As training camp gets closer, the Toronto Maple Leafs are staring at a season that could swing wildly in either direction. The 2026-27 campaign could end with a Stanley Cup championship, or it could spiral into another bottom-five finish. Right now, it feels like both outcomes are on the table.
Even with that uncertainty, there’s real reason for Leafs fans to feel good about where this team is headed.
This offseason was different. Toronto didn’t just tweak the edges and call it a day.
The club managed a genuine retool on the fly, and the biggest changes came in the crease and in the bottom-six forward group. That’s where John Chayka focused his attention, because moving Auston Matthews and William Nylander was never going to be realistic.
So instead of trying to tear down the core, Chayka attacked the parts of the lineup he actually could change. The goal was simple: add enough depth around Matthews and the rest of the top end to make the whole roster harder to handle.
That’s why the Leafs look better on paper than they did a year ago.
The biggest upgrade is depth. Toronto may not suddenly become a team that piles up secondary scoring, but it should be tougher to outplay and outwork over 60 minutes.
That extra support also matters for Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares, because it should take some of the load off them. In a best-case version of this team, Matthews and Nylander could even see their ice time trimmed a bit.
That kind of flexibility was missing before. During the Craig Berube era, Matthews often found himself in defensive situations where a different deployment might have made more sense. He’s a strong defensive center, but there were moments when a third-line shift would have been the better choice, especially if it meant keeping him on the bench for an offensive-zone faceoff.
Part of that came down to the lack of depth Brad Treliving gave Berube. Part of it also came from Berube’s preference for turning a once fast, free-flowing Maple Leafs team into something more grinding and defense-first.
Still, there’s a ceiling to how far optimism should go before the season starts.
It’s easy to dream big: a return to 60 goals for Matthews, a 100-point season from Nylander, even a monster year from Gavin McKenna. It’s just as easy to imagine Sergei Bobrovsky bouncing back and looking like his old self again.
But the more realistic expectation is simpler. The Maple Leafs should be a solid playoff team.
They should spend the season firmly in the mix for a postseason spot, and that lines up with what some hockey odds are saying right now. Most bookmakers are bullish on Toronto making it back to the playoffs.
What happens after that is a different story.
Once the postseason arrives, everything gets messy fast. Toronto’s playoff fate will depend heavily on where it finishes and how the bracket shakes out. The Leafs could be built for a deep run, or they could be out in the first round.
For now, the most reasonable view is that Toronto is still very much a work in progress. There’s a decent chance the team spends the early part of the season trying to figure out exactly what it is. The hope is that the answer comes at the right time.
In Other News...
Former Oilers Forward Gets A Fresh Chance As Leafs Role Opens Up
The Maple Leafs forward picture keeps shifting, and the latest move only sharpens the competition. Jack Roslovics new two-year deal in Toronto has already created the sense that he could be asked to do more than some expected when he arrived, while the rest of the roster battle remains very much alive as camp approaches. For a team trying to sort out its depth and find the right mix up front, every opening matters.
Alex Nylander is on the other side of that equation, with reports tying him to a professional tryout at Calgary Flames camp after a productive season with the Toronto Marlies. It is a reminder of how thin the line can be for players chasing NHL jobs, especially when one roster gets crowded and another spot suddenly looks available. For Toronto, the competition around the bottom of the forward group is still a story worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Keep Emerging In One Intriguing Big-Season Addition Scenario
Elliotte Friedmans latest look at the leagues future had a little something for everyone, but for Maple Leafs fans, the most intriguing thread was the one that put Erik Karlsson back into the conversation. Any talk of a veteran right-shot defenseman with elite puck-moving ability is going to catch attention in Toronto, especially with the club always searching for ways to sharpen its blue line and keep pace in the East. The broader backdrop matters, too, with Friedman floating the idea of NHL expansion in markets like Atlanta and Texas before the next U.S. TV deal expires, a reminder that the leagues next few years could bring more change than most offseasons do.
There is also the inevitable business-side chatter around the top of the league office, with Friedman suggesting Gary Bettman could eventually shift into an advisory role while Bill Daly steps in. But for the Leafs, the immediate draw is still the possibility of Karlsson landing in Toronto if the right conditions line up, a scenario that keeps resurfacing because it would reshape how the team thinks about its roster construction. Elsewhere on the hockey broadcast and transaction front, there were updates involving Ron Macleans possible return to Rogers Saturday night coverage, plus emergency backup goalie news and professional tryout agreements for Cal Petersen and Alex Nylander, a reminder that the NHL calendar never stays quiet for long. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Are Watching A Familiar Experiment Slip To Another Team
Alex Nylander is headed for another chance to crack an NHL roster, with reports saying he is expected to sign a professional tryout with the Calgary Flames. For Toronto fans, it is a familiar kind of development: a player who made an impression with the Marlies last season, put together a strong year in the AHL, and still never turned that into a permanent spot with the Maple Leafs.
Now the Flames will get the look Toronto never fully granted him at the top level. Nylander will be evaluated through training camp and the preseason as Calgary tries to determine whether his game fits its NHL mix, leaving the Leafs to watch a once-familiar internal test play out somewhere else, with a different staff deciding whether there is finally a path forward. [Read more 🡒]