The 2026-27 Toronto Maple Leafs are heading into the season with a very different look, and that alone has given the fan base something it hasn’t had in a while: real hope.
New GM John Chayka has clearly attacked the roster from multiple angles. The goaltending is different.
The blue line is different. The forward group looks different, too.
After the flat second half of last season, there’s at least a sense that this team could be faster, stronger, and a lot harder to handle.
But optimism only goes so far. The big question is whether the Leafs have actually built a contender, or just a roster loaded with bets that need to hit at the same time.
Auston Matthews, Nick Paul, Morgan Rielly, and the goalie tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz all come into next season after disappointing 2025-26 campaigns in one way or another. If Toronto is going to make the playoffs, Matthews probably has to get back to 50 goals, Rielly has to clean up his work in the defensive zone, and the crease has to become a strength instead of a problem.
That last piece may be the most important. Stolarz finished 43rd out of 55 NHL goaltenders who played at least 26 games in GSAx last season, while Bobrovsky came in at 48th.
That kind of production doesn’t point to a Stanley Cup run, and it doesn’t exactly scream playoff safety either. If both can rediscover the form they showed in 2024, when they helped the Florida Panthers win the Cup and ranked as one of the league’s top tandems, Toronto’s outlook changes fast.
But that’s a big if.
The same basic issue runs through the rest of the roster. The Leafs are counting on a long list of players to either repeat career years, take a major developmental leap, or keep producing well into their late 30s. That group includes Darren Raddysh, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Easton Cowan, Gavin McKenna, John Tavares, Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev.
There’s upside in all of it. If those players land where Toronto hopes, the Leafs could be dangerous in the Eastern Conference.
But that’s a lot of uncertainty to carry into one season. By that count, five of their top nine forwards, five of their top six defensemen, and both of their top two goaltenders are all far from guaranteed to deliver.
The one pair that feels rock solid? William Nylander and Matthew Knies. Those are the only two Leafs the source says can be counted on with full confidence to have great seasons.
That’s why the ceiling and floor are so far apart here. If everything breaks right, Toronto could be one of the better teams in the league. The forward depth would look contender-level, the defense would be stronger, and the goalies would be capable of stealing nights when they’re on.
If the gambles don’t pay off, though, the picture gets ugly in a hurry, and another slide toward the bottom of the Atlantic is on the table.
For now, the safest read is somewhere in the middle: a playoff bubble team with a real shot at a wild-card spot. And after all the movement Chayka has made, the final question is obvious: did he take too many swings?
In Other News...
Maple Leafs May Have Found A Defense Fit They Rarely Get Cheap
The Maple Leafs added another piece to their blue line pipeline in the 2026 NHL Draft, taking right-shot defenseman Mans Gudmundsson with the 76th overall pick. For a team that has long searched for affordable, homegrown help on defense, the selection checked a few boxes at once: size, puck-moving ability and a physical edge that can be hard to find once the price tag starts climbing.
Gudmundsson is not just a flyer on a later pick, either. Toronto appears to see him as part of a longer-term succession plan for its defense corps, with room for him to keep developing in North America. Whether he becomes the kind of steady, cost-controlled fit the organization is hoping for will depend on how quickly he adapts, but the Leafs clearly think there is more there than a depth add. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Still Have One Unsettled Goalie Question Before Camp
The Maple Leafs head into camp with their goaltending chart already taking shape around Anthony Stolarz and Sergei Bobrovsky, but it is not hard to see why the room still feels unfinished. Stolarz brings injury concerns into the conversation, while Bobrovskys age makes depth behind them more than a luxury, especially for a team that knows how quickly a crease plan can get complicated over a long season.
One possible answer is a familiar kind of training-camp insurance, with Toronto weighing a veteran option who has NHL experience and just spent time in the KHL. It would not change the outlook at the top of the depth chart, but it would give the Leafs another layer of protection if the kind of goalie trouble that tends to arrive unexpectedly starts to show up again. [Read more 🡒]
John Tavares Maple Leafs Signing Is Back In The Spotlight
John Tavares was back in the spotlight in a very different setting this week, appearing in Tax Court of Canada to challenge a Canada Revenue Agency demand tied to the signing bonus he received when he joined the Maple Leafs in 2018. The dispute centers on how that money should be treated for tax purposes, with the CRA arguing it belonged in the same bucket as regular salary while Tavares and his lawyer say his residency status at the time changes the calculation.
For Toronto, the case is another reminder of how much attention followed the captains arrival and how long the aftershocks from that decision can linger. The court has not ruled yet, leaving one more off-ice storyline hanging over a player whose move to the Maple Leafs already reshaped the franchise and still draws scrutiny years later. [Read more 🡒]