Leafs Spiral Continues as Playoff Hopes Fade Fast
The writing was on the wall Tuesday night in Toronto. The Maple Leafs didn’t just lose to the Buffalo Sabres - they unraveled.
Again. And this time, it feels like the unraveling might be permanent.
With a 7-4 loss to a Sabres team that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in 14 years, the Leafs fell eight points behind not just Buffalo, but also behind Montreal and Boston - both of whom picked up overtime wins on the same night. That eight-point gap might as well be a canyon with the way Toronto’s been playing. April’s not far off, and this team doesn’t look like it’s climbing out of anything.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just a scoreboard loss. It was a failure in every phase.
The Leafs were flat to start, flat to finish, and flat-out uncompetitive for long stretches. The goaltending?
A repeat performance of what’s become all too familiar - shaky, inconsistent, and nowhere near what’s needed from a team fighting for its postseason life.
And this wasn’t how the season was supposed to go. Toronto was aiming for its tenth straight playoff appearance.
That kind of consistency is rare in this league. But the wheels fell off early, and they’ve kept rolling downhill ever since.
Injuries have played their part - no question. Losing both Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo on the blue line hurt.
The Mitch Marner trade to Vegas sent shockwaves through the locker room. William Nylander’s injury followed by a now-infamous gesture to the fans only added fuel to the fire.
And then there’s the bizarre gym accident involving head coach Craig Berube - a strange footnote in a season that’s been full of them.
Right now, it’s hard to find anything solid to build around. The Leafs look lost - not just in the standings, but in identity.
This isn’t the team that’s spent nearly a decade flirting with contention. This isn’t the group that used to skate with swagger and expect to win.
It’s a far cry from the days when Toronto bottomed out intentionally to draft Auston Matthews and jumpstart a new era. That move sparked a wave of optimism.
Marner and Nylander emerged as stars. John Tavares arrived and delivered.
Matthew Knies looked like a gem in the making. There was belief.
There was a core.
Now? That belief is fading fast.
Sports can be cruel like this. One year you’re a contender, the next you’re searching for answers.
Just ask the Patriots. But in Toronto, this slide feels different.
It feels like more than a down year. It feels like a reset might be coming, whether the front office is ready for it or not.
The goaltending situation has been a microcosm of the larger problem. Joseph Woll started the season on the shelf, returned with promise, and then hit a wall.
He’s now lost five straight starts, and in those games, the Leafs have been outscored 25-12. You don’t win hockey games giving up five goals a night - not in this league.
On Tuesday, Woll looked like a goalie trying to do too much. He was reaching, sliding, scrambling - rarely set, rarely confident. And in many ways, his performance mirrored the team in front of him: disjointed, reactive, and unsure of itself.
Anthony Stolarz hasn’t been able to steady the ship either. After a promising stretch last season, he’s struggled to regain form following a mysterious injury that’s kept him out for most of this year. When he has played, he hasn’t looked sharp.
And when your goaltenders aren’t right, nothing else matters. Ask any coach - they’ll tell you they need someone in net they can trust. Right now, Toronto doesn’t have that.
So here we are. The Leafs are staring down a lost season with a roster that was built to contend, not collapse. The playoffs aren’t officially out of reach, but the road back is steep, and this team hasn’t shown the fight needed to climb it.
There’s still talent here. There are still pieces worth believing in.
But belief only gets you so far without results. And right now, Toronto’s not just losing games - they’re losing their way.