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2025-26 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

L K said:
They are going to lose the fanbase if they aren't careful.
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This is very true. The next generation are really not die hard leafs fans.

My kids (who are in their 20s) don't give a shit about hockey even though they've grown up with me being a leafs fan (they love the Jays though). And I can tell you my younger nephews don't care at all about the leafs. I'm not processing to be in touch with the youth of today but I just don't see any passion for the leafs from what I've witnessed.

I think the resiliency of the fanbase is over. I think we, gen x and the millennials, may be the last of these live and die with the leafs and show up no matter what to the stadium.
 
Joe S. said:
This is very true. The next generation are really not die hard leafs fans.

My kids (who are in their 20s) don't give a shit about hockey even though they've grown up with me being a leafs fan (they love the Jays though). And I can tell you my younger nephews don't care at all about the leafs. I'm not processing to be in touch with the youth of today but I just don't see any passion for the leafs from what I've witnessed.

I think the resiliency of the fanbase is over. I think we, gen x and the millennials, may be the last of these live and die with the leafs and show up no matter what to the stadium.
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We can hope, maybe if fans stop going they'll get serious about fixing this.
 
Joe S. said:
This is very true. The next generation are really not die hard leafs fans.

My kids (who are in their 20s) don't give a shit about hockey even though they've grown up with me being a leafs fan (they love the Jays though). And I can tell you my younger nephews don't care at all about the leafs. I'm not processing to be in touch with the youth of today but I just don't see any passion for the leafs from what I've witnessed.

I think the resiliency of the fanbase is over. I think we, gen x and the millennials, may be the last of these live and die with the leafs and show up no matter what to the stadium.
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All it takes is ONE deep playoff run. Example, my kids NEVER watched the Jays, and when I say never I mean never. After last season's run to the world series suddenly they're asking me when the season starts, is Yesavage still here etc etc.
 
TEAMRecordPT%Projected PointsLeafs Best Record
Philadelphia29-22-11.5569113-7-1 (.750)
Washington31-26-7.5398811-8-1 (.639)
Seattle29-24-9.5408912-6-0 (.666)
San Jose30-25-6.5418912-6-0 (.666)
New Jersey32-30-2.5168510-8-0 (.555)
Florida31-29-3.5168510-8-0 (.555)
TORONTO27-26-11.50883---------
Los Angeles25-23-14.5168510-8-0 (.555)
Nashville28-27-8.508839-9-0 (.500)
Winnipeg26-26-10.500828-9-1 (.472)
BOTTOM FIVE
St. Louis25-29-9.468776-12-0 (.333)
Calgary25-30-7.460755-13-0 (.278)
Chicago23-29-11.452744-13-1 (.250)
New York24-30-8.452744-13-1 (.250)
Vancouver19-36-8.36560If Leafs get 0 points; VAN needs .500 hockey
 
I think I'd rather the team play mediocre and just give up the 11th pick than hope we can get into the bottom 5. I don't have any faith they can win the lottery and think they will probably finish 5th and drop to 6th because it's the Leafs. Get this year over and done with.
 
Bender said:
I think I'd rather the team play mediocre and just give up the 11th pick than hope we can get into the bottom 5. I don't have any faith they can win the lottery and think they will probably finish 5th and drop to 6th because it's the Leafs. Get this year over and done with.
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If the Leafs can get low enough in the draft that they can get a player who will come in next season, it won't be a "lost" season. Anything else hopefully they give up the pick this year. Otherwise the 1st round pick gets pushed down the line, unprotected mind you. Better to get it over with.
 
Better to get it over with if they are looking at a couple years not competing for a playoff spot. If they get the 5th this year, but then 11 and 12 the two years following, better to tank this year. But if they are going to be bad for a few years, yeah better to get it over with.

What a terrible situation they are in and because of the missing draft picks, I think they will be desperate to compete over the next couple years.
 
