Maybe (Just Maybe) The Maple Leafs Aren't Good Enough Again This Year — 'Our Results Suck'

Nick Turchiaro-Imagn ImagesNick Turchiaro-Imagn ImagesNov 11, 2026 1:23 PMPublished Nov 11, 2026 1:23 PMToronto was 9-9-2 at this point last year. After Tuesday night's 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Maple Leafs are 8-10-2 and on pace for 76 points — two fewer points than they finished with last season. And that's in an 84-game season. It was after their fourth straight loss at home — and their sixth loss in seven games — that Toronto Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller was asked what's behind his team's recent slump.Was it injuries? Untimely giveaways? Underachieving performances from the stars? Was it it all of the above?"I don't want to make excuses," said Hiller, who doesn't seem to have any answers these days. "Our record is what it is. It's deserved. I think we could have a better record, but we don't."Related storiesMaybe (just maybe), the Leafs aren't good enough. Or maybe they aren't as good as some may have thought they would be after what was an aggressive re-tool this past summer, which saw the team turn over more than half the roster.The hope was that after adding goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, defenseman Darren Raddysh and rebuilding the bottom-six that Toronto would have been able to go from a bottom-five team last season into a playoff team this year. But after 20 games, the Leafs don't look like they're going to qualify for the playoffs. Right now, they don't look that different from the team that bottomed out and ended up with the No. 1 overall pick.Actually, they're kind of worse. Toronto was 9-9-2 at this point last year. After Tuesday night's 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Leafs are 8-10-2 and on pace for 76 points — two fewer points than they finished with last season. And that's in an 84-game season. Just wait, it gets worse. Toronto has upcoming games against Minnesota (on Thursday) and Edmonton (on Saturday) — the top teams in the Central and Pacific, respectively. The good news is that after that, the Leafs will go on the road and play the bottom-feeding Blackhawks, Kings and Blue Jackets. The bad news is that if Toronto ends up extending its losing streak to six games, Hiller might not be boarding the plane for that three-game road trip."Our results suck," said Hiller. "Hey, you can write those stories. There's no question, we deserve that. But we've played some good hockey at times."The last time the Leafs played "some good hockey" was nearly a month ago, when the team went on a four-game winning streak, beating the Sharks, Blue Jackets, Rangers and Oilers. Since then, the've gone 1-6-0 and dropped from third in the Atlantic Division to 12th in the Eastern Conference. No question, injuries have hurt the Leafs. They've been without winger Kirill Marchenko for the past six games and previously lost John Tavares and Chris Tanev for 10 games each. But every team deals with injuries. The Panthers, for instance, have only had Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand in their lineup for two games this season — and they are currently in a playoff spot.The Leafs, meanwhile, are four points back of the final wild card spot with a lot of the 84-game season left to play. But with U.S. Thanksgiving two weeks away — the barometer for where a team will end up at the end of the year — Toronto cannot afford to slip any further. Not when the Atlantic Division is so crowded and so competitive.The Leafs cannot accept another playoff miss. Not with Auston Matthews less than two years away from free agency. And especially not with Matthews playing his best hockey in years or with Jack Roslovic having a career year with nine goals and 20 points in 19 games and Easton Cowan breaking out with seven goals and 16 points.What a waste. This was supposed to be a rebound year for the Leafs. Instead, it's a reminder that you can't build a Stanley Cup contender in free agency. Bobrovsky, who signed a three-year contract that carries a $X-million cap hit, has a career-worst 3.47 GAA. Against Colorado, he allowed five goals for the third time this season. Raddysh finally scored his first goal since signing a seven-year contract worth $XXXXX-million. But he also left Gabriel Landeskog alone in front of the net for Colorado's go-ahead goal — and was on the ice for three other Avalanche goals.It's difficult just to single out those two players. Or to blame the injuries. But with the season starting to slip away, Hiller is running out of answers on how to turn this thing around. Barring a trade, how do you turn it around?The Leafs lack identity. They are giving up too many goals. They are constantly playing from behind. Too many players look old and/or slow. They don't look like a playoff. They don't even look like they will finish with a better record than they did last season. Maybe that's not a bad thing. After all, if there is a silver lining to all of this, it's that next year's draft has a franchise-worthy defenseman available for the team lucky enough to win the No. 1-overall draft.For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.