So far this season, we’re about a month in, and the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t been playing very well in comparison to the expectations they had put on them by the media and the fans at the beginning of the season. With a 8–8–1 record the Leafs are currently second last in the Atlantic Division only ahead of the Buffalo Sabres.
Leafs fans are in full rollercoaster mode currently, along with the media. This week on TSN’s Overdrive show, the Leafs were called “flat out terrible,” by Jeff O’Neill during their Wednesday show.
Somewhat of a surprise considering the success the Leafs had in the 2024–25 season, and considering they made multiple acquisitions during the offseason to in theory help with their identity shift under Coach Craig Berube. The identity shift is a topic of its own and also why it isn’t working.
Nic Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Matias Maccelli have only been on the team for a month or so, so it may be unfair to grade them on only a 17 game sample size but we’re going to do it anyway.
Matias Maccelli
First up, Matias Maccelli. Through 16 games he has eight points, and so far I’ve been a big fan of his. I think he’s an excellent playmaker but at times the Leafs lack of speed and finishing doesn’t do Maccelli any favours. It’s good to see him start to be productive offensively. He has four points in the last five games but staying consistent is going to be the real test.
Considering the Leafs only gave up a conditional third-round pick that will help with their final grade. I’m going to give the Leafs B- on this one. It’s not perfect but they definitely got the better end of the deal.
Nic Roy
Nic Roy was the most surprising to me personally, because everybody knew that Mitch Marner was unlikely to re-sign in Toronto regardless. So it was somewhat shocking that the Leafs received that big of a return as part of the Marner trade.
Marner has been lighting it up in Vegas with 19 points in 15 games while playing on a line with Jack Eichel who has 22 points in 15 games and they’ve become one of the best duos in the NHL.
I said before the season started that I didn’t think Marner had reached his ceiling as a player and he would thrive in Vegas. And so far it appears I’m right! As for Roy he has just four points in 17 games so that doesn’t look good on the Leafs.
Having said that, Marner is one of those players that’s irreplaceable. This feels very similar to the movie Moneyball when the Oakland A’s had to try and replace Jason Giambi. Nic Roy is not Marner’s caliber as a player nor does he have the same play style so it feels unfair to compare them. I’ll give them a C for this trade and the only reason it’s that high is the fact that the Leafs were able to get a return for a guy who is on the way out anyway.
Dakota Joshua
Dakota Joshua was a weird one, given he missed part of last season due to his battle with testicular cancer. So, far this season he has only five points in 17 games which is less than what was expected at the start of the season. But then again, he only played 57 games last season so he could still be shaking the rust off.
It’s a long season, and our new guys have a long time to redeem themselves but again the Leafs grade will be improved due to what they gave up, similar to the Maccelli trade. I’m going to give them another C with this one.
However, excluding Maccelli I haven’t loved the way the offseason went. I’ve voiced my opinion that the Leafs would be significantly worse without Marner and only 17 games into the season fans are already in panic mode. However, knowing how Toronto sports usually goes there will likely be a couple more highs on the rollercoaster that is being a Leafs fan.
