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Another Maple Leafs season is almost here and as usual, The Athletic’s loyal readers had plenty to say about the state of the team.
We asked Leafs fans to fill out our survey at the start of training camp. Over 1,000 people did. (We love ya, loyal readers!)
Following another playoff collapse last spring, the focus from fans seems to remain on the prospect of a lengthy playoff run.
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With a different-looking team, do the respondents to our fan survey believe the Leafs can finally go deep in the postseason?
Starting off with a bang. Despite fans seemingly being fine with the departure of Mitch Marner (more on that in a bit), the majority still feel this Leafs team isn't what it used to be.
Even though the forward group has improved depth thanks to the additions of Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua, not acquiring a true point-producing top-six winger appears to have fans feeling worse off about this Leafs team. Matias Maccelli has been added, but whether he can be a top forward remains to be seen.
After all, what else has changed? The defence and goalies remain the same. Whether the Leafs can find the offence Marner took with him remains one of the storylines surrounding this team.
Matthews insists he is playing injury-free. He looks like it, too. There will likely be some concern from the fan base through the first half of the season depending on how Matthews plays and looks. It was early on last season that he showed signs of injury, remember.
Still, if he can play well enough and return to his Rocket Richard-worthy form, there is reason to believe the Leafs could return to the regular-season heights of last season.
A larger group than I anticipated felt some vitriol about Marner's departure. Either way, over 80 percent of respondents seem content at the very least that Marner is gone.
You can be sure of one thing: the crowd for warmups at Scotiabank Arena come Jan. 23 will be larger than usual. In what will be Marner's return to Toronto for the first time, fireworks of some sort are likely. No one should be surprised if fans let their feelings toward Marner show from the moment he hits the ice.
This was a relatively close one.
Whether it was another early playoff exit or a summer TSN interview during which Marner seemed to imply that the actions of Leafs fans contributed, in some part, to him moving on from Toronto, the end between Marner and the Leafs felt acrimonious.
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Of course, the split will end up being judged through the lens of who wins more come playoff time. If the Leafs go on multiple lengthy runs, or even do the unthinkable and win a Stanley Cup, without the boyhood Leafs fan? You'd have to wonder if Marner will come out regretting signing with Vegas.
But if Marner wins more than he did with the Leafs and does so without the noise that seemed to follow him in Toronto, regret might be the furthest thing from his mind. Let's give this one a few years to play out.
Domi is the obvious answer here given he seems primed to start the season in Marner's old spot on the top line.
But Knies wins out likely because he seems ready to fill Marner's role in the spotlight. My biggest takeaway from my lengthy offseason interview with Knies was how much he wants to be in the spotlight. He doesn't get fazed by the noise that comes with playing in Toronto. Knies looks, sounds and acts like he's ready to become a true star in the city. And he could do it while in a system that favours his style of play.
Whether it's on the ice or with the cameras on him off of it, Knies appears ready to step up.
This was the most lopsided result in this survey and with good reason. The Leafs probably could have moved on from Shanahan sooner than they did. He will be remembered for overhauling the culture of the Leafs and doing the right thing by trying to draft and develop their way to playoff success.
Unfortunately, the final piece of the equation never came to fruition.
When was the last time the Leafs had a bona fide, dependable third-line centre? And conversely, when was the last time the Leafs had this level of centre depth?
Roy gives the Leafs a physical and intelligent shutdown third line. With him in the lineup, it feels like the Leafs' top nine is far more balanced than it has been in years. Roy might not end up on the nightly highlight reels, but if he can help the Leafs win tight games, fans won't mind.
With a sample size in the books, the verdict is clear: even if Craig Berube's preferred style is lacking in flair, results win out. The Leafs feel nastier, and to fans, that element seems to have been missing in earlier iterations.
Matthews has looked fully healthy through training camp. He's also looked like he's got something to prove after a down year marred by injury, so that's the most pressing question coming into camp answered for the most part.
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Yes, there's the matter of Matthews losing Marner on his wing. But right now, it feels like the chip on Matthews' shoulder could nullify that loss. I like this range, but I'd probably go to the north end of 50, if anything.
This was surprising, but still makes some sense. Domi struggled last season. He's an offence-first player who didn't show enough in his two-way game when he needed to. Putting Domi on the top line might just be as much of a case of Berube not being sure where else to play him as it is Domi's playmaking being a fit for Matthews and Knies.
