The Toronto Maple Leafs are already in a playoff position, sitting at number two in the Atlantic Division. This will be their eighth consecutive time making the postseason. While they haven’t had problems qualifying, they have a history of struggling in the playoffs and advancing past the first two rounds. So the real question is, what are the Maple Leaf’s chances in the 2025 NHL playoffs? Can they change their poor playoff fortune and become top contenders this time around? To gauge the answers to these questions, let’s take a look at the current team structure and their confidence check so far.
From goalies to defensemen and coaching, there have been some important changes to the team this year. They replaced head coach Sheldon Keefe with Craig Berube, and acquired Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo as forward and defense additions respectively. They also called up veteran Matt Murray as goalie, alongside other roster moves.
These changes haven’t led to any real improvement, though. The regular season is nearing its end, and the Leafs are on their way to earning the same 102 points as last year. This point level isn’t bad at all, seeing as it got into the playoff field. However, one would wonder why they made all these crucial changes to the team only to end up where they began.
That said, the true test of this revamped team will be their playoff performance. Success for Toronto would mean making it at least to the conference finals – a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2002. NHL odds at bet365 are among the best for betting on the Leafs’ playoff chances. Wincomparator has all the details if you’d like to check their welcome bonus before joining Bet365.
Toronto Maple Leafs confidence checks
This season, the Leafs have won more in regulation time. Laughton is yet to deliver points, but the offensive unit as a whole is strong enough to ensure they don’t get stuck scoring two goals or less every match.
The team has been putting up a better defense this season, allowing their opponents fewer scoring opportunities. Ben Carlo joining the team as defenceman is one of the most successful moves they’ve made in a while.
Toronto’s penalty kill percentage is in the lower bottom of the league. They are 16th in the NHL at 78.4%. However, Mitch Marner and many of their forwards take penalties well, not to mention that their defensemen are good penalty-killers. The addition of Carlo and Laughton has handed the team a better penalty boost.
Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have delivered for the team so far, but Stolarz has never started a playoff game and Woll just doesn’t have that long of a track record. Nonetheless, they’re one of the higher-rated teams based on goaltending stats, and the recall of Murray, a veteran goalie, should prove advantageous.
The chances of the Toronto Maple Leafs falling down the rankings drastically and missing the playoffs are extremely slim despite their series of bad games in recent weeks. So, just as they’ve done for eight consecutive seasons, they’re very likely to do so this year again for the ninth year. While the team may look different with the changes and new additions, their performance hasn’t been encouraging enough to say with certainty that they’ll do better at the playoffs this year than they did last year where they were eliminated in the first round.