I don't really see the benefit of a full-on tank this year, since that will most likely result in Boston getting a better pick. It just makes so much sense to get a new (i.e. good) coach in and see what this roster actually is/has. If they go on a streak, great, nothing to lose and Boston gets a worse pick. At least we may be able to figure out how to move forward. I can't fathom why we are still suffering under Berube, with a team that has clearly no interest in playing for him.
 
Andy007 said:
I don't really see the benefit of a full-on tank this year, since that will most likely result in Boston getting a better pick. It just makes so much sense to get a new (i.e. good) coach in and see what this roster actually is/has. If they go on a streak, great, nothing to lose and Boston gets a worse pick. At least we may be able to figure out how to move forward. I can't fathom why we are still suffering under Berube, with a team that has clearly no interest in playing for him.
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I guess there is no way the team would actually consider a tank, so the question is do you cheer for them to lose or win.

What's best for the team aside from the draft is them playing young guys and shutting down players that may be hurt. That leads to loses, so
I'm going to hope for that top five pick. Especially after TSN predicted the Leafs winning the lottery! :D
 
Honestly, I don't really care what kind of player we give up at this point. If we give them a 6th overall or a 12th overall...it doesn't change that the cost of the trade was a mistake.

It's still really unlikely that we can fall into the bottom 5. I'm just running the numbers through a spreadsheet so not hyper focused on them. I do think that getting a top 3 pick is essentially the only way I see a way forward for this team to not just do a hard rebuild.
 
L K said:
Honestly, I don't really care what kind of player we give up at this point. If we give them a 6th overall or a 12th overall...it doesn't change that the cost of the trade was a mistake.

It's still really unlikely that we can fall into the bottom 5. I'm just running the numbers through a spreadsheet so not hyper focused on them. I do think that getting a top 3 pick is essentially the only way I see a way forward for this team to not just do a hard rebuild.
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I agree that I don't care about the Boston aspect of things. It'd sting a little since they're a rival but ultimately it doesn't matter.

Calgary, New York, Chicago, and Vancouver are probably locked into the bottom-4 spots.

LA and Nashville are still baffling in a playoff race thanks to how bad the West is, so expect them to keep pushing until the end. Winnipeg (3 game winning streak) and St. Louis (4 game winning streak) are both on little runs at the moment. Those are both veteran teams that I don't think will necessarily bottom out.

So I do think that leaves the #5 spot somewhat open for "competition". St. Louis is currently on pace for 76 points, the Leafs 83. But if their last-10 records remain similar to what they currently are that gap will obviously close. The Leafs are currently playing .400 hockey over their last 10, if they stay at that pace for the rest of the season that would put them at 79 points. And honestly with the way things are looking .400 seems like it would take a minor miracle.

Obviously then the lottery will also come into play. Even if we don't finish bottom-5 the closer we get the better the odds. And if we do finish only 5th last then we'll need hope nobody who finished higher in the standings wins and bumps us out.

So yeah, I'm embracing the tank. If that means Berube needs to stick around until the end of the season so be it.
 
herman said:
IF the Leafs win the lottery, would you go for

A) Gavin 'TKO' McKenna elite playmaking C
B) Tall and Two-way RHD Keaton Verhoeff
C) a Swedish LW Mitch Marner in Ivar Stenberg
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I think there isn't even remotely a question on this one.

If the Leafs are completely rebuilding I understand taking Verhoeff for the big anchor on the blueline to build around. There shouldn't be a question about taking McKenna if they won the lottery.

48 points in 32 Big 10 games this year. He leads all scorers in the Big 10. Porter Martone is the only other freshman in the Top 15 in scoring (already drafted and has played 4 OHL seasons).
 
So my guess is Doug Armstrong comes in as president and GM until he finds a GM of choice and kicks Berube out. Again.

And I hope he finds a way to launch Domi off this roster. I would even welcome having him bought out.

I would keep Rielly 10000x over Domi.
 
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