The Maple Leafs are only a few games into the season, so the temptation to overreact is strong - and probably dangerous. Three games can reveal a trend, but they can also hand you a fake one. Even so, there are already a couple of things worth tracking in Toronto, and one of them goes beyond any single player: this team looks like it’s trying to own the puck and steer the game.
That shift matters because Toronto has spent the last couple of seasons without nearly enough of the puck. Last season, the Maple Leafs finished last in the NHL in 5-on-5 shot-attempt share. The season before, when they won their division, they were 29th, and a lot of that success was covered up by outstanding goaltending.
Seen through that lens, the Kirill Marchenko trade starts to make a little more sense. The question isn’t simply whether Marchenko is a better player than Matthew Knies.
It’s about fit, and about what Toronto seems to believe it needs. Marchenko is the kind of winger who can push play himself - carrying the puck through the neutral zone, getting into the middle of the ice and generating chances for both himself and his linemates.
John Chayka essentially framed it that way when he explained the move. Toronto, in his telling, needs players who can dictate play consistently and sustainably. That last word matters.
One trade isn’t going to erase last season’s possession issues by itself. But if Marchenko helps Auston Matthews and William Nylander spend more shifts attacking with the puck instead of chasing it, that’s a real step.
And while the headline names draw the attention, one of the early bright spots has come from a line that’s doing the kind of work the Maple Leafs need more of. Easton Cowan, Nick Paul and Colton Sissons have been quietly driving play, and through the first few games that group has been up 25-10 in shot attempts.
Cowan has been moving the puck and creating, while Paul and Sissons have handled the grinding stuff - getting to the net, working the boards and staying responsible without the puck. They’ve also been taking on some tough matchups.
That’s the sort of combination Toronto can use.
It also puts the struggles of the second line into sharper focus. John Tavares has two assists through three games, which is not all that different from where he stood after three games last season. That’s why it feels premature to bury anything just yet.
Still, the Maple Leafs need more from that unit. It’s hard to build a team when one line is controlling shifts and another is spending too much time defending.
That’s where the early-season questions get interesting. Maybe the answer is patience.
Maybe it’s a lineup tweak. Either way, Toronto needs more than talent in isolation.
It needs lines that actually work together.
So the thing to watch isn’t just the next goal. It’s who controls the next shift.
The Maple Leafs appear to be chasing a different identity, one built around puck possession and sustained pressure instead of relying on their stars to rescue every night. Marchenko fits that idea.
So do Cowan, Paul and Sissons. If those pieces keep driving play, Toronto has something real to build on.
The rest still has to catch up. The Tavares line needs to chip in.
The power play needs time to settle in. The breakout has to get cleaner.
But those are the kinds of issues that can be fixed if the bigger idea is sound. And right now, that’s the most interesting part: the Maple Leafs don’t seem finished figuring themselves out, but they do seem to be asking the right questions.
In Other News...
Leafs Got The Kind Of Win That Could Mean Something Bigger
After a 5-4 win over the Rangers, Jim Hiller had plenty to like about the way the Leafs carried themselves through a game that could have gone sideways in a hurry. The head coach pointed to the team's consistency and the work coming from the fourth line, a group that helped steady things when the score tightened and the pressure rose late.
Nick Paul drew Hiller's praise for the effort that kept the play alive deep in the third period, the kind of detail that can decide a game in a tight NHL race. There was also some injury concern to sort through afterward, with updates pending on Nick Blankenburg and Marshall Rifai, leaving the Leafs with at least a little uncertainty even after a win that felt like it carried extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Troy Stecher Has Become An Unexpected Bright Spot For The Leafs
The Maple Leafs have spent the first stretch of the 2026/27 season trying to steady their game, and Troy Stecher has quietly emerged as one of the more dependable pieces in the mix. With Toronto sitting at 5-4-2 through 11 games, the veteran defender has found himself with a much larger workload than many expected, bringing a steady hand to a blue line that has had plenty of uneven moments around him.
Stechers value has shown up in the kind of areas that usually only get noticed when they go wrong, especially on the penalty kill and in the tough defensive shifts that come with a heavier assignment. Even with solid goaltending helping keep the Maple Leafs afloat, the teams overall defensive play remains a concern, which makes Stechers rise into a more prominent role an important subplot as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Prospect Is Making One Last Push For An NHL Shot
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev has brought his offseason work to Toronto, where the Russian forward is training while trying to keep his NHL hopes alive with the Maple Leafs. After spending the past two seasons in the KHL, he is still unsigned there, but the move back to Ontario gives him a more direct path to work in front of the organization and keep himself in the conversation.
There is still plenty standing in the way of that opportunity. His rights remain with Admiral Vladivostok, and the club does not sound inclined to move him, while Torontos own roster picture leaves little easy room at the top level. Even so, Der-Arguchintsev is still pushing for a chance, and the most realistic opening may come by way of the Toronto Marlies as he tries to turn this into one more shot at the NHL. [Read more 🡒]