2 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ 3-1 Season-Final Loss to Senators – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs officially ended a disappointing season on Wednesday night with a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. While the end of the Battle of Ontario usually brings a certain level of intensity, this one felt like two teams heading in completely different directions. Ottawa rested six regular players before their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Maple Leafs are trying to get through the last game of the season that really broke up after the Olympic break.
Here are the key takeaways from the final game of the season.
Maple Leafs Cover Fifth Worst Place
The one silver lining in this 3-1 loss is that it locks the Maple Leafs down to fifth in the NHL standings. By finishing 28th, the organization did everything it could to protect its 2026 first-round pick.
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As a reminder, the pick sent to the Boston Bruins in the Brandon Carlo trade is protected in the top five. With seven straight losses to end the season, the Maple Leafs have given themselves an excellent chance in the lottery. If they get a top-five pick, they keep it, and the pick owed to Boston moves to 2027. In a season that has been summed up as disappointment and failure, securing a top prospect this summer is about the best result a front office could ask for.
Nylander Hits a Milestone
In a game where there wasn’t much offensively, William Nylander still found a way to give the Maple Leafs something. His backhand goal in the third period was his 30th of the season, marking the sixth time in his career, and the fifth year in a row, that he has hit that number.
Nylander now joins the short list of names in franchise history, including Mats Sundin and Auston Matthews, as the only players to record at least six 30-goal seasons. Even with everything else that has gone wrong this year, his consistency is one of the few things this team still relies on.
What’s Next for Maple Leaves
The season is over. The Maple Leafs finished with a 32-36-14 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
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Now the focus shifts to the draft lottery and what feels like an inevitable roster shake-up. There are key players headed to free agency, and the front office is under real pressure to fix the defensive side of things. It should be a busy season. For fans, it probably comes down to one thing now, hoping that the lottery balls fall their way and that a 28th-place finish turns out to be something that really changes the direction of the team.
