Just when you think the 2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs have hit rock bottom, they pull a secret shovel out of their tube sock and keep on digging.
Embarrassing themselves — and blowing a pair of early leads — in Thursday’s 6-2 loss against a disastrous New York Rangers squad, Brad Treliving’s squad is practically begging for more trades.
Quick: Can the GM work his magic and make, say, a dozen more deals over the next 16 hours?
Yes, the white-towel-waving Leafs had dealt away third-line centre Nicolas Roy between their fifth and sixth consecutive losses, stumbling out of the Olympic break. And, true, Treliving had commissioned three regulars to the press box for this showdown of lottery teams at Madison Square Garden.
But the resetting Rangers, too, have shed talent (namely, leading scorer Artemi Panarin) recently and scratched some more on Trade Deadline Eve.
Yet they rebounded from a sluggish start and took advantage of Toronto’s porous defensive play, piling on in the third period to lock up their first regulation victory since Nov. 24 (against the St. Louis Blues).
“We had five minutes of bad breaks, bad decisions, bad reads, and the puck obviously ends up in the back of your net a couple times,” captain Auston Matthews told reporters in New York City. “And that’s the game.”
The leaky Maple Leafs have given up at least 100 more shots than every other team in the league. They are the easiest team to score against in the East. They struggle with clean exits, give up dangerous odd-man rushes, and miss coverages.
They’re slow and fragile and disconnected. Something good happens early, and — not unlike their fan base — they’re waiting for things to go bad late.
“Shot ourselves in the foot,” Berube said. “We weren’t ready to roll in the third.”
Frustrated, Coach?
“Pissed off,” Berube said. “The games are right there. And we don’t push, as a team, hard enough to win them.”
So, it makes sense. After squeezing two separate six-game losing skids into a 15-game span and mustering just two regulation wins over their past 19 attempts, no wonder they have all the confidence of the shy kid at the Grade 7 dance.
These long strings of L’s, the deafening deadline noise, the cold reality of a spectacular nine-year post-season streak crashing to a halt… it weighs on all of them.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Matthews said.
Thing is, punching the clock will only get more difficult as the Maple Leafs are asked to skate out the string (19 more to go!) with even more Marlies and even less hope on their bench.
The Roy deal should be just the tip of Treliving’s changes.
“They won't be happy about it. But, again, we put ourselves in this situation, so this is what happens,” Berube said.
“It’s all difficult, all this stuff.”
No question. But even though there is no wild card to chase, the Leafs left to pick up the scraps and finish out Game 82 must find a way to compete for their own sake, for their teammate’s.
Locate a little life. Dig in and scrounge up some resolve, something they can carry into next fall.
The Maple Leafs are bad, but they are not this bad.
“It sucks losing. It sucks being in this position,” goalie Joseph Woll said.
“We have to get out of this slump, regardless of what the rest of the season looks like.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Thursday marked the final night of scratches for “roster management” reasons.
A crowded Madison Square Garden press box not only saw Maple Leafs trade bait Scott Laughton, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Bobby McMann all sitting out for the second night in a row, but key Rangers forwards Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick as well.
• Matthews extended his goal drought to 10 games. (He does have seven assists during this slump.)
That’s easily the captain’s longest dry spell since the 13-gamer he endured as a rookie in October and November of 2016.
“He is getting opportunities,” Berube said. “It is tough on him and tough on the team. We need him to produce. It’s not like he isn’t getting his looks. They just aren’t going in right now. He just has to stick with it.
“He does a lot of other good things in the game. It is not just about scoring. But he’ll come out of it. I have confidence in him. Sometimes, you just have to get a greasy goal around the net.”
The three-time Rocket Richard winner is tied for 29th in goals (26) and 54th in points (52) leaguewide.
• Jacob Quillan got his first NHL peek since January, thanks to the trade of Nicolas Roy earlier in the day.
The Leafs centre prospect still faces an uphill battle to earn Berube’s trust, though. In a tight game, Quillan skated a team-low and career-high 9:53.
“With what’s going on here now, he’s going to get definitely more of a look to see what he can do,” Berube said of the second-year pro. “It’s a good experience for him to come up here and use his speed. A big asset for him is using his speed and just being competitive and keep the game simple the best he can.”
• Noted amateur goaltender Steve Carell was in the barn for this one.
• Fun fact: The oldest Maple Leaf, John Tavares, is also the only one to have appeared in all 63 of the club’s games this season.
On Thursday, Tavares reached the 30-assist mark for a 16th season. What’s troubling is that, at dash-21, he is tacking a career low in plus/minus.
