The Toronto Maple Leafs are once again facing a reality they hoped to leave behind. Despite showing glimpses of brilliance early in the season, their journey has been clouded by inconsistency and mounting pressure from every direction. The optimism that usually accompanies the start of a new campaign is now giving way to doubt, frustration, and uneasy questions about whether this team truly knows how to win consistently.
And while the locker room remains confident that better days are ahead, the noise outside is growing louder. As the Leafs search for answers, even their critics have begun to sound sympathetic, setting the stage for one of the more sobering analyses the team has faced this year.
Has Toronto Truly Taken a Step Back?
Leafs insider James Mirtle of The Athletic shared a detailed breakdown of the team’s problems, describing their first stretch of the 2025–26 season as “a real step back from a year ago.” He wrote that the Maple Leafs’ play has lacked the structure and sharpness that made them competitive last season. At this pace, Mirtle noted, Toronto could find itself slipping behind teams it once comfortably outperformed.
This commentary comes months after Matthew Tkachuk’s remark about the Leafs during the playoffs last May. Speaking on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, the Florida Panthers forward said he sometimes feels bad for Toronto players because of the heavy attention they receive.
“If their team was not in Toronto, dealing with all the crazy circus stuff outside of it, they’d be an unbelievable team,” Tkachuk said.
Mirtle’s column pointed to issues throughout the roster, from the forwards’ defensive lapses to a blue line that has struggled to contain opponents. He questioned whether the slow start rests on the goaltenders, the defense, or a system that has not yet settled under coach Craig Berube.
“Is this tough start on the netminders… or do you blame the blue line?” he asked, before concluding that the answer lies in “some combination of all.”
Mirtle closed the piece with a pointed observation about the atmosphere surrounding the organization.
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“You know what, Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk were right during the playoffs last year. So we’ll include all of Toronto here, for accuracy’s sake,” he wrote.
In many ways, Mirtle and Tkachuk share the same message. Toronto’s most significant challenge might not be its defensive numbers or coaching system, but the constant pressure of playing in a market that never lets up. Unless the Leafs learn to manage that spotlight, every season may end the same way, with more questions than answers and another difficult truth to accept.