NHL News

Matthews Agrees with Rival Coach: Maple Leafs Will Bounce Back

ind out how the Maple Leafs bounce back from their losing streak. Insights from Auston Matthews on team strategy for next year.

by
Garit Reid
March 12, 2026

The Toronto Maple Leafs have piled up losses since the Olympic break, dropping eight straight games. Still, captain Auston Matthews believes the team can bounce back next season. While he acknowledged there’s no excuse for the poor play, Matthews noted that both the organization and the players expect to compete as contenders. Unfortunately for Toronto, that simply hasn’t been the reality this year.

Keep The Core Intact

Keeping the core team and coaches together is the smart move if the Leafs want to contend in the NHL playoffs next year. It doesn’t make sense to dismantle a team because a rebuild like that would take years.

Message From Around The NHL

Other teams have chimed in with their thoughts on the recent slump, and some are in consensus that the Maple Leafs have a solid team and are just having a one-off bad year. People like Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper think the Leafs will bounce back next season.

“They have a fabulous core still,” Cooper told reporters. “If they don’t make it, this will probably be a one-off for them, because they got a good group.”

Matthews echoed Cooper’s sentiments, though it doesn’t excuse the team’s eight-game losing streak—or the fact he has just one goal in his last 15 games. Even so, Matthews remains confident the Leafs can turn things around and have a bounce-back season next year.

“I remember the Lightning missed the playoffs one year, and then the next year they’re back at the top of the division, competing,” Matthews noted. “A team like Boston that had a down year and same thing, like, they’re in the mix [this season]. You know, sometimes it happens.”

Ride Or Die For Leafs Fans

It can be frustrating for Maple Leafs fans on the way the team has played this season, but that is sports, and that is being a fan of the team you love. For example, Boston Red Sox fans have suffered through long droughts as well as Detroit Lions fans who have never won a championship, but you gotta love your team through thick and thin.