After winning their first (non-pandemic related) division title since 1999-2000 and then dismissing the upstart Ottawa Senators in the first round of the 2025 NHL Playoffs, the Maple Leafs took the defending (and, as it turned out) ultimately, 2-time, Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers to a deciding 7th game in the second round, before flaming out with two incredibly disappointing losses in games 5 and 7.
While the pain of letting the series slip away after building a commanding 2 games to none series lead was tough to swallow, there was some solace for Leafs fans in being the only team to take the Panthers to the brink of elimination.
Not even Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers were able to do that this year!
At his end of season press conference, General Manager Brad Treliving proclaimed that a "DNA change" was necessary to get this team over the hump.
No sooner than the first day of Free Agency did he make the biggest alteration to the team, by sending star forward Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for towering 3rd line centreman Nicholas Roy. While that return is underwhelming for a player like Marner, it was better than letting him walk out the door for absolutely nothing.
While there have been no big name additions in free agency, the GM has made a series of moves that are clearly designed to try to beat the Florida Panthers on the road to the Stanley Cup Final.
On June 30th his first move was to bring in the undersized (and potentially, underutlized, playmaking winger Matias Maccelli from Utah in exchange for a conditional 3rd round pick in 2027. Maccelli will be given the opportunity to fill in for Marner on the top line, feeding Auston Matthews passes while Matthew Knies uses his big body to create space for him to operate.
Treliving's next move, July 1st, was to sign and trade Marner to Vegas in exchange for the aforementioned Nick Roy, a 6'2" centreman with good faceoff skills and a Stanley Cup ring.
On July 10th he moved fan favourite (and press box fixture) Ryan Reaves to San Jose for a hulking spare defenceman who is likely Marlies bound, Henry Thrun. This is purely a depth move, but again, he picked up a 6'2" defenceman who might come in handy in a long playoff series.
And then, as this writing, about a week ago on July 17th he added former Leaf and (18 goal scorer two years ago) Dakota Joshua from Vancouver, for a 4th round pick in 2028!) in what was clearly a salary cap dump for the Canucks. Joshua battled testicular cancer last year, which partially accounts for his down year production wise (also the Canucks were a mess, which didn't help...) but he did chip in 4 goals and 4 assists in 13 playoff games for Vancouver the year prior. And he's 6'3" and is known as a difficult player to play against. Sounds like a useful player to have in the playoffs.
Championship teams are typically built from the back out, and with Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll as our goaltending due and our defence anchored by the likes of Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanve, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and fan favourite Simone Benoit, the primary requirement is to replace Marner's regular season production while lining the roster with players who have proven to be able to step up when it matter the most.
A second season of Craig Berube behind the bench is another reason for optimism, as he appears to have the attention of the team, and his message appears to be getting through.
Will this years' edition of the blue and white be big enough and mean enough to get past the Florida Panthers and finally lift Lord Stanley's Mug?
Be there in person to find out!
* Note that Quarter Season Package Customers get first priority at Leafs Playoff tickets.