The flip of the calendar hasn’t always been kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Usually it’s followed with false hopes and first-round exits — at least that’s been the case in recent years. Now, with 2025 underway, the Maple Leafs have some hopeful resolutions that they will work towards over the next calendar year — with the next five months being a tell-all of what they can expect for next season.
With that, here’s a look at some New Year’s resolutions for Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs in 2025.
Time to Get Auston Matthews to 100 Percent
It was reported on Wednesday that Auston Matthews was unsure if he’d be able to overcome the injury he’d been dealing with this season before the end of the campaign. This is not the type of news you want as a fan or member of the team to kick off the new calendar year.
Clearly it’s an injury that has been nagging Matthews for the majority of the season and his play hasn’t seemed up to snuff by his standard. While the Maple Leafs have maintained a steady progression even without him in the lineup, the question becomes how long they can continue tor ride it out.
Outside of that, the thinking has to be around what benefit it provides to have him continuously in and out of the lineup disrupting chemistry and not playing at 100 percent. So, as crazy as it sounds, maybe it’s time for the Maple Leafs to keep Matthews out of the lineup until he’s 100 percent ready to come back.
Sure, they will have to battle through adversity and question marks around their captain, but in the long-run it’ll protect him as well as benefit the organization. After all, the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline doesn’t seem that far away now that we’re in 2025. If the injury continues to linger, the Maple Leafs could benefit by using the loophole in the CBA in which they can exceed the NHL’s salary cap with Matthews on long-term injury reserve (LTIR).
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It wouldn’t be the first time a team has done this — the Chicago Blackhawks, Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning come to mind — and it would allow Matthews to get healthy and give the team an opportunity to add another major piece heading into the playoffs.
Regardless of what Treliving and the Maple Leafs hope to do at the deadline, however, one thing is for sure. Matthews needs to be 100 percent healthy…
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