The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a terrible start to the 2025-26 season and looking for ways to turn it around, and fast. They currently sit in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 9-10-3 record and have been bitten bad by the injury bug. As they navigate through this hard time, they are banking on the return of their star players making a difference.
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Over the last week, they went 0-1-1 with losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens. They are back in action tonight (Nov. 26th) against the Blue Jackets and hope to snap the losing streak and start a run to climb back up the standings. Despite the bad start, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that they can get back into the playoff picture. They currently have 21 points, while the Tampa Bay Lightning, who occupy top spot in the Division, have 28 points. So, only seven points separate first to last, which gives the Maple Leafs a good chance to get back into it, all they need to do is win a handful of games in a row.
With that, let’s look at some of the news surrounding this team over the last week.
Matthews, Knies, Roy and McCabe Set to Return Wednesday
It looks like the Maple Leafs will get some reinforcements for their game against the Blue Jackets on Wednesday night. When head coach Craig Berube met with the media after practice, he said this about Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Nicolas Roy and Jake McCabe: “It’s good that they were out there and finished practice and went through all the drills. So yes, that’s where they’re at. So that means yes, maybe tomorrow.” If that is the case, they could get three forwards back and one defenceman, which will mean some roster movement.
It also means a deeper roster and a greater chance to win. As they inch closer to getting their full lineup back healthy, they are also inching closer to a chance to rattle off a few wins in a row. With the addition of Matthews and Knies, it makes the top six drastically better and more offensively potent. As for Roy, he brings more center depth and gives Berube a reliable forward to use in all situations. Lastly, adding McCabe back to the blue line is huge. He plays hard and often makes the little plays to give his team a better chance to win. Now, all they are missing is Anthony Stolarz, Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev.
Woll Wasn’t Happy About Being Pulled
In the grand scheme of things, no goalie is ever overly thrilled to be pulled from a game. But for Joseph Woll, he hated every second of it. He was pulled against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night after allowing four goals on 25 shots. It wasn’t that he was playing bad, he kept the game as close as it was. But something needed to be changed, so the Maple Leafs elected for a mercy pull to shake up the game for his club. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and they still lost, quite badly.
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Berube shared in his media availability yesterday just how mad Woll was about being pulled. “He was so pissed off at me for pulling him the other night. But I like that. And, you know, he wanted to be in there and fight, and that’s good.” This could be what the Maple Leafs need, a goalie who is angry about how bad the team was playing that it caused him to be pulled from the game. This could be the fuel that sparks a run of solid play and, more importantly, great goaltending from Woll.
Maple Leafs Attempted to Trade Carlo Last Summer
In a recent report from Nick Kypreos, he stated that the Maple Leafs did in fact try and trade Carlo this past offseason. He mentioned that Toronto tried to trade Carlo to the Buffalo Sabres as part of a deal for J.J. Peterka, and when he was dealt to the Utah Mammoth, they pivoted to a trade for Bowen Byram. Unfortunately, things never materialized and he remained with the team.
Obviously, it is hard for Carlo because of how he has played and the fact that the Maple Leafs parted with Fraser Minten and a 2026 first round pick. However, if he had been used to further improve the roster with a player like Peterka or Byram, it would have made fans breathe a bit easier. But ultimately that didn’t happen, though it doesn’t mean the Maple Leafs won’t opt to trade him ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
