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Daily Faceoff projects wide range of outcomes for 2026-27 Maple Leafs season

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

By Arun Srinivasan

Jul 15, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 15, 2026, 08:59 EDT

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As free agency begins to wind down, the competitive landscape within the Atlantic Division is becoming clearer. Our friends at Daily Faceoff are projecting each team’s Stanley Cup contention window. Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has been the busiest executive in the league this summer, dramatically overhauling every aspect of the organization. Although the Maple Leafs are win-now mode once again, with Auston Matthews and William Nylander leading the charge, the team is also navigating two timelines, as Gavin McKenna and Matthew Knies chart the team’s future.

Here’s what Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin wrote about the Maple Leafs:

Close your eyes and spin a wheel. The Leafs’ range of outcomes is incredibly wide this coming season given how much GM John Chayka has changed. Maybe the chemistry experiment works. Maybe big-ticket UFA signing Darren Raddysh repeats his age-29 breakout. Maybe the revamped bottom-six forward group flourishes because it’s loaded with speedy grinders who understand their roles. Maybe Bobrovsky still has a good season or two left in him. Maybe Auston Matthews stays healthy. Maybe Gavin McKenna is an instant star. Or maybe it’s all too little, too late for a team that was bad last season and saw its window close when Mitch Marner left, and maybe Matthews trade discourse ends up dominating the second half of the season. Literally no result would surprise me. The Leafs could be one of the NHL’s great redemption stories or a tire fire. If they skew toward the latter, at least they can begin a new era founded on McKenna.

We can’t disagree with Larkin’s assessment, although we’re more optimistic about where the team is heading this fall. McKenna is a franchise-altering talent who instantly slots onto the first line, Sergei Bobrovsky’s return to his median immediately provides the Maple Leafs with some stability and durability in goal, while Chayka and head coach Jim Hiller have clearly demarcated roles for each player. Although Toronto missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade, it would be a disappointment if it didn’t return to the postseason after remaking the roster entirely.

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