The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a 4–0 win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. However, unlike much of the season, the Leafs looked decent throughout the game. The Leafs close out 2025 with seven out of eight possible points over four games.
The Leafs are four points out of a Wild Card spot, but they are also two points from being last in the Eastern Conference. Usually by now, we know who the playoff teams are, plus/minus 2–3 teams. However, everything is very close. The question is, do the Leafs have a realistic chance of making the playoffs?
Let’s take a look at what needs to happen.
Power play needs to continue to fire on all cylinders
The Leafs fired power play coach Marc Savard on Dec. 22, not even halfway through his second year. Many of us were expecting head coach Craig Berube to follow Savard’s exit, myself included. However, since his firing, the Leafs are 3–0–1. What has stood out is that the power play has been scoring.
The Leafs’ power play has been mediocre for many years now. Last year, it was just in the top 10, sitting at ninth with 24.8%. With the firepower the Leafs had before this season, there was no reason why it shouldn’t have been consistently top five for the better part of a decade.
We all knew the Leafs would take a step back without Mitch Marner, but this seemed more like a step back into a whole new city. Before Savard’s firing, the Leafs’ power play was dead last in the NHL with a 13.3%.
To give an idea of how bad the Leafs’ power play is this year, the Leafs had 12 power play goals up until Dec. 22. In this timeframe, Wyatt Johnson of the Dallas Stars had 13 power play goals, one more than the Leafs’ total. Pavel Dorofeyev of the Vegas Golden Knights had 10, just two less. Not to mention the Leafs gave up four goals while on the power play. This was the worst power play in the Matthews era, bar none.
Since Steve Sullivan’s hiring, the Leafs’ power play has been third at 40%. They have scored four power play goals, with at least one in each of their last three games. Even in Sullivan’s first game as power play coach, the power play looked better. Obviously, it’s a four-game sample, but the Leafs’ power play has woken up. If the Leafs want to make the playoffs and go on a deep run, their power play needs to be a weapon.
Players with bounce-back seasons
Scott Laughton
Before the season began, we wrote about players who needed bounce-back seasons. One of these players was Scott Laughton. Laughton has been one of the consistent bright spots this season (when he hasn’t been injured). He has revitalized the fourth line and has looked good playing higher in the line-up with the recent injuries to William Nylander and Auston Matthews.
Since his return from injuries, Laughton has been a key player who has stabilized the penalty kill, which has gone 25/27 in the recent stretch of games. The penalty kill currently sits fourth with 84.2%, which has been one of the bright spots all season. Laughton’s positioning and ability to break up cross-seam passes are why he’s effective on the penalty kill.
He also has doubled his goal total from last season with the Leafs and surpassed his point total of four in one more game. Though the points are not there for Laughton, when everyone is healthy, he’s playing more fourth-line minutes as opposed to higher in the lineup like he was in Philadelphia.
Laughton looks like he has settled as a key leader in his second year with the Leafs and seems to be a part of the recent culture shift. It makes sense. He’s spent 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and was an assistant captain before being traded to the Leafs. Then he comes to a new team that has its own leadership (or lack thereof) and probably didn’t want to rock the boat.
Regardless, Laughton is turning into a fan favourite and brings character and grit to a fourth line that has otherwise been docile and ineffective in the Matthews era.
Bobby McMann
Another player who needed a bounce-back season was Bobby McMann. After McMann’s breakout season in 2023–24, McMann fell short of expectations last season. He only scored 10 more points in 18 more games, largely playing second-line minutes with John Tavares and William Nylander. But the playoffs were where we were left wanting more, having only three assists in 13 games. This season, McMann has made up for lost time.
So far this season, McMann has scored 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points in 38 games. Over the course of an 82-game season, this works out to 26 goals, 17 assists for 43 points, which would be a career high in both. In December alone, McMann had six goals and four assists for 10 points.
Like Laughton, McMann plays with an edge. McMann uses his body to protect the puck, but also his speed to gain the centre of the offensive zone. Despite his slow start to the season, McMann looks like a prototypical power forward with his speed, size, and scoring ability.
McMann is playing in a contract year and is looking to cash in on a big payday. The 29-year-old winger will probably sign the most lucrative contract of his career after this season, so it makes sense why he’s finally turning into the power forward the Leafs desperately need more of.
Both Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton are two key players that the Leafs need to continue to have bounce-back seasons if they want to make a playoff push. Far too long have the Leafs had an identity as a two-line team. Both McMann (though he does play in the top-six at times) and Laughton can help solidify the bottom of the lineup.
Culture and identity
I have talked a lot this year about how the Leafs need on-ice leadership. I also think that Craig Berube is not the best coach for the makeup of this team, but it appears that the Leafs will be sticking with him. Despite Berube not being the best coach for the roster makeup, I also think the players are to blame. So far this season, the big stars have shown very little leadership or grit.
The Leafs probably have the best bottom-six in the entire Matthews era. Nicolas Roy, as a “throw-in” in the trade for Mitch Marner, has worked out better than expected. Roy is on pace to match his Vegas Golden Knights point total last season over an 82-game pace. Lorentz has already scored four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 32 games. He is on pace for a career season in points. Dakota Joshua is on pace to have a bounce-back season and pass his point totals from last year with the Vancouver Canucks.
We have already discussed Laughton, what he brings, and how he’s been a leader. Nicholas Robertson has largely played in the bottom-six and is on pace for a career season. Over the last couple of games, Robertson has shown chemistry with rookie Easton Cowan.
Getting these kinds of performances out of the bottom-six has been unheard of in the Matthews era. The bottom-six has been a key identity marker this season for the Leafs: they will hit you into oblivion, but also put up points.
Now it’s for the stars to show up and lead how the bottom-six has been. Before the injuries to Nylander and Matthews, both these players were on the score sheet after long disappearances. Matthews, in particular, looked like he had stepped up in recent games before his injury, giving us glimpses of his former offensive star power.
Can the Leafs realistically make the playoffs?
With the standings so tight, the Leafs can still realistically make the playoffs. All it takes is a couple of good weeks. However, being able to maintain that playoff spot for the second half of the season, with it being so close, is the challenge. Time will tell if the Leafs are up to the task.
Do you think the Leafs can make the playoffs? What else needs to happen? Let us know down below!
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