3 reasons Maple Leafs missed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

It should have been a huge year for Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Since the Leafs had designs on winning the Atlantic Division, they needed their stars to come up with huge seasons.

Matthews’ season came to an abrupt end when he suffered a season-ending knee injury shortly after the Olympic break when Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas appeared to stick out his leg in an effort to stop the Toronto forward. Gudas was suspended for the action and Matthews underwent surgery for a Grade 3 MCL tear.

However, Matthews was nowhere near the top of his game prior to the injury. He finished the season with 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points.

Matthews has had two 60-goal seasons in his career, including a 69-goal season in 2023-24, but he has not come close to that form in either of the last two seasons. While he should be healthy again next season, he has averaged 30 goals the last two seasons and that’s simply not good enough.

Nylander should have had a huge year. He is the Maple Leafs’ leading scorer with 28 goals and 47 assists for 75 points, but he rarely displayed the magic with the puck that Toronto fans expected. The season quickly fell apart for the Leafs and appeared that Nylander lost interest by the time the Leafs returned from the Olympic break.

Veteran John Tavares had 30 goals and 70 points, but he has not been a difference maker for the team.

As the team looks toward the 2026-27 season and the years that follow, one has to wonder how much of a role Nylander and Tavares will play for the team. The firing of general manger Brad Treliving at the conclusion of March indicates that the team is bound to go through significant changes, and they could involve Toronto’s key players.

Berube may not be the right leader

The Maple Leafs hired former Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube prior to the start of the 2024-25 season. One of the primary reasons for Berube’s selection was his reputation for toughness and the thought that he would demand his players bring more nastiness to their game than they had under previous head coach Sheldon Keefe.

The Leafs had a chance to show their anger and desire to fight back after the Gudas hit on Matthews. None of the Leafs who were on the ice at the time did anything about it. Instead of taking on Gudas or any one of the other Ducks, they skated to the bench and did nothing.

There was no fire on the Leafs when they needed it most. In the games that followed, angry forward Max Domi tried to demonstrate his toughness by getting into several altercations. That included a nasty fight with Gudas when the Leafs and Ducks met in a March 30 return match at Anaheim. Domi had not been on the ice when Matthews suffered the injury.

The Leafs endured a slew of criticism for their failure to react at the time of the injury. That is clearly not the way Berube coached, but his players have apparently not gotten his message.

The Maple Leafs were one of the most disappointing teams in the league. Their defense and star players let them down, and the Maple Leafs never displayed the backbone needed to become a top team in the NHL. The 2025-26 season can’t end soon enough for them.