The Toronto Maple Leafs had a brutal 2025-26 season. They finished with 78 points, missed the playoffs entirely, and ended the year on a seven-game losing streak. Head coach Craig Berube was fired. Now the front office is trying to figure out how to fix a roster that clearly isn’t good enough.
According to The Fourth Period, the Leafs are kicking the tires on veteran goaltenders. Specifically, they’ve been linked to St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Both guys have won Stanley Cups. Both have question marks too.
Binnington is 32 and has been inconsistent since his rookie Cup run in 2019. Bobrovsky is 36 and just finished a monster contract with the Panthers. But Toronto’s goaltending was a problem last season, and general manager Brad Treliving seems to be looking for a proven answer between the pipes.
Toronto has a lot of holes. They’re also reportedly looking for a second-line center, a top-six winger, and another defenseman. That’s a lot of shopping to do in one summer. But the Leafs have cap space and a sense of urgency. Their core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander isn’t getting any younger.
The coaching carousel landed on Jim Hiller
Before hiring anyone, the Leafs reportedly kept an eye on Colorado’s Jared Bednar. If the Avalanche had fired him, Toronto was ready to make a pitch. That didn’t happen. So instead they brought back Jim Hiller, who previously served as an assistant with the club and later as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
Hiller seems comfortable with the pressure. I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to return to Toronto and lead the Maple Leafs,
he said in a statement. This is a special organization with great players, passionate fans and high expectations.
He’s not wrong about those expectations. Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series since 2004, and the fanbase is tired of the same story. Hiller’s challenge is figuring out whether this core can actually win or if bigger changes are needed.
One area where change might be coming is in net. The Leafs have Joseph Woll and some other internal options, but neither has shown they can be a reliable No. 1 over a full season. Binnington or Bobrovsky would bring experience. They’d also bring big contracts and potential decline. That’s the gamble.
It’s still early in the offseason. Toronto has time. But the list of needs is long and the margin for error is small. The Leafs missed the playoffs in a year where they were supposed to contend. That kind of failure tends to force big moves.
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