Which Maple Leafs Get the Pressure With Marner Gone?

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner’s exit this summer wasn’t just another offseason move. It was the kind of shift that sends shockwaves through a franchise and its fan base. After nine seasons, 741 points, and a lifetime’s worth of highlight reels, the Toronto kid was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1. For the Maple Leafs, it left more than just a gap in the lineup—it left a gap in their story.

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Now, as the 2025–26 season looms, the question isn’t just who replaces Marner. It’s where does the pressure land without him around? Because if there’s one thing about hockey in Toronto, it’s that pressure doesn’t disappear—it just shifts.

Here are four significant pressure points.

Pressure Point 1. Pressure on Maple Leafs Management

Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs’ front office had a choice: chase another marquee name to plug the hole, or build depth and change the team’s shape. They went with the latter.

Instead of splashy, headline-grabbing signings, the Maple Leafs brought in the likes of Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Michael Pezzetta. Solid players. Reliable players. But not stars. The bet here is that a tougher, more balanced lineup will be harder to play against when April rolls around.

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It’s a defensible move—but it’s also a gamble. Even if they didn’t want him around, fans know what they lost in Marner: a 102-point season, a playmaker who tilted the ice, a hometown face. If this depth experiment fizzles, the heat won’t be on the guys grinding in the bottom six. It’ll be squarely on management.

Pressure Point 2. Pressure on Matthews and Nylander

No one’s hiding it—this is Auston Matthews’ and William Nylander’s team now. With Marner gone, they don’t just need to produce; they need to carry the team.

Matthews is still the centrepiece. He’s the Rocket Richard Trophy threat every defence has to scheme against. But he’s also without his long-time running mate. That safety valve—Marner’s creativity on the wing—is gone. Can Matthews be even more of a force on his own?

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Then there’s Nylander. Sliding into Marner’s old role isn’t a copy-paste situation—he doesn’t have the same vision or passing touch. But what he does bring is speed, edge, and a different kind of offence. If he clicks with Matthews, the Maple Leafs could discover a new dynamic duo. If not? The questions won’t be kind.

Pressure Point 3. Pressure on Matthew Knies

This is the big one, but not one that’s obvious at first glance. Knies isn’t Marner’s replacement, but he’s the player most likely to grow into something that reshapes the Maple Leafs’ core. At 6-foot-3 with the skill to match his size, he showed flashes of being a power forward who can actually drive scoring, not just clean up around the net.

Last season’s 58-point breakout earned him a long-term deal, but this season is about proving he’s more than a promise. Can he make the leap from “useful young forward” to “bona fide top-line winger?” If the answer is yes, the Maple Leafs may not miss Marner as much as people think. If the answer is no, the pressure on management’s “depth over stars” plan only gets louder.

Pressure Point 4. Pressure on Craig Berube

Toronto brought Berube in to do one thing: make this group harder to play against. His first year showed progress, but the real test comes now. Without Marner, the Maple Leafs can’t just rely on talent to skate them out of trouble. They need structure, buy-in, and a clear system that consistently delivers results, even when the stars don’t align.

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Berube’s challenge is twofold. He has to establish a style that fits the new-look roster, and he has to do it fast. Patience in this city is thin at the best of times. Add in the post-Marner turbulence, and a slow start could turn ugly quickly.

The Road Ahead for the Maple Leafs

So, where does that leave the Maple Leafs? In transition, yes—but more than that, under a microscope. Every part of the organization has inherited a piece of the pressure Marner carried. Management bet on depth. Matthews and Nylander have to be even bigger stars. Knies has to grow into his potential. And Berube has to mold it all into something playoff-proof.

It’s a lot. But pressure isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it forges. Sometimes it forces clarity. This season will tell us which way it breaks.

Because without Marner, the Maple Leafs aren’t just different—they’re exposed. And in Toronto, that means the pressure points are impossible to ignore.