The Maple Leafs are starting to look like a different team, and the biggest change isn’t just coming from the obvious names at the top of the lineup. The new faces have helped bring back the kind of speed-and-possession hockey Toronto had drifted away from, and that shift is showing up all the way through the roster.
Under the two-year Craig Berube stretch, the Leafs tried to become something else entirely. The plan was to turn Toronto into a grinding team built around winning 2-1 games, a sharp break from the puck-possession style the club had leaned on for nearly a decade.
That approach might have made sense if the Leafs had gone all the way into a rebuild. Instead, they tried to force a new identity without fully resetting the roster.
Now, the pendulum is swinging back.
Toronto is moving toward the puck-control game it played under Sheldon Keefe, and the additions up front have helped push that along. Jack Roslovic, Kirill Marchenko, and Gavin McKenna are part of that picture, with speed, possession, and a quicker overall pace becoming more visible again. The shift isn’t limited to the top six, either.
The bottom half of the lineup has been reworked with the same idea in mind. John Chayka’s overhaul of the bottom six wasn’t just about cap space.
It was about making sure the depth forwards could skate and play in sync with the top two lines. That was a clear departure from the Berube version of the group, which was slow, predictable, and built to wear teams down in a way that never really materialized.
This season’s goal is to eliminate that gap between the top two lines and the bottom two, much like the Colorado Avalanche do. Colorado rolls four lines that can all move with the puck and keep pressure on opponents, and Thursday night in Calgary offered a clean example. The Flames stayed with Colorado for roughly 20 minutes before the second period turned the game.
That kind of pressure eventually breaks teams.
Jim Hiller is trying to get the Maple Leafs to play that same way, but the process is never simple when a team has to unlearn one style and absorb another. Even so, the early signs are hard to ignore. The difference between this year’s Leafs and last year’s version is stark, and while Toronto is not running away with the Atlantic Division, the signs point toward a team that should keep improving as the season goes on and put itself in the mix for one of the top three spots in the division.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Suddenly Face A Blue Line Problem Without Chris Tanev
The Maple Leafs have had to reshuffle their blue line after veteran defenseman T.J. Tanev left Saturday nights win over the Avalanche in the first period with an upper-body injury. Toronto has since placed him on injured reserve, a development that forces the team to lean on its depth a little earlier than planned and puts added pressure on a defense group that has already been working through adjustments under coach Jim Hiller.
Marshall Rifai was recalled from the Marlies to give the Maple Leafs another option on the back end, while Nick Blankenburg has been asked to take on a bigger role in Tanevs absence. For a team that values stability on defense, the mix-and-match look is not ideal, and it leaves Toronto waiting to see how quickly it can settle its pairings once Tanev is available again. [Read more 🡒]
Auston Matthews May Be Unlocking Something New Under Jim Hiller
Auston Matthews has wasted little time giving the Maple Leafs a reason to look twice at what has changed around him. In a short run under Jim Hiller, Matthews has already produced two four-point games, a burst that stands out next to the more limited high-end scoring he had across two seasons under Craig Berube. The sample is tiny, but it is hard not to notice the difference when one of the leagues most dangerous finishers starts flashing that kind of ceiling again.
The explanation may not be simple, and it probably is not just about Matthews suddenly seeing the ice differently. Coaching style, ice time, linemates and power-play usage all come into the conversation here, because those are the details that can either feed a scorer or starve him of chances. The Leafs are still early in this evaluation, but if Hiller is opening up new offensive lanes for Matthews, it is the sort of adjustment that could matter well beyond a six-game snapshot. [Read more 🡒]
William Nylander Is Driving Why The Maple Leafs Look Dangerous Again
William Nylander keeps giving the Maple Leafs the kind of offensive push that changes the feel of a game before it even settles in. In Torontos 6-3 win over Colorado, he was central to everything, helping fuel a stretch that has the Leafs looking far more dangerous early in the season and making life easier for teammates who have been able to build off that momentum.
The scoring burst also fit neatly into the bigger arc of Nylanders career in Toronto, where his production has become the kind of steady force this team can lean on. With the way he is driving play right now, the Leafs are getting both immediate results and a reminder that their top-end skill can tilt a night quickly when he is rolling. [Read more 🡒]