After a disappointing 2025-26 Maple Leafs season, Morgan Rielly discussed the team’s major on-ice failure and his uncertain future with the organization. When you look back on the season, where do you think it went wrong for the team? Rielly: I think there were different points, earlier in the year, when we were kind of […]
The post Morgan Rielly on whether he’d be open to a trade this offseason: “When that conversation happens, we’ll deal with it accordingly… I’ve always wanted to stay… I s...
The Toronto Maple Leafs held their end-of-season media availability on Thursday, and two of the more notable names on the roster made their feelings about the future very clear .
Morgan Rielly, who has worn a Leafs sweater for 13 seasons and carries a full no-movement clause in his eight-year, $60 million contract, was asked how he would feel if the organization asked him to waive it.
"It's a challenging thing to answer when those conversations haven't happened yet," Rielly said. "But afte...
Where they stand (or hobble) at the end of the season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to make a move but the Columbus Blue Jackets weren't interested. Reports have surfaced stating the Maple Leafs were looking to trade Nick Robertson heading into this season and reached out to the Blue Jackets for Yegor Chinakhov, but Columbus wasn't sold that Robertson was the move. Siegel/Johnston/Mirtle: At one point, the Leafs discussed a Nick Robertson for Egor Chinakhov swap with the Blue Jackets, but their offers fell short - The Athletic (4/15) The B...
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a mess, and it was evident as ever during their end-of-season media availability. Specifically, the way William Nylander handled himself during his scrum had several members of the Toronto media landscape shaking their heads. Nylander was short, he was disengaged, and he mumbled his way through his scrum. It's tough after a disappointing season like that to come out and answer a lot of the same questions that have been asked for weeks, but at the end of the day it's...
On 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman discussed the latest on the Leafs’ GM search, interest from MLSE/ownership in Mats Sundin joining the new front office, Auston Matthews’ future, and more on the Leafs big offseason decisions ahead. On the GM search Sunny Mehta was obviously a contender. Several people told me they heard his name internally. […]
The post The latest on the Leafs’ GM search, Mike Gillis, Mats Sundin, and Auston Matthews’ future appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
A short summary of who the people are whose names have been mentioned.
After the end of the 2025-26 season, goaltender Anthony Stolarz discussed his most recent injury, a difficult season for the team, his controversial post-game comments in October, and his belief that the Leafs can bounce back next season. How are you feeling physically? Stolarz: Obviously, I got hurt, so it is a tough way to […]
The post Anthony Stolarz reflects on calling out William Nylander and the team early in the Leafs’ season: “I didn’t back up what I said with my play… I regret the w...
With all the bad p.r. the Toronto Maple Leafs and MLSE have been getting of late, this would be a move that Leafs Nation just couldn't possibly disparage. According to insider Elliotte Friedman , on his 32 Thoughts podcast, the Leafs are interviewing legendary Leaf Mats Sundin to potentially bring him back into the fold. I have heard that the Maple Leafs are meeting with one of the greatest players in franchise history, Mats Sundin, about bringing him back in some kind of advisory role. ...
Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning… In an alternate universe, Egor Chinakhov might be wearing blue and white and playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs reportedly tried to trade for Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets, including discussions around a swap involving Nick Robertson. They couldn’t finalize a deal before […]
As the Toronto Maple Leafs conducted their locker cleanout on Thursday, there was a lot of uncertainty about where the franchise is headed. With no team president or general manager, it was very difficult for players to talk about their own futures, including captain Auston Matthews, who was very non-committal . But one guy who seemed pretty sure about his future is head coach Craig Berbue, who said, flatly, that he expects to be back next season. Craig Berube expects to be back as Maple...
written in collaboration with Alec Brownscombe It has been a long time since the Toronto Maple Leafs were this bad. In case you’d somehow forgotten – or haven’t followed the team for more than a decade – the vultures are always ready to strike when the Maple Leafs appear moribund. Case in point, a story […]
The post On cost-cutting, AI, Pelley, and the Maple Leafs’ 2025-26 season from hell appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
On locker cleanout day, captain Auston Matthews discussed the team’s failure this season, his future with the organization, and the current uncertainty at the management level. Opening Statement: Matthews on the failed 2025-26 season Matthews: Before we get going, this was a tough year and a frustrating year. We didn’t meet the goals or expectations […]
The post Auston Matthews on whether he still believes he can win in Toronto: “I do… I think we’re all hopeful this is just a one-off” appea...
