The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered another brutal playoff exit back in May. Toronto went up 2-0 in their second round series with the Florida Panthers. However, they went on to lose this series in seven games. They have made it to the second round just twice since 2004. And both times have ended with disappointment in round two.
The Maple Leafs are trying to buck the trend in 2025-26. Losing superstar winger Mitch Marner has shaken the core of this team up a bit. But it does not appear the players are feeling any sort of pressure before the onset of the season. Speaking for TSN, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun noted that the players appeared to be in a rather light mood.
“To me, it's unmistakeable how light the mood was compared to the past decade. We're talking about the Shanaplan no longer here. Obviously, Brendan Shanahan was let go as team president. Always talk of the disappointing playoff performances on this day. How do they turn the page? How do they get better?” LeBrun said in a video posted to YouTube.
“Marner, that hung over the entire room the entire year last year. A couple years ago, Kyle Dubas entering the final year of his deal. We had a talk about that. Sheldon Keefe, a lame duck coach. It's always been a situation where you felt like people had their hair on fire on this day and story fed from there. Not the case today.”
Some fans have felt the team needed to shake up its core well before this. Marner and the Maple Leafs won two playoff series together. And this came with the Core Four — Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews — left untouched every offseason.
With Marner gone, this team will have a different look. Toronto has not directly replaced the Toronto-born forward at this time. However, they added in the aggregate. They acquired the likes of Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Matias Maccelli this summer.
It's a fresh season for Toronto, and it does not appear as if the pressure is being felt by anyone inside the building. It will certainly be interesting to see how this translates to the ice. The Maple Leafs open their 2025-26 regular season with a home matchup with the Montreal Canadiens on October 8th.
