The Toronto Maple Leafs saw a disappointing 2025-26 campaign come to an end without a playoff berth, their first absence in nearly a decade. The collapse followed last season’s second-round loss to the eventual Florida Panthers, raising questions about whether offseason decisions played a bigger role than expected.
Now, head coach Craig Berube has addressed the biggest talking point: Did the departure of Mitch Marner doom Toronto’s season?
Impact of Mitch Marner’s Departure on the Maple Leafs
In his season-end media availability, Berube pushed back on that idea, stating that Marner’s absence was not the reason for the disappointing outcome. “That’s not the reason this season happened,” Berube said.
Still, the numbers paint a challenging picture. After trading Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1, 2025, Toronto struggled to replace his elite production. Marner recorded 102 points the previous season. The cap space created by his departure was spread across additions like Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, and Nicolas Roy. Together, the trio combined for just 67 points, a noticeable drop in offensive output.
The impact extended to special teams. Without Marner’s playmaking ability, Toronto’s power play slipped from eighth in the league at 24.8 percent to 15th at 21.3 percent.
The ripple effect was also evident in Auston Matthews’ performance. He recorded a career-low 27 goals before suffering a season-ending injury in March, as he struggled to find chemistry without his longtime primary setup man.
Instability Beyond the Roster
Toronto’s problems went beyond scoring. Organizational turbulence followed the departure of Brendan Shanahan, leaving the front office in flux and eventually leading to the dismissal of general manager Brad Treliving in early April.
Roster decisions added to the instability. Moves such as trading Scott Laughton for a limited return. The defense also took a hit when Chris Tanev played just 11 games before a season-ending injury.
In goal, the tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll struggled with both injuries and inconsistency, further shrinking Toronto’s margin for error.
While Berube maintained that injuries and execution were the main reasons for the collapse, Marner’s departure undeniably left a void. Losing a 100-point playmaker reduced offensive depth and placed more pressure on the core. When injuries and instability followed, the team simply could not recover.
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In that sense, trading Marner may not have been the only reason the season unraveled, but it set the stage for a year where everything else that went wrong carried greater consequences.
