The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a slow start. They are 3-3-1 to start the year after falling to the Devils from New Jersey Tuesday evening with 5-3. This is a different Maple Leafs team than in years past, which shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.
Toronto is missing a very skilled player in Mitch Marner. It’s hard to replace a 100-point player like Marner, who played all three phases of the game for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not to mention that the dynamics of the locker room are different. Auston Matthews no longer has one of his close friends on the team.
There was a huge shakeup for the Maple Leafs that needed to happen, and most thought the team would struggle offensively, but not to this extent. So it begs the question: Are the Toronto Maple Leafs following a familiar path, similar to the Florida Panthers, as they attempt to establish a new identity?
Drama always surrounds the Toronto Maple Leafs
?NHL thought of the day?
Time to hit the panic button? ️in Toronto or are the Maple Leafs going through the same growing pains as the Florida Panthers? #timehunting #leafsforever @CraigJButton pic.twitter.com/OnRh2DUoq7
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) October 22, 2025
NHLRumors.com Transcripts
Jim Biringer: “My NHL thought of the day. Let’s take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs. 3-3-1 through seven games. Everyone is wondering: What’s wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs? Why can’t they find their identity? What are they looking for? Anthony Stolarz calls his teammates again Tuesday night after they lost to the Devils and says we have to be better. Craig Berube, coming out now, says we have to be better.” We have to be better. It’s not good enough. Stolarz also threw himself into that category.
But Toronto is missing something. Mitch Marner is gone. He is a dynamic player. Let’s be honest. TSN’s Craig Button said you’d regret losing a player like that. Regardless of what happened in the playoffs, he is the top five scorer. Clearly, Auston Matthews is not the same player. That top line isn’t the same without him, the power play, everything, penalties.
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Doesn’t it remind you of a team when you try to change your identity, because you know what doesn’t work in the playoffs, it takes time and slow time to find yourself, find your roles.
The 2022-2023 Florida Panthers offseason, after getting smoked by the Tampa Bay Lightning, moved Jonathan Huberdeau MacKenzie Weegar and brought in Matthew Tkachuk. Again, Nicolas Roy and Matias Maccelli are not Matthew Tkachuk, but you have changed your identity to be a stronger team. It took some time seven games, the Panthers were 4-2-1. They hovered around the NHL .500 mark for pretty much the entire season.
It took me a while to understand what Paul Maurice wanted to do. Yes, the Leafs look slow. Yes, the Leafs are a little older. They will be defeated by fast teams, but it will take some time. It’s still early. Everyone needs to relax in Toronto. Yes, they have to be better. But Marner isn’t there. It’s a completely different identity than this team.
They want to be a physical team. Again, they don’t beat people up like they should. It will take some time. But it’s a stark reminder that when you change and your identity completely changes, it will take some time to find a new one.
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Every year we discuss teams that learn to deal with setbacks. The Toronto Maple Leafs could become a wild card team this year if they continue to play the way they are. That might not be a bad thing. The Florida Panthers fought all year to make the playoffs, and it ultimately made them a stronger playoff team.
Toronto has overcome a number of bumps in the road to reach the playoffs. So learning to compete all year long and fight for a playoff spot will only make them stronger. However, the players need to embrace it. It can’t be 50 percent buy-in. Everyone has to do some shopping every evening.
It will take time to go from a fast, high-flying attack to one that is a little slower and more methodical. But like any major market, things are being blown out of proportion, and if the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t make the World Series, the Maple Leafs’ problems might be even bigger news.
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