For a franchise coming off of what was probably its best season of the past quarter-century, optimism around the Toronto Maple Leafs is hard to come by these days.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the club lost a foundational piece, offensive leader and a key part of its heart and soul when Mitch Marner departed the organization in a sign-and-trade. Toss in some sensible, albeit underwhelming, offseason moves and the continued success of the rival Florida Panthers, and it’s clear why the glass may not be half full.
But now, as training camp gets underway, it’s time to focus more on what the Maple Leafs do have than what they don’t. After all, this is a team that pushed the eventual champions to seven games in Round 2 after winning the Atlantic Division and notched the third-highest regular season point total (108) in franchise history. While Marner is a tough loss to absorb, Toronto does return the vast majority of that roster, including the entire blue line and goaltending tandem, as well as most of their starry forward corps.
Earned it, but hungry for more! pic.twitter.com/kxmb0yscj2
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 16, 2025
Yes, there are reasons for hope even in a post-Marner world, although Maple Leafs fans could be forgiven for being slow to warm up to that mindset. Nevertheless, the opening of camp could yield some positive, encouraging stories that help them come around. Here are some early positive preseason happenings that could help people feel a lot better about the 2025-26 Maple Leafs.
A Forward (or Two) Steps Up
No, there is no Marner replacement waiting in the wings and ready to step into the Maple Leafs’ opening night lineup. Still, his departure opened up a hole in the top-six that needs to be filled. We’ve already spent considerable pixels speculating on who might move into an impact role on one of the top two lines, but wouldn’t it be nice if someone used training camp to cement their place?
If such a scenario were to play out, we’d certainly be looking at the club’s biggest preseason storyline. For an organization seeking some positive momentum, it would be quite the welcome sight to see Matias Maccelli break out amidst new surroundings or for Easton Cowan to announce his presence in the NHL by making an undeniable claim for a job with the Maple Leafs.
Amidst what is currently a logjam in the latter tiers of the organization’s forward depth, that type of emergence would not only solidify the top-six, but would also help sort out the rest of the lineup up front. With so much of the decision coming down to fit and chemistry, there exists the possibility that, say, Bobby McMann figures out how to operate alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies or Dakota Joshua clicks as the physical edge next to John Tavares and William Nylander.
Cowan Makes the Jump
Even amidst a group of new faces and plenty of returning stars, the most must-see Maple Leaf in camp may well be the 20-year-old Cowan. He was held out of the second game of the recent Rookie Showcase in Montreal, tempering expectations a bit and even inspiring potential injury concerns. However, he also possesses the talent level that could ultimately make him impossible to send back down.
A potential breakthrough for Cowan would address some of the aforementioned questions in the top-six. It would also offer the excitement of seeing what the club’s top prospect can do at the NHL level. While expectations surrounding the London Knights star should be tempered as he begins to adjust to the league, it wasn’t long ago that Toronto got to live out the thrill of seeing Knies jump from prospect to bona fide star. It would be pretty incredible to see lightning strike twice in a relatively short span of time.
(Photo by Vincent Ethier/CHL)
It’s unclear how ready Cowan is for a full-time NHL role, not to mention how much room there is for him to break through amongst a crowded group of forwards. Still, the possible emergence of a young, budding, homegrown star set to remain on his rookie contract for the next three seasons is the best-case scenario for the 2025-26 Maple Leafs.
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Signs of Bounce Back Seasons From Matthews & Rielly
For those fretting over the 27 goals and 102 points that theoretically need to be made up from last season in the aftermath of Marner’s departure, consider that Matthews saw his numbers dip by a whopping 36 goals and nearly 30 points last season, while Morgan Rielly’s point total dropped by 17 despite playing in 10 more games. And the Maple Leafs’ season (second round, aside) still turned out okay.
Although the notion of internal improvement typically refers to young players on the rise, it could refer to organizational staples like Matthews and Rielly for the Maple Leafs. Matthews, who has just turned 28, will no longer have Marner on his wing, but boasts the type of all-world talent to score goals with anyone flanking him. Who knows, perhaps he can continue his odd trend of career-best goal totals in every other season (47 in 2019-20, 60 in 2021-22 and 69 in 2023-24).
The 33 goals that Matthews scored last season represent a sensational campaign for most players, but actually stand as a career low for the Maple Leafs superstar centre. Similarly, Rielly’s 0.5 point per game average last season (41 points in 82 games) was his lowest mark since notching just 27 points in 76 games as a still-developing 22-year-old blue liner in 2016-17. Although the longest-tenured Leaf is now 31 years of age, it isn’t unreasonable to anticipate that a full season (maybe) alongside Brandon Carlo could help return his offensive production to past heights. The early indications are promising, at least.
The preseason doesn’t mean all that much, particularly for a veteran-laden team fresh off a division title and with Stanley Cup aspirations. However, after an offseason in which the Maple Leafs took their lumps in the form of losing their leading scorer, positive momentum is important. Being able to celebrate encouraging play from new faces, an NHL breakthrough from Cowan or signs of revitalized play from a notable holdover would go a long way towards bringing back some good vibes.
