The Maple Leafs don’t need Sergei Bobrovsky to be perfect right now, but they do need him to stop digging a hole.
The 38-year-old has opened the season slowly, and his rough stretch may have cost Toronto a few points this week. Still, there’s no reason to rush to the kind of panic that would send him to Robidas Island.
Bobrovsky has been through slow starts before, and he has still finished with a Stanley Cup twice. That history matters.
What matters more for Toronto is the bigger picture. The division is tight enough that every point feels precious, and after losses to the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken, the Maple Leafs now have the worst winning percentage in the division and are slipping in the standings.
Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks offers a chance to calm things down, but it won’t directly answer the Bobrovsky question. Anthony Stolarz is set to start, so a Toronto win would help the standings but also turn up the volume on the conversation around the veteran goalie. For a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, that’s not exactly ideal.
Bobrovsky’s mindset, though, hasn’t changed. Even when the results are ugly, he still believes he played well and simply got burned by a couple of bad bounces. That outlook has been part of his rise from having the worst goaltending contract in the league in the early 2020s to becoming a champion and future Hall of Famer.
Now the question is whether he can do it again, because the chatter around the contract John Chayka handed him is only going to grow if the losses keep stacking up. It’s not fair to call it the worst deal in the league just yet, but that label will start getting thrown around if this keeps going.
The backup situation doesn’t make life any easier. Stolarz is reportedly only going to play one game per week, which leaves Toronto with very little cushion behind Bobrovsky. Jim Hiller has also been hesitant to pull him during games, and it’s not clear whether that’s about not upsetting his starter or protecting Stolarz, who is a cold-bodied, cross-crease slide away from another IR stint.
If Bobrovsky keeps trending this way, can the Maple Leafs survive? That looks doubtful, especially with Stolarz limited to one start a week.
It could force more Artur Akhytyamov appearances, and no team wants to carry three goaltenders or lean on three of them over a full season, particularly after paying Bobrovsky to be the No. 1.
For now, there’s still room for patience. But if this run lasts into mid- or late-November, the panic button starts looking a lot more reasonable. Toronto can afford to wait only so long, and only if it can keep things close in the Atlantic Division.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Getting Closer To Help As One Problem Still Lingers
The Maple Leafs are getting closer to some welcome reinforcement, and Jim Hiller sounded encouraged about whats coming back into the lineup. Chris Tanev has been trending in the right direction after looking good in practice, while Dakota Joshua should eventually give Toronto more size, wall play and a stronger net-front option, the kind of support that can matter when a team is trying to tighten things up and survive the grind of the schedule.
Hiller also pointed to the smaller details that still need sharpening, from cleaner line changes to the everyday habits that show up in practice. He praised Morgan Riellys ability to chip in at both ends while handling a leadership role, and he noted the added meaning of coaching in his home province as well as the familiarity some former Canucks players will have when facing their old club. The Leafs may be nearing help, but the timing of those returns still leaves one question hanging over the group. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs May Have A Real Way To Keep This Core Together
A rising cap picture is starting to look like the kind of break the Maple Leafs have spent years hoping for. Reports suggest the NHL ceiling could keep climbing over the next several seasons, which would give Toronto far more breathing room than it has had in the recent past and could change the way the front office approaches long-term planning around its core.
For a team that always seems to be balancing present contention against future flexibility, that matters a lot. Auston Matthews is part of the conversation, and so are younger names like Easton Cowan and Gavin McKenna, with all of them expected to be in line for new contracts around the same stretch of time. If the leagues financial landscape keeps moving in Torontos favor, the Leafs may finally have a realistic path to keeping that group together without having to gut the roster around them. [Read more 🡒]
Auston Matthews Is Giving The Leafs A Different Kind Of Hope
Auston Matthews has given the Maple Leafs a very different kind of early-season lift, and it goes beyond the usual goal-scoring gravity he brings every year. Through 15 games, he has piled up 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points, putting him right near the top of the NHL scoring race while helping drive Torontos offense in a way that feels broader than a pure finisher carrying the load.
What stands out for the Leafs is how complete the production has been. Matthews has been dangerous at even strength and on the power play, and the improvement in his playmaking has made Toronto harder to defend because opponents cannot simply key on his shot. If this level holds, the bigger question is not whether he can score, but just how far this version of Matthews can push the Leafs attack. [Read more 🡒]