Another week has gone by for the Toronto Maple Leafs, this one the worst of the season. Several negative actions occurred within the team, resulting in a streak of losses. The progress of this season has been absolutely awful, and this team is in trouble. Certain players are dealing with injuries, and the defence has been terrible. Going forward, there needs to be some changes made to spark this team again. Let’s take a look at what all went down this week.
Injuries are piling up (again)
The injury bug has certainly been bothering the Maple Leafs recently. Chris Tanev has been injured for the last two weeks and still has no update on a potential return. He originally got injured against the Flyers when Matvei Michkov hit him in an awkward position. Forward Scott Laughton was another important player to receive an injury. Laughton had only played in two games since returning from his preseason injury. Unfortunately, he received an upper-body injury against the Bruins and has been placed on the injury reserve.
The injury report only got worse as the week wore on. Superstar forward Auston Matthews received a lower-body injury against the Bruins on Tuesday and has not returned to action since. From the rumours floating around, this injury does not seem to be too serious. Reports have stated that Matthews will be out for about a week. Regardless of how long he is out for, Matthews is a magnificent loss for the Leafs moving forward.
To finish out this rough week, two more injury reports came down. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz was placed on the injury reserve as well. Stolarz has struggled significantly this season, posting a .884 save percentage along with a 3.51 goals against average. Maybe some time off is exactly what the goalie needs to reset. Last of all, Brandon Carlo missed Saturday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a minor lower-body injury. Injury luck has certainly not been on the Leafs’ side as of late. Has this been the cause of the team’s recent pathetic performance?
Five-game losing streak
The Leafs played in four games this previous week and lost all of them. This has extended their losing streak to five straight. Their losing streak began in a game against the Bruins, where nothing went right. However, it has become so important in the NHL to bounce back after a single loss, and the Leafs had that chance. After the tough loss against Boston, the Leafs took on the Hurricanes the following night. Here, the Leafs blew a 4–2 lead, giving up three unanswered goals. One could argue that if they do not blow that lead, this week would have gone completely different.
The Leafs, in general, are not used to losing streaks. Having the core of Matthews, Marner, Tavares, and Nylander all on one team did not provide many long losing streaks over the past few years. The overload of star power was often an easy excuse for how this team performed so well in the regular season. However, this season has already brought some adversity. The constant injuries, younger players emerging, and tough losses have put a fair amount of doubt on this franchise. On the bright side, it is good to face adversity early on in a season. It helps prepare the team to face future obstacles.
More changes are being made
There were a couple more changes made to the Leafs’ roster this previous week. Firstly, David Kampf was officially released by the Maple Leafs franchise. It was clear that Kampf was upset with how the season had begun and needed a change immediately. Luckily for him, the Vancouver Canucks signed him instantly to a one-year deal. This will give him a fresh start in a different conference away from the Leafs.
With the injuries to Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, the Leafs needed to bring in another depth defenceman. This is why they claimed veteran Troy Stecher off of waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. He may not be a certified upgrade on the back end, but he has had some very reliable seasons in his NHL career. During his time with the Canucks, Coyotes, and Flames, he was a great puck-moving defenceman who brought some leadership to the locker room. The 31-year-old will have a lot of eyes on him now, playing for a popular franchise like the Leafs.
To end the week on more of a positive note, Joseph Woll is back in the net for the Leafs. He made his season debut on Saturday night against the Blackhawks, looking very calm and collected. Woll did not look out of place at all and was easily one of the Leafs’ top performers that night. His return came at a perfect time as Anthony Stolarz was placed on injury reserve. Woll will be the main guy in net for now. He is coming off a strong 2024–25 campaign where he won 27 games and posted a .909 save percentage.
What does this team need to do to get back in the win column?
Speed. That is the real thing missing from this team and we can’t handle the speed coming the other way.