The Toronto Maple Leafs have kicked off their 2025-26 training camp, and while Craig Berube may not have to worry about being asked anymore about the Core Four, there’s still plenty to talk about surrounding Leafs’ camp.

It’s a new era for the Maple Leafs, who are noticeably relaxed to start camp, and there seems to be a level of calm to their approach, and confidence to their game. Toronto took the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to a Game 7, and it had a great summer infusing new talent throughout the lineup, while expectations are high heading into the new season. Once again, the end goal is to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1967.

Here’s five storylines to follow throughout training camp and the preseason schedule:

With Mitch Marner departing, there’s a huge hole on the right side of the Maple Leafs’ top line. Berube loves to work in pairs, so we know Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews will be connected at the hip this season. After that, at this point, is still anyone’s guess.

Matias Maccelli is going to get a look, and so too will Max Domi, once he’s back to 100 percent, which the team hopes is sooner than later. Domi needs to get off to a good start this season, has shown strong chemistry with Matthews in the past, and in a perfect world, is ideally the fit. Maccelli is inexperienced, he’s coming off a down season, but he’s shown early on in his career that he can be an above-average facilitator. A big element to whoever lands there and sticks will not only be their passing abilities, but also how defensively sound their game is. Berube’s going to demand attention to details on all 200 feet of the ice, so whoever plays with Matthews and Knies won’t be able to just run-and-gun their way to stick on the top line.

A dark horse in the competition would be Calle Jarnkrok, who can play with speed, be smothering on the forecheck, and he’s shown throughout his career his shot is sneaky good.  Jarnkrok has played with Matthews in the past and performed well, it’s just going to come down to the right fit, and we’ll see how Berube handles one of the key positions on his roster this season. Don’t be surprised if it’s a fluid transition of wingers throughout the year, and perhaps a position that’s addressed at the trade deadline. For now, it appears to be Maccelli’s turn for the first look.

Again, Berube loves to pair people up and keep them together, so as we’ve seen throughout last season, William Nylander and John Tavares are a packaged deal. Who plays on the left side, is another big question mark for the Maple Leafs. At day one of camp, Bobby McMann got first dibs on a top-six role, and while Berube is hopeful McMann can take his game to another level this season, we’ll have to wait and see if consistency is an issue again for the winger this season.

McMann’s a big body who loves to throw his weight around and brings an element of speed and toughness to complement Nylander and Tavares. There’s a very good chance they mesh well together and put up serious numbers. Another option could be Maccelli if Domi sticks on the top unit, but the only issue there is some defensive worries, and the fact there’s no element of toughness or tenacity.

Dakota Joshua is going to be a versatile weapon for the Maple Leafs this season, so he’s likely to see some time throughout both sides of the middle six. He’d bring size and strength to the second line, and has shown in the past he’s capable of finding the back of the net, plus, he’s very motivated to proof Vancouver wrong this season. Joshua is always aware of how Berube approaches the game and what he expects out of his players, so the familiarity could work in his advantage. After Joshua, Nick Robertson is a long shot to get a look, and the same can be said about Easton Cowan, so it’s likely throughout the preseason schedule it’s either Maccelli, McMann, or Joshua who win the job and start opening night with Tavares and Nylander.

The Maple Leafs are very lucky with the fact they know who their goaltending tandem is going to be this season, and frankly, it’s one of the best tandems in the league. Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz both had stellar seasons last year, but the main storyline around the Leafs’ crease was their injury troubles throughout the regular season and during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Heading into camp, Stolarz has preached he wants a contract extension completed before puck drop on opening night, and he’s also made it very clear he’s feeling 100 percent, and was healthy throughout the summer to prepare for the new season. It’s very likely he’ll be the opening night starter, but like we saw a lot last season, expect to see the starts split up amongst both goaltenders.

Woll could win the starting roll with a strong preseason, but again, this is a 1-A and 1-B type of set up, don’t expect either of them to make 55 starts. Berube will ride the hot hand throughout the long regular season, and hopefully one of them is peaking come playoff time, because the Leafs’ bench boss made it clear last year he likes to ride one guy during the playoffs.

For now, Stolarz likely starts opening night, but it will be fun to watch how much Woll competes during the preseason schedule to try and throw a wrench into those plans.

Apparently at last season’s exit meeting, general manager Brad Treliving made it very clear to Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly that he expects more out of his game. Rielly took the message to heart, worked his ass off over the offseason, and has been one of the players several Maple Leafs have noticed throughout pre-skates, and into week one of camp.

Rielly’s a veteran, he’s a pro’s pro, and he takes a ton of pride in his game. He’s taken accountability for his down season last year, and made it clear from day one of camp that he’s focused on having a strong, two-way season. His contract, rightly or wrongly, gets brought up a lot, because at $7.5 million AAV, expectations are high from the fan base. We’ll have to wait and see if he’s on the first power-play unit, or is a depth penalty killer, but the hope is, at that type of price, Rielly would be heavily involved in all situations. The hope is that Rielly and Brandon Carlo build off their time together last year, and find ways to complement each other’s game, and provide Berube with another top pair to push Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev for minutes.

It might not be as intense as a ‘make-or-break’ season for Rielly, considering he’s the longest tenured Maple Leaf, but if he does struggle with consistency this season, who knows, it could be a different conversation he and Treliving are having later this spring.

The Maple Leafs have loads of talent in camp and the internal competition is going to be fun to watch. One battle that could come down to the wire is Easton Cowan vs. Nick Robertson, as it feels like one of them will make the team, but not likely both. Robertson started on a fourth line with Steven Lorentz and Scott Laughton at opening day of camp. but he’ll get pushed by Calle Jarnkrok for that spot throughout the preseason schedule.

Cowan started with newcomers Joshua and Nicolas Roy, which would give Berube and completely different trio to use than he had at all last season. Cowan and Robertson are very similar in the sense they are on the smaller side, they both have bulldog mentalities, and for Robertson, there’s a lot more to the story because of the previous trade demands, and being scratched in the playoffs.

Cowan’s coming off a stellar junior career and ready to make the jump, he’s just going to have to prove to Berube he’s strong enough to not get pushed around, and he’s skilled enough to be sound defensively, while also showing off his creative offensive instincts. It’s going to be very interesting if both Robertson and Cowan make the opening night roster, because that likely means veterans David Kampf and Jarnkrok are no longer options, because as it stands right now, the Maple Leafs are very crowded up front.