For the first time in the Auston Matthews era, the Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference after Buffalo’s 4–1 win over Carolina bumped them down yet again. It’s fair to say the Leafs have hit rock bottom. Through 22 games, they sit at 9-10-3 with just 21 points per start, a start nobody in Toronto saw coming. The one saving grace? There’s still time. A lot of it. With more than 60 games left on the schedule, and only a four-point gap separating them from a playoff spot. The season is far from lost. But if the Leafs are going to climb out of this early-season crater, the urgency has to kick in now.

A Familiar Situation, With a Different Coach

The Maple Leafs have been in this kind of hole before. Back in 2019–20, under Mike Babcock, Toronto sat at

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