Just when you think the 2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs have hit rock bottom, they pull out a secret shovel from their tube socks and continue digging.
After embarrassing and blowing an early lead in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers, Brad Treliving’s team is practically begging for more trades.
Quick question: Can GM work his magic and close 12 more deals in the next 16 hours?
That’s right, the white-towel-waving Leafs were reeling from the Olympic break, dealing with third-line center Nicholas Roy between his fifth and sixth straight losses. And in fact, Treliving commissioned three of its regulars to be in the press box for the lottery team showdown at Madison Square Garden.
But the reset Rangers also shed recent talent (namely leading scorer Artemi Panarin) and scratched for more on the eve of the trade deadline.
But they rebounded from a sluggish start and took advantage of Toronto’s porous defensive play to pile up in the third period to secure their first regulation win since Nov. 24 (against the St. Louis Blues).
“We had five minutes of bad breaks, bad decisions, bad reads and the puck definitely hit the back of the net a few times,” captain Auston Matthews told reporters in New York. “And that’s the game.”
The leaky Maple Leafs have allowed at least 100 more shots on goal than every other team in the league. They are the easiest team to score in the East. They struggle with clean exits, give up on dangerous odd-man dashes, and miss sidewalks.
Slow, vulnerable and disconnected. Good things happen early and, unlike their fan base, they wait until it’s too late for things to get bad.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Berube said. “We weren’t ready to roll for the third time.”
“I was angry.” Berube said. “The game is right there, and we don’t push hard enough as a team to win.”
So that makes sense. After squeezing out two six-game losing skids in 15 games and posting just two regulation wins in their last 19 attempts, it’s no wonder they gained the confidence of a shy kid at the seventh grade dance.
These long L’s lines, the deafening deadline noise, the cold reality that the spectacular nine-year postseason streak has come to a halt…it’s weighing on everyone.
“It wasn’t easy,” Matthews said.
The problem is that the Maple Leafs will be asked to skate the strings with more Marlies and much less hope on the bench, making it harder to beat the clock.
The Roy deal is just the tip of Treliving’s transformation.
“They’re not going to be happy about it, but then again we find ourselves in these situations, so this is what happens,” Berube said.
“It’s all difficult, all of this.”
No questions. But despite not having a Wild Card to chase, the remaining Leafs will have to find a way to pick up the pieces and compete for themselves and their teammates as they leave Game 82 to close out.
Find a little life. Dig in and find resolutions you can take with you into next fall.
Maple Leaf is bad, but not that bad. this bad.
“It sucks to lose, it sucks to be in that position,” goalkeeper Joseph Woll said.
“No matter what happens with the rest of the season, we have to get out of this slump.”
• Thursday was the final night marred by “roster management” issues.
A crowded Madison Square Garden press box not only saw Maple Leafs trade bait Scott Laughton, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Bobby McMahon all sit out for the second straight day, but key Rangers forwards Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick were also out.
• Matthews extended his goal drought to 10 games. (He had 7 assists during this slump.)
This is the captain’s longest drought since he held off 13 players as a rookie in October and November 2016.
“He’s getting his chance,” Berube said. “It’s hard on him and it’s hard on the team. We need him to produce. It’s not like he doesn’t get the looks. They just aren’t coming in right now. He just has to stick with it.”
“He does a lot of other good things in the game. It’s not just about scoring goals. But he will come out of it. I trust him. Sometimes you have to score a greasy goal around the net.”
The three-time winner Rocket Richard is tied for 29th in total league scoring (26 goals) and 54th in points (52).
• Jacob Quillan got his first glimpse of the NHL since January thanks to the Nicolas Roy trade earlier in the day.
But the Leafs’ center prospect still faces an uphill battle to win Berube’s trust. In a competitive match, Quillan recorded a team-low and career-high 9:53.
“Depending on what’s going on here now, he’s definitely going to see more of what he can do,” Berube said of the second-year pro. “It’s a good experience for him to come here and utilize his speed. A big asset for him is to utilize his speed, be competitive and keep the game simple as best he can.”
• Fun fact: John Tavares, the oldest Maple Leaf player, is also the only player to appear in all 63 games for the club this season.
On Thursday, Tavares reached 30 assists in 16 seasons. The problem is that he has a career-low plus/minus on the dash of 21.
