Jim Morrison, who was the Toronto Maple Leafs ' second-oldest living alumnus, has passed away at the age of 94, the team announced on Tuesday morning. Morrison, a defenceman who hailed from Montreal, Quebec, spent six-and-a-half years as a Maple Leaf between 1952 and 1958, tallying 23 goals and 88 assists in that time, and finished his career with 47 goals and 191 assists in 704 games.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson has had an unbelievable season with the Maple Leafs. He has consistently been the Maple Leafs' best defenceman, while having the second-best season of his career with 32 points in the team's first 54 games. Ekman-Larsson is set to represent Team Sweden at the Olympic Games starting within the next two weeks. Now you may be thinking to yourself, why would the Maple Leafs even think about trading him if they want to retool?
Each day that passes is another day closer to the day the Toronto Maple Leafs are eventually eliminated from playoff contention, and they get to sit in it while one of their biggest rivals owns their first round pick. The term 'must-win' has been used for about four games in a row now, and each time, the Leafs have found a way to blow it.
McCann has been a steady performer throughout his NHL career so far, especially since the Kraken joined the league. In the past four seasons, he has recorded at least 50 points, solidifying himself as a reliable player on the scoresheet for them. McCann has scored at least 20 goals in the past four seasons, which is a factor in why he is currently the Kraken's franchise all-time goal leader (132).
Entering the most important homestand of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs had the opportunity to make up some valuable ground in the NHL standings while solidifying their hold on a playoff spot. However, the Maple Leafs would end up falling completely flat by putting up their worst mark in decades, coming out with a 0-4-1 record while being outscored 25-12 in the process.
Admittedly, I'm not normally a silver lining type guy, but the Maple Leafs are in a surprisingly good place to be sellers at the trade deadline with a number of useable middle of the lineup players including a couple of pending unrestricted free agents ( Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann) and the Leafs can recoup some assets without touching any of their most impactful players.
The shocking downturn in home results during the Leafs' homestand, the disconnect between the Leafs players' emotional investment vs. the fan base's in the Vegas game, and the delusional comments coming out of the dressing room of late (1:45) Auston Matthews' leadership amid the adversity (20:30) How did we get to the point where the Maple Leafs' 2025-26 season appears to be over after 53 games? (28:20)
The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded multiple first-round picks over the past few years which has created a less exciting farm system. If you live in the GTA and can't afford, or can't get access, to a Toronto Maple Leafs game, the Toronto Marlies were a fantastic alternative. Tickets are always affordable for a family of four and you'd typically get to see a few future Leafs in the making. However, if you look at the current roster, it's uninviting.
At a time when they needed to knuckle down defensively while facing a gauntlet of strong opponents without William Nylander, the Leafs ' play with the puck took an absolute nose dive during this 0-4-1 homestand. They've given up goals within a few minutes of taking the lead (twice in the first period tonight). They've given up back-breaking goals at the end of periods. They've given up awful tone-setting goals at the beginning of periods. These are the hallmarks of a bad hockey team.
"It's a special day for me to be here," he said. "Back in October, the team came to me and said, MLSE would like to honour me and celebrate the 10-point game. I thought that's pretty cool and pretty special. Never realized it would come to the magnitude it is here today, but it means a lot to me."
