The Maple Leafs are already dealing with the kind of early-season squeeze that can reshape a lineup in a hurry. Kirill Marchenko’s injury has added another layer of trouble for the coaching staff, and it comes at a time when Toronto was already trying to sort through some lineup questions.
One missing player might be manageable. Another one can force the kind of changes that weren’t part of the original plan.
That’s the downside. The upside is that someone younger may get a chance sooner than expected.
Gavin McKenna is one of the names to watch here. Marchenko’s absence leaves Toronto thinner up front, and the line combinations could get shuffled quickly.
One possibility is keeping William Nylander with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, while placing McKenna with Nick Paul and Easton Cowan. Another would send Cowan up with Matthews and Roslovic, with McKenna joining Paul and Nylander.
Neither setup solves everything, but both would give the staff a live look at how the pieces fit together.
The ripple effects don’t stop there. Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger, and Zack MacEwen could end up functioning as the third line, which would force the coaches to patch together another unit from Colton Sissons, Bo Groulx, Vinni Lettieri, and possibly Dakota Joshua once he’s recalled.
There’s also a version where Sissons slides in with Duhaime and Blueger, while Groulx centers MacEwen and either Joshua or Lettieri. However it gets arranged, the point is the same: the depth can disappear fast when injuries start to stack up.
For McKenna, though, this is the kind of opening young players wait on. More ice time isn’t always a gift by itself, especially for someone still adjusting to the NHL’s speed and physical demands.
But if the coaching staff thinks he’s ready for a bigger role, this is the sort of situation that can tell them plenty. The question goes beyond offense.
Can he handle the trust? Can he make the right reads as the lineup keeps changing around him?
Those lessons can matter even before the points show up.
On the blue line, Darren Raddysh is working through a different kind of test. With Chris Tanev out, Raddysh has taken on a meaningful defensive load, and that part of his game has been encouraging. He’s giving Toronto useful minutes in a role that matters, and that work shouldn’t be overlooked just because it doesn’t show up in the flashiest way possible.
The offensive side, though, has not come along with it. Through 14 games, Raddysh still hasn’t scored a goal, and there have been moments where his choices at the offensive blue line look like a player searching for confidence.
Sometimes he has space and a lane to shoot, but passes instead. Other times, he fires the puck when the chance to create something in front of the net doesn’t look especially strong.
Neither decision is automatically wrong, but the inconsistency stands out. He needs to recognize the opening and trust his shot.
Toronto will want both parts of that package to keep developing. The defensive minutes are useful, especially while Tanev is unavailable.
But if Raddysh becomes more decisive with the puck, he can give the Leafs a more complete version of himself. A defenceman doesn’t have to fill the net to matter.
Still, finding that balance would make him that much more valuable.
For now, the focus is on how the Maple Leafs navigate the next stretch without stretching the forwards too thin. Marchenko’s injury may force more experimentation, more responsibility for depth players, and possibly a larger role for McKenna.
Raddysh, meanwhile, is showing that strong defensive work can buy time while the offence catches up. In a season where the lineup is already shifting, those kinds of developments could end up mattering quite a bit.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs May Have One Obvious Cap Casualty To Watch
Dakota Joshua has already become one of the more intriguing depth pieces on the Maple Leafs roster, not because of what he has done this season, but because of how little he has been able to do. The winger has been sidelined by a core injury and has dealt with health issues before, leaving Toronto with another reminder of how fragile the margins can be when a team is trying to manage both performance and payroll.
Given his contract and the kind of game he plays, Joshua fits the profile of a player other clubs could circle if the Maple Leafs look for a way to open up cap room. Teams that want some size and bite in the bottom six could see him as a useful add, and the league has already started to connect him to a few possible destinations. For Toronto, the question is whether a player with that appeal is also the one most likely to be moved. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Losses Are Revealing A Different Team Identity
The Maple Leafs have been talking about accountability all season, and the message is starting to sound less like a talking point and more like a standard. In a 2026-27 season that has already featured some hard lessons, captain Auston Matthews and Easton Cowan have both been willing to own their part in the highs and lows, which is a noticeable shift for a team that has too often been defined by how it handled disappointment after playoff exits.
What stands out now is the tone inside the room, where the emphasis has clearly moved toward a team-first environment. Successes are being shared, mistakes are being acknowledged, and the response to setbacks feels more direct than deflective, which is exactly the kind of cultural change the Leafs have spent years trying to build. Cowan's postgame self-critique after the loss to Calgary fit that pattern, and it left the impression that this group is starting to measure itself differently. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Just Got A Clear Look At Torontos Biggest Problem
Gavin McKennas recent two-goal night on the power play gave the Maple Leafs a glimpse of how much bite their top talent can have when the man advantage starts clicking. There was enough there to suggest some early chemistry with Auston Matthews, and for a team still looking to sharpen its identity, that kind of connection matters as Toronto heads into its next stretch.
The bigger question around the club, though, remains in goal. Toronto is continuing to evaluate Sergei Bobrovskys recent play while weighing whether Anthony Stolarz deserves a turn, a decision that could shape how the Maple Leafs look in Vancouver. For a team trying to steady itself, the crease is still the most closely watched spot on the roster. [Read more 🡒]