
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 faced mounting pressure entering Christmas week, and that pressure only grew on Monday when the team fired assistant coach Marc Savard, whose power play ranked last in the NHL.
Entering the holiday break, the Toronto Maple Leafs own a 16-15-5 record and sit 15th of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. The club has gone 5-10-0 on the road and ranks 32nd in the league in power-play percentage (13.0%).
If the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to turn this season around, Auston Matthews is the key. His play has been nowhere close to his standards for the last year and a half, and the captain needs to figure things out if he wants to lead this team to a Stanley Cup.
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Wins always feel better when they come after a stretch where nothing’s been going right. Three straight losses, an anemic road trip, and a lot of grumbling in the background.
Christmas time is here, although the mood is anything but merry right now for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They officially sit second-to-last in the Eastern Conference as of this writing, and their overall game is trending in the wrong direction.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander feels that his team’s 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins was just what the doctor ordered. With the fan base on edge and people’s jobs hanging in the balance, the Leafs played with a chip on their shoulders and were able to get the bounces in their favour.
What’s happened with Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is interesting. He came in before last season and took over from Sheldon Keefe. Keefe was fired because he had led his team to the playoffs, but never very far once they got there.
The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in another edition of their Next Gen game before the Christmas break. They came into this game losers of three straight and were looking to turn things around after the firing of assistant coach Marc Savard.
After nearly two months, the Toronto Maple Leafs are returning a solid defenseman to the lineup. The Maple Leafs announced that they’ve activated defenseman Chris Tanev from the long-term injured reserve.
After the Toronto Maple Leafs fired assistant coach Marc Savard on Monday, there were some questions regarding if that would be the only move made amid a massive slide, particularly with Craig Berube.