The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t just lose to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night; they looked lost again. Without Mitch Marner in the lineup for the 2025-26 season, the Leafs are struggling to find any rhythm, and this performance was another ugly reminder of how far they have to go.
While a 5-2 defeat isn’t the end of the world on paper, this one felt much heavier, raising serious questions about the team’s direction and identity.
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After the game, head coach Craig Berube didn’t bother to sugarcoat his frustration. He singled out his top players, clearly fed up with the lack of pressure in the offensive zone.
“Early on in the season, I thought they were getting their opportunities and looking pretty good. Now, it’s obviously not good enough. I don’t feel like they have any sustained pressure in the offensive zone. It’s one and done, they’re out,” he said.
He wasn’t finished, either. “But I’m getting tired of it, to be honest with you,” Berube added.
Reminded of his pre-season forecast that first-line experimentation, especially without Marner at RW, would need time for experimenting, Berube said “I’m getting tired of it to be honest with you.”
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With those words, the mood around the team suddenly grew more tense. This was not the plan coming into the season. With Marner out west in Vegas, the Leafs hoped a new-look offense might spark something different. So far, that hasn’t happened.
Of course, Auston Matthews is still doing what he does, potting four goals in seven games. But the special connection he had with Marner is noticeably absent. In response, the Leafs have been mixing and matching linemates, desperately trying to find the right fit. While Matthew Knies has shown flashes of promise, Max Domi has been a ghost with just one point.
Even rookie Easton Cowan got a shot on the top line but was scratched after just four games. Against New Jersey, the situation boiled over when the top line finished with a combined minus-six rating. Whatever momentum they built in the first period vanished.
However, Berube’s frustration wasn’t just a heat-of-the-moment reaction. He was making a clear and calculated point to the entire locker room.
“There’s a lot of guys that played a good hockey game tonight. They did a lot of good things,” he explained. “But we don’t have enough of them. And if we don’t have everybody going and on the same page and doing the right things, that’s what we’re going to look like.”
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The team’s offseason moves haven’t clicked yet, either. Matias Maccelli has just two points through seven games, and Nicolas Roy, who came over in the Marner trade, is still visibly adjusting to his new team. Dakota Joshua has been in and out of the play with some solid shifts but has not provided a steady presence.
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At the end of the day, it feels like some things just haven’t changed. The Leafs still have all the skill they need, but their effort and structure continue to come and go. It’s a problem beyond one player, as goalie Anthony Stolarz even chimed in recently about the team’s inconsistent compete level. These are not new complaints in Toronto.
Berube was brought in specifically to change that identity, not just to shuffle lines or maintain the status quo. Tuesday’s loss wasn’t just a bad game but a warning shot for the entire organization.
Marner is gone, that much is clear. The question is whether this version of the Maple Leafs has what it takes to win without him. That belief has to start showing up on the ice and must begin soon.
