Maple Leafs News & Analysis

Colton Sissons carries a $4.25 million cap hit after an 11-point season. Here is the honest bar for a successful year from the Maple Leafs centre.

Toronto's third letter has sat empty since Marner left. The William Nylander alternate captain case costs Jim Hiller nothing and is long overdue.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson led all Maple Leafs defencemen in scoring last season on a $3.5M cap hit — and is now being discussed as a cap casualty. That is backwards.

Calle Jarnkrok's Berube complaint, delivered on his way to the SHL, is the most specific criticism yet of the deployment problem Jim Hiller inherits in Toronto.

Bruce Boudreau says the Maple Leafs defence will keep Toronto out of the playoffs. We test the claim against the ages, the 84-game grind and Hiller's plan.

The Auston Matthews penalty kill role should end in 2026-27. Jim Hiller has the specialists, the 84-game grind, and every reason to cut it to zero.

The Maple Leafs October schedule: a four-game homestand, then a brutal western swing. Toronto has 11 back-to-backs but only five games against tired teams.

Maple Leafs goals against hit 299 in 2025-26 while the penalty kill ranked fifth. Where the defence actually broke, and what Jim Hiller has to fix.

Which Maple Leafs training camp roster spots are actually open? Two top-six wings, the 3C job, a third pair — and a cap crunch up front.

Auston Matthews Hart Trophy odds put him seventh for 2026-27. After a Grade 3 MCL tear and 60 games, that ranking prices in health he hasn't shown yet.

Maple Leafs starting goalie 2026-27: Bobrovsky's $7M deal says one thing, Stolarz's .926 season says another. Why Toronto's crease is genuinely unresolved.

John Tavares is the Maple Leafs' best value contract at $4.39M. His 2026-27 role under Jim Hiller, and how the Gavin McKenna handoff lines up.

Auston Matthews skating in drills at Arizona State is the first footage since March knee surgery. What it proves, and what it does not.

Jim Hiller Maple Leafs training camp opens with the exact installation problem the Kings solved before firing him. Chayka bought the system; the room has to buy in.

The Max Domi role question has no clean answer: five new bottom-six forwards, a $3.75M cap hit Toronto needs on LTIR, and no line for him to skate on.

Matthew Knies 30 goals is a seven-goal step, not a leap. Why it is the cleanest test of whether John Chayka built the Maple Leafs roster correctly.

The Darren Raddysh power play case rests on volume: 115 slap shots and 212 shots on goal last season. Why that, not his 22 goals, is Toronto's real upgrade.

Auston Matthews 40 goals in 2026-27? His down-year rate already projects to 37 over 84 games. Health, not scoring touch, is the real question.