Maple Leafs' Latest NHL Ranking Exposes Harsh Reality for the Franchise

The Leafs as of right now are the oldest team in the National Hockey League, according to PuckPedia, and are lacking in top-tier prospects, meaning a youth injection isn't something that looks to be coming so soon.

Over the last few years, Toronto has relied on their core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares, along with Morgan Rielly on defense.

Tavares and Rielly are now in their 30's, with Nylander just having turned 29 and Matthews to turn 28 by the start of the 2025-26 season. Marner, who may be leaving the Leafs as a free agent, is currently 28.

The Leafs core-group was once viewed as a main cast of young, talented players with high offensive upside who could mature into a contending team, but nearly a decade later with their core now in their prime, little has succeeded and the Leafs are at risk of things blowing up.

Currently, the Leafs are no longer made up of the wonderkids who promised to break their longstanding cup drought, but seasoned veterans making up a soon-to-be aging core.

The Toronto Maple Leafs don't have a plan in the case their window to win the cup falls apart.

Losing Marner, while certain to be a culture change for Toronto, could be a major mistake for the team if they can not replicate his production and continue to not be able to advance deep into the playoffs.

That scenario could push the Leafs towards a potential rebuild that includes changing up their roster entirely, although they lack much in current capital to commit to a quick turnaround.

The Leafs top prospect, Easton Cowan, is not a player who's by any means guaranteed to be a top-six forward, he could very well end up a 2C rather than a 1C, a more likely outcome.

Matthew Knies, while proving already he can be a top-line winger, lacks the skill level to be a Matthews or a Marner-type play driver, more suited to be a top-line complimentary player.

Knies and Nick Robertson are the only two Leafs under 25 to play the majority of the regular season, although Robertson was ultimately scratched regularly throughout the NHL playoffs for Toronto.

The Leafs do not have a first round pick until 2028, meaning if things were to turn south and the team was forced into an early rebuild, they'd lack the assets as of right now to do so, and to rebuild would mean getting back a youth infusion in any sort of trade.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs play their cards right, they could manage to keep their core intact while adding some young faces to their lineup.

The Leafs could look to do a sign-and-trade involving Marner if he is to walk, allowing for the Leafs to recoup some young assets in return to help add fresh blood to a veteran team.

Toronto will need to find a way to use their draft picks wisely and obtain skilled players who can eventually become NHL caliber players, starting with this year having the 63rd or 64th pick acquired from Florida.

Regardless of what the Toronto Maple Leafs decide upon for their future, even in win-now mode they have a rapidly aging roster that needs at least some youth to be able to come in, as the team has invested so much into trying to win, it has come at the sacrifice of an uncertain future.