Last season’s Atlantic Division champs are so thoroughly unrecognizable right now that it’s hard not to feel sorry for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team has not won a single game since Auston Matthews’ phenomenal Olympic gold. While deftly leading the charge for Team USA at Milano-Cortina, Matthews has fallen woefully short of expectations on the NHL ice, along with a bunch of his teammates.
With playoff odds nearly over, HC Craig Berube’s frustration is palpable.
Craig Berube Holds Toronto Maple Leafs Accountable for Disastrous 2025-26 Season
The Maple Leafs’ 2025-26 season was doomed from the start, notwithstanding some occasional and faint glimmer of hope every now and then. At this critical juncture of the season, when playoff dreams can be forged and broken, the Leafs have lost six successive games since the Olympic break.
The Leafs are second-to-last in the Atlantic Division with 65 points, and have the second-longest losing streak at this moment after the Vancouver Canucks’ seven-game losing streak. Overall, the Leafs have seen better days, and Berube couldn’t help but be open about the team’s deficiencies that have led to this deplorable season.
According to the Leafs’ HC, the team is giving up games it can easily win. “Definitely frustrated. Pissed off. The games are right there and we don’t push as a team hard enough to win them.”
Craig Berube, asked if he’s frustrated with the way his team has played this season.
“Definitely frustrated. Pissed off. The games are right there and we don’t push as a team hard enough to win them.”
— David Alter (@davidalter) March 6, 2026
The Maple Leafs certainly can do better than their current performance: Matthews, for instance, has not scored a goal in ten games. As the captain of the team and someone who commands a hefty annual salary of $13.25 million, expectations from the center are sky-high. Unfortunately, Matthews has repeatedly fallen short of them this season.
Goalie Joseph Woll, whose performance in the latest showdown against the New York Rangers was abysmal, failed to hide his disappointment at the team’s current state.
“Yeah, I mean, it sucks. It sucks losing. It sucks being in this position. I haven’t been in this position since I’ve been here, and it’s not a fun feeling, I mean, like selling or whatever that might be. It sucks,” the goaltender admitted.
READ MORE: Frustrated Auston Matthews Puts Cards on the Table Over Maple Leafs’ Approach to NHL Trade Deadline
Woll stated that the Leafs ought to get better, regardless of whether postseason dreams come to fruition. “I hate it. It’s way more fun when you’re winning. We have to get out of this slump regardless of what the rest of the season looks like.”
The Maple Leafs will meet the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Lightning have hit a rough patch of late despite being thoroughly dominant for the most part this season; TBL is still leading the Atlantic Division scoreboard.