On locker cleanout day, Chris Tanev discussed his injury-plagued season, his health outlook for next year, and the uncertainty surrounding the organization’s future at the management level. How are you feeling physically? Tanev: I’m doing well. I was just in New York on Monday to see the doctor about the surgery I had. Everything is […]
The post Chris Tanev on his injury-plagued 2025-26 season with the Leafs: “I’m disappointed in how I was only able to play 11 games and let a lot of people d...
It was locker cleanout day for the Toronto Maple Leafs —a lot earlier than usual this season, as their first year out of the playoffs in a decade wrapped up. Auston Matthews, whose season was ended even more prematurely last month after the Radko Gudas takedown , faced the media today for the first time to speak about the Leafs' future, and his own. And as you'd expect, he played his cards close to the vest. But simply because there's so much uncertainty around the franchise at thi...
On locker cleanout day, head coach Craig Berube discussed his uncertain future, the team’s failures this season, and the organization’s outlook moving forward. What is your message to the players, as you see them for the last time until training camp? Berube: Individually, we’re meeting with every player and going over their year and the […]
The post Craig Berube on whether Mitch Marner was sorely missed this season: “That is not the reason this season happened” appeared first on Maple Leafs...
The New York Islanders are done for 2025-26, but the Bridgeport Islanders live on for a while before they’re done forever. With a playoff spot already clinched, Bridgeport was the scene of Semyon Varlamov’s comeback attempt last night, his first pro action since 2024: Meanwhile, back at the NHL level, the Islanders picked up the […]
The Athletic had a tremendous piece about the dreadful season that Toronto endured off the ice this year and the organizational problems from top to bottom that have turned the top team that Kyle Dubas built into one of chaos and dysfunction. The whole thing is wildly entertaining as an outside observers to watch the […]
Craig Berube addressed the media after his team’s 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators in the final game of the 2025-26 regular season. Concluding thoughts on the 2025-26 season: It’s disappointing, the season. That’s really the focus, looking at everything. We didn’t live up to expectations. On Dennis Hildeby’s performance (35 saves on 37 shots): […]
The post Craig Berube on the end of a taxing season as Leafs coach: “We tried to do a lot of different things this year… It didn’t work out” appear...
All of the attention — and tension — now shifts to the May 5th draft lottery, after the 2025-26 Maple Leafs suffered one final indignity of losing to James Reimer and the Ottawa Senators in game #82, capping a truly miserable season. There is a silver lining to the Maple Leafs finishing in 28th overall […]
The post Maple Leafs finish fifth last in 2025-26 season, draft lottery odds now known appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a dysfunctional mess, and everyone around the NHL knows it. The Leafs went from giving the Florida Panthers their biggest test during their Stanley Cup championship run, to a dismal offseason which saw Mitch Marner head for Vegas, to a regular season loaded with unmet expectations. There's been plenty of chatter recently about how CEO Keith Pelley was trying to influence Brad Treliving with AI-created trade proposals, and now head coach Craig Berube is on thin ice a...
We know that Morgan Rielly, the longest-serving Toronto Maple Leaf , wants to maintain that title. He doesn't want to leave Toronto. But as most observers have noted this season, it might finally be time. The team needs to completely remake its blueline. They finished 30th in the NHL in Expected Goals Against. Insider David Pagnotta was asked on the DFO Rundown on Wednesday if he feels it's time for a change of scenery for Morgan Rielly and the Maple Leafs: The short answer is 'Yes...
After failing to make the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, we assumed things couldn't get any worse for the Toronto Maple Leafs . They haven't won a championship since 1967, and have been early-outs in recent playoff performances, winning only 2-rounds of postseason hockey. Now, dysfunction within the front office is making waves, as fans are only learning of executive meddling in the affairs of the front office. Keith Pelley of MLSE has made some erratic decisions that have us an...
A loss — in extra time or regulation — for the Maple Leafs tonight, or one point for the Seattle Kraken tonight or tomorrow, and Toronto will slot in fifth-last ahead of the May 5th draft lottery (7:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet). TSN1050 will broadcast Joe Bowen’s final call of his broadcasting career tonight. Be sure […]
The post Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators – Game #82 Projected Lines, Preview & TV Info appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
Ahead of the final game of the season against the Ottawa Senators, head coach Craig Berube discussed the end of a disappointing 2025-26 Leafs season. There is a lot to dissect in the days and weeks ahead, but what is the message to the group ahead of the final regular-season game? Berube: Play the right […]
The post Craig Berube, on the final day of the season, on what it’s meant to coach the Maple Leafs: “I love Toronto, and I love the Leafs” appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .