The Toronto Maple Leafs' problem last season wasn't a lack of scoring. They couldn't keep the puck out of their own net. Toronto went 32-36-14, finished last in the Atlantic Division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16. That ended what had been the NHL's longest active playoff streak. The 78 points were a 30-point drop from the season before. The Leafs allowed the most shots in the league and ranked near the bottom in goals against. Nearly every change this summer targets that weakness.
The front office turned over first. Brad Treliving was fired as general manager on March 30, and Craig Berube lost his job as head coach on May 13. John Chayka took over as GM on May 3, and Mats Sundin joined as senior executive adviser. On June 17, Chayka hired Jim Hiller as head coach. Hiller, 57, was a Leafs assistant under Mike Babcock from 2015 to 2019, so he has worked with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly before. He went 93-58-24 over three seasons coaching the Los Angeles Kings until they fired him on March 1. Daniel Alfredsson joins him as associate coach. Chayka said player feedback settled the hire: "What separated Jim was that the players [who] had been around him really valued who he is as a person."
The biggest new name belongs to an 18-year-old. Toronto took Gavin McKenna first overall in the 2026 draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level deal on July 3. The winger from Whitehorse, Yukon, scored 51 points in 35 games as a freshman at Penn State. In his preseason debut, a 4-1 loss to Montreal on September 20, he played 20:39 at left wing with John Tavares and Nylander. He put three shots on goal and got 3:27 on the second power-play unit. Hiller liked what he saw: "In a game where I didn't think there was a lot of offense from either team, he was in on three or four chances so you'll take that every day." McKenna said nerves caused a couple of turnovers. NHL.com projects him for 22 goals and 41 assists, which makes him a real Calder Trophy candidate and a rookie worth drafting in every format.
For fantasy, where McKenna lines up matters as much as how good he is. Playing with Tavares and Nylander would give him two of Toronto's three leading scorers from last season. Nylander had 79 points in 65 games and Tavares had 71 in all 82. Matthew Knies added 66. Right now McKenna is on the second power-play unit. If he moves to the first unit, his assist total should jump, so watch the opening week's deployment closely.
Matthews is the bounce-back bet. He had 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games before an MCL tear ended his season, well below his usual level. Chayka says the captain is "full-go, 100 percent," and Matthews organized a team bonding trip to Arizona before camp. The addition of McKenna and defenseman Darren Raddysh should help him most. If he's healthy, Matthews has top-20 fantasy upside again, and managers who remember last season may let him slide in drafts.
Raddysh is the biggest change on the blue line. Toronto got him from Tampa Bay in a sign-and-trade and gave him an eight-year contract after a 22-goal, 70-point season. Few defensemen score like that, and he should push for power-play time with Rielly. Emil Andrae, acquired from Philadelphia, adds depth. Chris Tanev, 36, missed 78 of the previous 164 games but reports feeling fully healthy after core muscle surgery. His value is in real hockey more than fantasy, but his health matters for a team trying to cut down on shots against.
Goaltending is the riskiest part of the rebuild. Joseph Woll was traded in June, and Sergei Bobrovsky signed a three-year deal. The two-time Stanley Cup winner posted a .914 save percentage during Florida's 2025 Cup run. Last season, though, he had a 3.07 goals-against average and an .877 save percentage in 52 games, and he is now 38. Toronto's thin defense made last year's goalies look bad too: Woll had a 3.34 GAA and Anthony Stolarz a 3.28. If Hiller cuts down on shots against, Bobrovsky's numbers should improve. Until that shows up, draft him as a volume starter, not a fantasy anchor.
Most of the new depth forwards matter more to Hiller's structure than to fantasy lineups: Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime and Zack MacEwen. Easton Cowan, 21, is the young forward to watch. Matthews called him "one of the most underrated performers at training camp."
Chemistry is the obvious risk. This roster has a new GM, a new coach, a rookie in the top six, a new top-pair defenseman and a new starting goalie, and training camp was short. The talent at the top is still real, and last year's collapse was mostly about defense. That makes this a good season to buy Leafs forwards cheaply and be careful with their goalie. The season starts September 29 at home against Montreal.