3 bounce-back candidates for Toronto Maple Leafs in upcoming 2025-26 NHL season

The Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, as it was another playoff disappointment for Toronto.

In the offseason, Toronto has been relatively quiet as the Maple Leafs did trade Mitch Marner to Vegas and haven't done much to replace him.

Ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, here are three bounce-back candidates for the Maple Leafs.

3 bounce-back candidates for Toronto Maple Leafs

#1, Scott Laughton

Toronto made a bold move to acquire Scott Laughton at the trade deadline, for a prospect and a first-round pick.

However, Laughton struggled to fit in with the Maple Leafs and he was often on the fourth line. Now that he has an entire training camp with Toronto, Laughton is a prime candidate for a bigger role and a bounce-back season.

Laughton recorded 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points in 20 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, and added just 2 assists in 13 playoff games.

#2, Mattias Maccelli

The Maple Leafs' biggest move this offseason was acquiring Mattias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth.

Maccelli can replace Mitch Marner on the Maple Leafs' top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.

"It comes down to ice time and opportunity kind of with the points," Maccelli said, via Sportsnet. "It wasn't obviously the best year for myself (last season). But I still know I'm a better player than I was ... I've got it still in me. Now, I've just got to show people that again."

If Maccelli does play on the top line, he will be a prime bounce-back candidate after he has just 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 55 games.

#3, Auston Matthews

Auston Matthews finished the year third in points on the Maple Leafs, but it was still a disappointing year for the captain.

Matthews dealt with an injury all season, which impacted his play as he had just 33 goals and 78 points in 67 games.

Although that is a great year, the year prior he had 69 goals, and can easily be a 90+ point player, so Matthews is prime for a bounce-back season.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton