NHL Power Rankings: Pressure mounting as Maple Leafs backslide in competitive Eastern Conference

It might be time to worry about the Maple Leafs, who can’t seem to put it all together

Nov 19, 2025 at 9:15 am ET • 1 min read

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There’s always pressure on the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that has only been amplified thanks to a lackluster start this season. The Maple Leafs are trending in the wrong direction as the Eastern Conference looks as competitive as it’s been in a long time.

Coming into the season, the Leafs were expected to compete atop the Atlantic Division once again, but a perfect storm has resulted in a 9-9-2 start. That’s good for 15th place in the conference, and the heat is getting turned up.

With Mitch Marner now in Vegas, the Maple Leafs’ already shaky forward depth has been stretched even thinner in 2025-26. Outside of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Matthew Knies, it’s tough to find someone who can provide consistent scoring.

The bigger issue comes on the back end where veteran defensemen look like they may be sliding down the wrong side of the aging curve. Jake McCabe and Brandon Carlo are both struggling to stay afloat at five-on-five, and Chris Tanev exhibited red flags before his injuries.

Throw in some shaky goaltending, and the Maple Leafs are a very flawed team. That could change in an instant if Matthews comes back healthy and starts scoring at a 60-goal pace. Until then, skepticism is warranted.

As the Maple Leafs slide, here are the updated NHL Power Rankings.

All expected goals and goals saved above average data via Natural Stat Trick.

Biggest Movers

Rk	Teams		Chg	Rcrd
1	Avalanche	Let’s give some flowers to Artturi Lehkonen, who has been stellar on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Lehkonen is already up to 18 points, and he boasts a plus-15 goal differential at five-on-five.	—	13-1-5
2	Stars	It took Jason Robertson a minute to heat up, but he is sizzling now. Robertson has six goals and nine points in his last three games, and he is playing like a guy who doesn’t want to be left off the Olympic roster for Team USA.	4	12-5-3
3	Hurricanes	The Hurricanes might have something in young defenseman Alexander Nikishin. He’s got the second-most ice time at five-on-five, and Carolina owns a plus-12 goal differential in those minutes. Nikishin has alleviated the absence of Jaccob Slavin.	1	13-5-1
4	Devils	Jack Hughes can’t catch a break. He’s out for two months after getting hurt at a team dinner, and it’s time for the Devils to go shopping on the trade market. May I interest Tom Fitzgerald in a Nazem Kadri or Ryan O’Reilly?	1	13-5-1
5	Ducks	If you like end-to-end action, there’s nothing like a Ducks game. They score at the third-highest rate in the NHL, and allow goals at the ninth-highest rate. Fans in Anaheim are getting their money’s worth when they go to the Honda Center.	1	12-6-1
6	Lightning	I think there are very serious questions about Brayden Point’s effectiveness. He has 10 points in 18 games, and he has a minus-10 goal differential at five-on-five. Tampa is fine for now, but the team needs Point at his best to contend for a Cup.	1	10-7-2
7	Bruins	Far be it from me to rain on anyone’s parade, but the Bruins might be a house of cards. As hot as they’ve been, their goal differential still sits at zero, and their five-on-five expected goals share of 44.7% really triggers some alarms.	4	12-9-0
8	Red Wings	Alex DeBrincat was the victim of some poor puck luck to start the season, but that luck has changed in a big way now. DeBrincat has five goals in his last three games, and the Red Wings needed that because they lack depth scoring.	5	12-7-1
9	Canadiens	Jakub Dobes hasn’t been great, but he’s pretty clearly wrestling the starter’s crease away from Sam Montembeault at this point. The latter is costing Montreal games, posting a .858 save percentage and allowing 10.2 goals above average.	4	10-6-3
10	Golden Knights	Jack Eichel began the season on somewhat of a scoring tear, but he’s cooled down significantly of late. Eichel hasn’t scored in his last eight games, and he has just five assists in that span. He’ll get back on track, but this lull has been a reason for Vegas’ recent dip.	2	9-4-6
11	Jets	The Jets are third place in the Central Division, and their goal differential is plus-12. That’s not a bad start, but it masks bigger concerns under the hood. Winnipeg is one of the worst five-on-five teams in the NHL, and its expected goal differential is around minus-7.	2	12-7-0
12	Senators	Jordan Spence is really good, and that offseason trade looks like a steal for the Sens. The 24-year-old defenseman has seven points in 10 games, and Ottawa is generating 2.82 xGF/60 min when Spence is on the ice at five-on-five. He’s done a great job of driving play from the blue line.	2	9-6-4
13	Kings	Adrian Kempe just inked an eight-year contract worth $85 million to remain with the Kings through 2033-34. That new deal is at least a little ill-timed as it comes in a stretch where Kempe has one goal in his last 11 games.	5	10-6-4
14	Panthers	Carter Verhaeghe is off to one of the slowest starts of his career. He has just two goals in 19 games. Verhaeghe is shooting 4.4%, which is nearly nine points lower than his career average.	1	10-8-1
15	Penguins	Arturs Silovs is starting to look like an incredible savvy addition by GM Kyle Dubas. The 24-year-old is seventh in the NHL at 6.28 goals saved above average, and that’s over the course of just 10 appearances.	3	10-5-4
16	Blackhawks	Connor Bedard scored his second hat trick of the season on Tuesday night. He’s now on pace for eight hat tricks this season. I think this kid is pretty good at hockey.	6	10-5-4
17	Islanders	Not only have the Islanders won five of their last six, but Patrick Roy is back to yelling at opposing players and coaches. What more could you possibly want from this team? They are fun again.	2	11-7-2
18	Kraken	Last season, Jordan Eberle scored nine goals in 42 games. He’s already up to seven goals this year in what’s been a bit of a resurgence for him. Given Seattle’s lack of true impact moves over the summer, it needed a bounce-back effort from someone like Eberle.	2	9-5-5
19	Mammoth	November has been unkind to the Mammoth, and the offense has gone silent. Utah has scored more than two goals once this month, and that came in a 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.	9	10-7-3
20	Flyers	Christian Dvorak looks good in his reunion with coach Rick Tocchet. Dvorak is already up to 13 points, and 10 of them have come at five-on-five. He’s on pace to soar past his previous career high of 38 points.	4	9-6-3
21	Rangers	The Rangers are the NHL’s worst team at home and the best team on the road. How is that kind of split possible? I have no idea. Maybe room service is just better than home cookin’.	5	10-9-2
22	Wild	Things have started to turn around for Minnesota in November, and a big reason for that has been goaltending. The highly-touted Jesper Wallstedt has really flashed in just three appearances this month, posting two shutouts and 7.26 goals saved above average.	5	9-7-4
23	Blue Jackets	Kent Johnson was a breakout candidate this season, but he’s regressed instead. Johnson hasn’t scored since Oct. 21, and he owns a minus-11 goal differential at five-on-five.	2	10-8-2
24	Oilers	The Oilers have to hope the return of Zach Hyman provides some kind of spark. This team is in a rut right now, and making a move would be very difficult because Edmonton has just over $200,000 salary cap space.	3	9-8-4
25	Capitals	Logan Thompson is an early Vezina Trophy candidate, and that’s good news for the Capitals because they lack some offensive firepower right now. Thompson may have to steal some wins while Washington gets its mojo back.	8	9-8-2
26	Sharks	Macklin Celebrini scored his second hat trick of the season on Tuesday night. He’s now on pace for eight hat tricks this season. I think this kid is pretty good at hockey.	2	9-8-3
27	Maple Leafs	Toronto looks painfully average in many areas right now, and its aging blue line might be a liability. Can GM Brad Treliving salvage this thing? I’m starting to have some doubts.	4	9-9-2
28	Sabres	Bowen Byram has been in trade rumors before, and he might be in them again soon. Byram has yet to take the next step in Buffalo, and his five-on-five metrics are rather lackluster. A change of scenery might do Byram some good, and the Sabres could get decent value.	1	7-8-4
29	Canucks	Thatcher Demko is injured, and that’s very bad news for the Canucks’ playoff hopes because Kevin Lankinen and Jiri Patera don’t inspire much confidence between the pipes.	1	9-10-2
30	Blues	The Blues are already in need of a run to get back into the playoff race, but that may not be coming. They have to hope that one of Jordan Binnington or Joel Hofer turns it on between the pipes at some point.	—	6-9-5
31	Predators	It’s gotta be Gavin McKenna time in Nashville. There’s no reason to try to salvage this season. The Preds haven’t ever landed the No. 1 overall pick, and this might be just the year to do it.	—	6-10-4
32	Flames	The Flames have some shockingly good five-on-five metrics, but they have no one to convert a good process into good results. Blake Coleman, 33, leads the team in goals with seven. Only one other player has more than four.	—	5-13-3