The 2026-27 Toronto Maple Leafs are better than last year’s version of the club, at the very least in terms of promise. They can skate (third in the NHL in both 20-22-m.p.h. and 22-24-m.p.h. speed bursts, up from 19th last year), they can make plays, and they’re dynamic.
They still can’t defend, but the bad numbers aren’t as bad.
Now, it hasn’t translated to more wins than last year’s team at this time, and so there’s still a big hill to climb to see if they can get back to the playoffs. As we hit the one-month mark of the season, we thought it would be fun to use my two-sentence format to provide report cards for everyone who’s suited up in a game this season, to better assess who’s a part of the solution, and who has more to give.
These grades use some context of real performance versus what was expected of them, along with their role and usage. Let’s start with the net and work our way up front heading into Thursday night's game against the Seattle Kraken (Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet+, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT).
The goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky: B-
Really a strange start, in that he tends to let in three goals, then shut the door. By the metric goals saved above expected (on a variety of sites), he’s been roughly league average. His save percentage is better than league average, but he’s putting the Leafs behind the eight-ball with too many gifts in the first half of games.
Anthony Stolarz: A-
Coming off two fantastic starts, he’s sporting a .907 save percentage and his goals saved above expected numbers (per game) have him around the top 10 on most stat sites. His ability to stop pucks has always been better than his availability, but he’s been available so far, and in turn, has been (mostly) very good.
The defence
Listed in order of points tallied thus far
Morgan Rielly: B+
I’d argue that going into the year most people had Rielly written off, which makes his expectations tough to dial in, particularly when weighed against the fact that he still makes $7.5 million and plays nearly 20 minutes per night. But with 10 points in 14 games despite being taken off the top power-play unit, and the step up in his quality of play after Chris Tanev went down, he’s been essential on a back end that got real thin, real fast this season.
Darren Raddysh: A-
After an opening night to forget, Raddysh is playing nearly 24 minutes per game, and quarterbacking the No. 5-ranked power play in the NHL. No, he hasn’t shot it in the net as much as everyone would’ve liked, but the ask of him has been huge, the process has been better than the statistical results, and I shudder to think of the question “Where would the Leafs be without Raddysh?”
Troy Stecher: A
I debated a full A+ here, because when he was re-signed, it felt like the plan was for him to be their seventh defenceman while they filled spots with “better” solutions. Yet here we are, with him playing nearly 20 minutes per game, leading the rush, anchoring the league’s best penalty kill, and providing energy and stability pretty much every shift.
Jake McCabe: B-
He’s just so important to the Leafs, as they need at least somebody with some physical presence, somebody who can match up against superstars, and somebody who blocks shots and kills penalties. But he looks a step slower this season after a wave of injuries over the past calendar year, and there’s real concern about his ability to continue to shoulder such a heavy lift.
Marshall Rifai: B-
In just two games, he already did the thing where I go “I think this guy can play,” mere moments before getting hurt. It feels like every time he takes a step this happens. So while he was just fine for them — even good in his second game — he’s just not available enough.
Nick Blankenburg: C
They gave him $1.4 million, then healthy-scratched him a bunch, and it looked like he had some rust in the early going. He started to flash the good skating and work ethic that’s kept him in the league, but behind a Leafs forward group that didn’t hold up forecheckers in the opening weeks, he got crushed and wasn’t able to use his strengths.
Chris Tanev: B
Coming off last year’s injuries, it was encouraging to see that he could still be impactful and important for the Leafs. Butif you’ve picked up a trend, availability matters. He’s a good player, even if he’s lost half a step, but I’m worried he’ll never be able to show it because he’ll always have the “returning-from-injury” rust while the next one feels like it may be in the near future.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: C+
OEL has probably taken the biggest year-over-year step back of any of the Leafs, just one year removed from being an integral part of their thin D-corps (last season, he posted 39 points while playing 20:36 per game). He’s playing three fewer minutes \per night, has just one assist, and while the play-driving numbers are still pretty good, it’s because they’re asking far less of him.
Dakota Mermis: B-
After last game I heard someone say “Wait, Mermis played?” and that’s about the best thing a bottom-pair physical D-man could hear about his performance. Expectations are low for an organization’s maybe ninth defenceman on the depth chart, and I doubt many orgs have a better ninth blue-liner than the perfectly serviceable Mermis.
