This Year's Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Last Year's: What's Changed?
A lot has changed over one year, as the 2024-2025 Toronto Maple Leafs look like the polar opposite of the one that took the ice in 2023-2024.
Many moves have been made, fan favorites are out of town, new coaches have been brought in to give the team a new identity and the anticipation is at an all-time high. While it looks like on paper the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't make a ton of extreme changes like fans wanted, such as trying to get an elite goaltender or breaking up the Core Four, the pieces added give Toronto a much better team this season than previous from top to bottom.
So in this article, we break down the differences between both teams when it comes to their performances, fan expectations, roster movement, and how Craig Berube and Sheldon Keefe differ in terms of their coaching strategy. You'll see how the team improved, any difficulties or setbacks they may endure this season as well as what we think will be the result for the 2024-2025 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Who's In and Who's Out?
Departed
(F) Tyler Bertuzzi (CHI)
(D) T.J. Brodie (CHI)
(D) Joel Edmundson (LAK)
(D) Mark Giordano (FA)
(F) Noah Gregor (OTT)
(D) John Klingberg (FA)
(G) Ilya Samsonov (VGK)
(D) William Lagesson (FA)
(D) Ilya Lyubushkin (DAL)
Arrivals
(D) Chris Tanev (Signed from DAL)
(D) Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Signed from FLA)
(F) Steven Lorentz (Signed from FLA)
(G) Anthony Stolarz (Signed from FLA)
(F) Max Pacioretty (Signed from WAS)
(D) Philippe Myers (Signed from TBL)
(F) Alex Nylander (Signed from CBJ)
(D) Jani Hakanpaa (Signed from DAL)
(F) Cedric Pare (Signed from COL)
(D) Dakota Mermis (Signed from MIN)
2023-2024 Toronto Maple Leafs Season
The Toronto Maple Leafs last season were once again a success in the regular season and a failure in the playoffs. Unable to get past Boston in the first round for only the second time in 20 years, fans once again saw their hopes of the 56-year Stanley Cup drought go up in smoke. This was the season that saw Auston Matthews score 69 goals and was supposed to be the breakout season for the team. Their defense couldn't get it done, they had shaky goaltending when it mattered, and their superstars were absent when it mattered.
The addition of Mark Giordano was supposed to help the Maple Leafs with a deep playoff run but didn't work out as Toronto intended. Tyler Bertuzzi didn't recreate the magic in the playoffs like he did in 2022-2023 and he left for the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason. The defense was one of the glaring issues though for the team, deploying T.J. Brodie, John Klingberg, Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Timothy Liljegren throughout the season; all names that don't stick out on paper, nor did they make any real contributions to the team. It left Toronto with Morgan Rielly, Giordano, Jake McCabe, Conor Timmins, and Simon Benoit as the ones who had to do a lot of the heavy lifting and for everyone besides Rielly and Giordano, that was too much to ask.
Goaltending was solid during the regular season however never really showed up when it mattered. Sure, Joseph Woll kept the Maple Leafs in their first-round series, but without him, it very easily could have been a sweep. Toronto didn't have an elite backup for Ilya Samsonov, and while Woll and Martin Jones did their part, there was never someone who could come in and shut it down definitively for the team. Samsonov, for as brilliant as he was in the regular season was rather pedestrian for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, going 4-4 in his time there which is not the recipe for a successful playoff run; Toronto needed to rely on a rookie and a third-stringer to keep them in the fray, something Stanley Cup winning teams don't do.
It was a dismal failure for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, and their regular season success cannot overshadow the fact they are nonexistent when the playoffs come around. It was time for something to change. It needed to.
2024-2025 Toronto Maple Leafs Season
What a difference a year makes. GM Brad Treliving had one goal this offseason and it was to fix any mistakes in the Maple Leafs; from the roster to the coaches. Out was Sheldon Keefe and in came Craig Berube. Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were signed to help fix an inconsistent and frankly depressing defense, with Jani Hakanpaa on his way shortly. Treliving focused on big-bodied players, so he went and got a couple of giants to patrol his blueline.
Oh, and also signed arguably the league's best backup goaltender in Anthony Stolarz; fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers. Speaking of Florida, not only did Stolarz and Ekman-Larsson join the Maple Leafs, but Steven Lorentz played himself into a contract this season after impressing in training camp. Treliving also brought in Max Pacioretty to help add a veteran scoring touch to a team desperate for someone to do so beyond John Tavares, a move that so far has paid off especially if Pacioretty can regain his previous form.
Toronto has a focus now. That's one of the biggest differences compared to last year. There was no vision of how to win, it was just using brute force and getting lucky to win games. Sure, you can win a game 6-5, but the fact you let the opposition get five goals on you is a worrying sign. Yes, it happens from time to time, but Toronto often found itself with a big lead only to find it diminished before they even knew it.
Under Berube, there's a system. There's an actual method behind the madness. The Maple Leafs have shown relentless aggressiveness already three games into the season, and the offseason additions have been as advertised and then some. Toronto hasn't had the smoothest start to the season, and if this were last season a lot of fans would start panicking. It's different this season; Auston Matthews doesn't have a point but the Maple Leafs are winning. Joseph Woll is injured but they've given up only five goals in three games. Keefe's doing well in New Jersey but how long will it last?
Will he get the same results as he did with Toronto in the postseason? Time will tell but history is a funny thing, and if Keefe ignores his past failures with Toronto, he's damned to repeat them in New Jersey.
Outlook for the 2024-2025 Season for the Toronto Maple Leafs
With a new head coach, a revamped roster, and focus for the first time in what feels like forever: the outlook is pretty darn good for Toronto. Although the main players haven't had the hottest start, there's still so much time in the season and the early injury woes haven't helped any. Once Toronto gets all of their forwards healthy on the ice and gathers that chemistry throughout the next few games, the rest of the league needs to watch out.
Here are some predictions for the 2024-2025 Season in regards to the Maple Leafs:
Single Season Statistics
Most Goals Scored - Auston Matthews (63)
Most Assists - William Nylander (77)
Most Points - Auston Matthews (116)
Most Wins - Anthony Stolarz (28)
Most Hits - Simon Benoit (189)
Biggest Surprise - Max Pacioretty (Scores 25 goals this season)
Biggest Disappointment - Joseph Woll (Injury prone, and loses his starter job)
Regular Season Record: 53-23-6 (2nd Atlantic)
Playoff Predictions
First Round: WIN (4-2)
Second Round: WIN (4-1)
Third Round: LOSS (4-3)
Playoff MVP - Mitch Marner
Playoff LVP - Morgan Rielly
NHL Award Winners
Awards: Rocket Richard Trophy (Auston Matthews), Jack Adams Trophy (Craig Berube), Jim Gregory Award (Brad Treliving)
The 2024-2025 Toronto Maple Leafs are a completely different team from last season's even if a lot of the same names are here. They have a focused identity, with the correct pieces for this playoff puzzle they've been frustrated with for years, added toughness and grit not only on the ice but off the ice.
It harkens back to the late 90s/early 2000's Maple Leafs under Pat Quinn: Full of incredible talent, but had the grit and chutzpah to back it up. It was a time Toronto was one of the most successful teams in both the regular season and playoffs even if they never reached the big one. It's about time history repeats itself, but give these guys the chance to rewrite their ending.
| POLL | ||
What is the biggest change for the Maple Leafs for 2024-2025 compared to 2023-2024? | ||
