The Toronto Maple Leafs finished off their disastrous homestand with a particularly incompetent defensive performance in a 7-4 loss to the red-hot Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. Toronto did not get the bounces in the contest, as the first two Buffalo goals were deflected inadvertently by Leafs defensemen Morgan Rielly and Troy Stecher, but the club could not compete with the Sabres speed, and were undone by goals late in the second period and early in the third by Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch.
The club former captain and HHOFer Darryl Sittler in a pre-game ceremony, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his 10-point night against the Boston Bruins in 1976, but that did not seem to infuse the Leafs with any extra energy, and that was reflected by a fan throwing a jersey on to the ice at the end of the game.
“We have to keep the puck out of our net, and we didn’t do that at home, other than the Detroit game,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. “”Until we decide to do things right and keep the puck out of our net, and that’s the goalies included, this is what you’re going to get. We scored enough goals on this homestand to win games, but we didn’t keep the puck out of our net.”
This season has been beyond frustrating for Torontonians, very similar to the feeling that Buffalonians have for the Bills, who made the playoffs with regularity under Sean McDermott, but could not get over the hump. With the Leafs, it has been Mike Babcock, Sheldon Keefe, and Craig Berube, and my viewpoint has always been, they are a part of the problem, but the real issue has been roster construction.
The failure of Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas to recognize that the Core Four without the proper support could not and would not win is why the Leafs are in the place they are right now. They did not trade Mitch Marner or William Nylander when they could to address defensive needs, which allowed Marner to hold GM Brad Teliving hostage and get only Nicolas Roy in return, and their constantly buying and dealing draft picks and prospects for “now” players has the club aging, slow, and injured.
The Leafs now have to face reality. After the loss last night, they trail Buffalo, Montreal, and Boston by eight points for third place in the Atlantic and the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots. They have 19 of 29 games remaining on the road, where they have a losing record, and are heading out on a Western Canada road swing before the lengthy Olympic break.
The futures of both Treliving and head coach Craig Berube are tenuous at best. Treliving made the moves that most everyone applauded last March, adding veterans Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton for a playoff stretch drive, but now face the possibility of giving a top-five protected first round pick to the division rival Bruins in a strong 2026 Draft.
In the short term, MLSE President Keith Pelley should recognize and direct Treliving before the March 6th trade deadline to recoup as much draft capital as possible by trading pieces off the roster (Toronto has only three picks in 2026), which is very possible since there are only a few sellers on the current trade market. It is possible that by dealing off a number of players, they could end up with their pick in the top five and keep it for 2026, pushing off the pick for a year.
Being bullheaded, as the Leafs organization has been for years, will not help them quickly pivot to being more competitive, as Boston did last year when they traded Carlo, Charlie Coyle, and Brad Marchand. Trading the likes of Bobby McMann, Carlo, and others could help Toronto make that turnaround, but that has to be decided at the highest levels of MLSE.
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