The forwards
Auston Matthews: A+
Expectations came in at “Can this guy ever be great again?" If Hart Trophy voting was held today, he’d be in the mix to be a finalist (while watching Connor McDavid win his fourth). He’s on a huge goal pace, wins as many puck battles as anyone in the league, is passing better than ever, and defending as well as in his best days.
William Nylander: A
Willy is fourth in the NHL in goals and ninth in points, all while on a contract that suddenly looks like one of the league’s best bargains. He’s certainly got his shortcomings — defence is not his favourite part of the game — but this season has been a reminder that few players on the planet can control a game like Nylander with the puck on his stick.
Kirill Marchenko: A-
One of the reasons the Leafs' ceiling seems higher this year is because the size and speed Marchenko brings. He helps push the puck to the right end of the rink in a way they badly needed last season, he’s just an elite transporter through the neutral zone. I get that expectations were high after the Leafs moved on from Matthew Knies, but with 14 points in 14 games, he’s been an injection of both talent and positive energy.
Easton Cowan: A
Can’t give him the “plus” here after a game where he got benched for costly turnovers and took a penalty because of frustration, but holy smokes has this guy found a new level. Cowan is good at *checks notes* all facets of the game, and while still on the upswing of an early-career learning curve, he has shown the elements of a future-captain type while holding down a spot on the top line.
Jack Roslovic: A
I think a year after being an occasional scratch for the Edmonton Oilers, and signing as a UFA for less than the likes of Colton Sissons, you’d take 13 points in 14 games while being a nightly presence with his neutral-zone skating. In terms of the fastest speed-burst category that the league tracks (22-24 m.p.h.), Roslovic sits third in the league behind only McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, fully justifying his spot in the Leafs' top six.
Gavin McKenna: B+
McKenna flashes that electric talent just about every game, with a vision that has few rivals in the league, and it’s led to some big moments for the team's offence. The rest of the NHL game has been a work in progress, though, as his size makes winning puck battles hard, and he’s still working to shake the type of cute plays that can result in turnovers against NHL defenders.
John Tavares: B+
Johnny tends to score around a point per game, and this year has been no different, with seven points in seven games. At five-on-five, it’s getting harder for him to remain effective, but he’s just so hard on pucks and effective in the faceoff dot that he remains a player they miss when he’s out.
Colton Sissons: B+
The Leafs added a few adults in the room this off-season, and Sissons is one of them. He plays responsible, winning hockey, and while he’s consistently been flanked with one of the Leafs' young guys (to help them), he’s contributed in different fashions, including on the team's extremely successful penalty-killing unit and when protecting leads.
Nick Paul: A-
If he had a couple more goals, this might be a higher grade , but he’s been exactly what the doctor ordered. He makes whatever line he’s on more responsible, he’s big and heavy down low, and they can trust him in just about any game state.
Brandon Duhaime: A-
You want your fourth line to be fast, bring energy, stick up for teammates, and ideally to kill penalties. That’s a great description of what Duhaime has brought, and he’s a big reason it suddenly feels like the Leafs have a fourth line.
Zack MacEwen: A
Considering I wrote these grades as versus expectations, it’s almost hard to not call it an A-plus. I’m only chickening out because he plays just seven minutes a game, but he’s been far faster and more impactful than expected, and just an absolute bright spot in what’s been a black-hole roster spot for players on the Leafs' fourth line over the years.
Teddy Blueger: B+
He’s part of the aforementioned penalty kill that’s been excellent, and a part of that fourth line that’s given the Leafs more than any other in recent memory. That said, he’s the quietest of the group, doesn’t pop in any particular way, and just kind of goes about his business in a way that’s been just … pretty good, I’d say.
Vinni Lettieri: C+
It’s tough to thrive as an offensive player in a role that doesn’t get any offensive opportunities. He’s not a liability, but I’m not sure he’s able to be impactful at the NHL level, partially because there aren’t many teams that would give him the type of minutes he needs to succeed, given who sits in the top six on most rosters.
Bo Groulx: C
He was only OK in the early part of the year before getting injured, and I thinkr there was some hope that his flashes of offensive pop last season could evolve into something more. He’s going to struggle to be put in a role to thrive (like Lettieri), and being unavailable now — while the team sorts out its usage internally — isn’t helping his cause.
