As the Maple Leafs miss the playoffs and the NHL’s final four features rival teams built in part around former Leafs, Mitch Marner’s Vegas surge is being weighed against Toronto’s fall and its new chance at selecting first overall. For both sides, the divorce
When the Maple Leafs missed the playoffs, it wasn’t just a disappointment—it was the start of a chain reaction. The team’s season ended without the kind of late momentum that keeps hope alive, and it also raised fears that the price for moving on could reach beyond this year.
Now, as the NHL’s final four is set, the contrast is hard to ignore. The field includes the rival Montreal Canadiens, former Leaf Frederik Andersen’s Carolina Hurricanes, former Leaf Nazem Kadri’s Colorado Avalanche, and former Leaf Mitch Marner’s Vegas Golden Knights.
The stakes also have a familiar Toronto sting. For the Leafs. the offseason pressure isn’t only about finishing where they did—it’s about what draft position can still mean. The “perfect cherry on top” of a disastrous season would have been the Boston Bruins landing a top-10 pick and adding another top prospect after already taking Fraser Minten. Luck, though, bounced the other way on draft lottery night. Out of nowhere, the Leafs are primed to select Marner’s replacement first overall in the upcoming draft.
That changes the math for Toronto in a way that’s easy to feel. It gives the franchise an “assignment extension” of sorts—an extra chance to rebuild without immediately asking tougher questions about whether the current era has run out of runway.
The bigger reason Vegas has been able to enjoy this divorce is what Marner has looked like in the playoffs. The hockey world has been having a field day with him right now. leading the NHL in playoff scoring with seven goals and 18 points in 12 games. The article’s key reminder is blunt: what’s happening for Marner in the postseason “never would have happened in Toronto.”.
The spotlight is different, and the pressure is different. Vegas won a Cup three years ago. so it doesn’t carry the same historical burden that the Maple Leafs do. In addition. Marner has faced two first-time playoff teams in their current forms—conditions that. according to this view. play into why he’s thriving.
But the other side of the ledger can’t be dismissed. It would be “naive” to pretend Marner’s departure had zero impact on the Leafs’ fortunes. Toronto may have only been a wildcard team if he’d stayed, but the article argues they still wouldn’t have missed the playoffs “to the degree that they did.”
Replacing a 90-plus point forward with Selke-level defensive capabilities is portrayed as the practical problem at the center of Toronto’s trouble—playoff success be damned. The names that follow show how the roster tried to fill the gap: Nicolas Roy. Dakota Joshua. and Matias Maccelli “weren’t enough.”.
Draft day offered one clear path back to relevance, and it starts with what the Leafs did with their pick. The piece notes that even if they retained their first round pick and landed fifth overall. this likely wouldn’t be the story it is now. The reason is simple: adding Gavin McKenna is described as a “game changer.”.
McKenna is framed as a premier game-breaking winger with a clear development pedigree—he showcased his talents at Penn State and for Canada at the World Juniors. The timeline also matters in Toronto’s favor. McKenna may be behind the rest of the core age-wise. but the argument is that he has the talent to find chemistry quickly. especially alongside players like Auston Matthews.
That chemistry pitch is tied to a coaching preference that the article lays out: hire a coach who prioritizes puck possession and creativity. The hope is that with that style of play, McKenna can become the kind of piece that moves the Leafs forward right away instead of waiting years.
The draft pick also changes Toronto’s spending and roster structure. The article suggests it stops the Leafs from having to spread their wealth evenly in free agency. With the focus shifted, the Leafs can concentrate on revamping the defensive corps with NHL-ready help.
There’s another consequence in the background of that plan: it may allow Toronto to pivot back for a second-line centre. Without that first overall selection anchoring the rebuild. the piece implies the Leafs might have had to accept Max Domi as one of their top-line wingers as part of the trade-offs.
Time is part of the comfort. With two years remaining before Matthews hits free agency, landing first overall is described as extending the competitive window rather than forcing Toronto to accept defeat on this era and spend the next five years at the bottom of the standings.
While the Leafs look ahead, Marner looks prepared to make his own case from the postseason stage. In the article’s view. he gets to put on a show in a “much more positive light” than the one he was viewed in while he was a Leaf. It even points to a specific moment: he scored in a Game 7 and made it look like his former team was entirely to blame for his lack of success in Toronto.
That’s where the tension lands—because the divorce isn’t only emotional. It’s practical.
There’s a legitimate argument here that the divorce, “as of right now,” is benefitting both sides. The jury is still out on Marner in the playoffs. especially because both teams he’s faced so far finished with seven fewer points than the Ottawa Senators did last year. And for Toronto. there’s always the risk that a first overall pick turns into another regret—plunging into mediocrity under John Chayka’s watch is presented as an entirely possible outcome.
Yet where the story leaves readers is the mood around the schedule right now: on the morning of the Western Conference Final, with the Maple Leafs a month away from adding a young franchise piece, the grass is described as green “as ever for both parties.”
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Mitch Marner Maple Leafs Vegas Golden Knights draft lottery first overall pick Gavin McKenna Auston Matthews John Chayka playoff scoring Western Conference Final Frederik Andersen Nazem Kadri Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Avalanche