The likelihood that Berube rotates Domi and Maccelli still exists. But if the Leafs want Domi to have a bounce-back season, the best place to start him off might be with two of their best players.
Through training camp, Cowan has proven why he deserves the NHL audition the majority of Leafs fans want him to get: he's bigger, stronger and looks more in tune with what his game will look like at the NHL level. As camp has gone on, he's proven he might bring a more potent spark to the bottom six than, say, Calle Järnkrok.
The 20-year-old deserves props for figuring things out in a way not every young player does at this point in their career. Cowan's brand of high-energy hockey has won over Berube. While AHL games do feel likely, right now it feels like the Leafs should ride the wave of a strong camp for Cowan and see what comes next.
This ain't the first rodeo for The Athletic's Maple Leafs fans. You know the drill. Nick Robertson comes into Leafs training camp, seemingly on the lineup bubble despite scoring consistently and staying healthy. He struggles to fully earn a coach's trust, despite that coach lauding him with compliments. Robertson then finds himself just on the fringes of the roster, despite scoring in preseason.
And so it's no surprise that with a little over a week before the puck drops on the 2025-26 season, Robertson finds himself in the mix for a Leafs lineup spot, but not comfortably in the top 12. A strong camp from Cowan could see the rookie land the final lineup spot. A healthy Järnkrok could take that spot, too. And Robertson could very well make a push and provide some scoring in the bottom six. It's still too early to tell, but early indications are that Robertson will be on the outside looking in.
But with salary cap space, Berube could likely move forward pieces around dependent on the team they're facing on the night. Leafs fans know this, which is why they predict Robertson will be munching on popcorn in the press box come Oct. 8.
Robertson does sound open to a trade out of Toronto. Are the Leafs intent on shipping out his production? They could end up needing it — just not as frequently, it would seem, as Robertson might want.
Ask and ye shall receive: Brad Treliving did well to lock up Stolarz for four years on a very reasonable $3.75 million cap hit.
If Stolarz can stay healthy and play in the range of 40-50 games a season, that deal could end up being one of Treliving's best as Leafs GM. And that's exactly what fans wanted, too.
A lot seems to be lining up for Maccelli to make good on the bet Leafs management is making on him. A top-line job could be his if he can beat out Domi for the right to play beside Matthews and Knies.
Maccelli has developed some chemistry with Matthews early on, showing confidence while making slick little plays to find the team's sniper. He might have a short track record in the NHL, but if he can manage the kind of pressure he didn't face in Arizona and Utah and let his playmaking do the talking, Maccelli could end up being the pleasant surprise Leafs fans are hoping for.
Also, it's good to see Morgan Rielly get some love here. The longtime defenceman deserves credit for being up-front and honest about his struggles last season, and even more credit for trying to make it right. A monster season from Rielly could help provide the kind of offence the Leafs might lack out of the gate.
Fans seem all-in on the head coach. Is it his no-nonsense attitude? His direct, heavy style of play that, theoretically, should work well in the postseason? Perhaps how he appears to manage the pressure of Toronto so well?
Berube has entered this season with the same hardened edge he showed last year. Training camp skates have looked even more intense than last year. For a team with high expectations, that's not a bad thing.
For now, Berube is firmly in the "new, happy marriage" stage of his Leafs tenure. Getting the team closer to the Stanley Cup, which he won in 2019, could help his cause even more.
Internally at MLSE, the goal last season was for the Leafs to make it to the third round of the playoffs. Turns out, fans largely have the same goal in mind this season.
Depending on when you were born, you might have warm memories of the Leafs' runs to the third round of the playoffs in 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2002. It certainly seems like this generation's fans want to feel that kind of joy. Those expectations might be high, but considering how many times the Leafs' core have had a kick at the playoffs, they also feel reasonable.
Getting to the Eastern Conference Final would put the Leafs among the league's elite playoff teams. It would entice free agents who want to win to choose the Leafs. And it just so happens there's one GTA-born player whose contract is up at the end of this season and has yet to re-sign.
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
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Joshua Kloke is a staff writer who has covered the Maple Leafs and Canadian soccer for The Athletic since 2016. Previously, he was a freelance writer for various publications, including Sports Illustrated. Follow Joshua on Twitter @joshuakloke
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