At one point, the Toronto Maple Leafs were dead last in the Atlantic Division. Now? They enter Thursday night's NHL action with possession of one of the Eastern Conference's two Wild Card spots.
Since parting ways with assistant head coach Marc Savard on December 22nd, the Toronto Maple Leafs have lost in regulation just once, going 8-1-2 over the following 11 games. Their most recent win saw the team battle hard with the league-leading-and-dominating Colorado Avalanche, ultimately beating them 4-3 in overtime.
That win over Colorado can easily be seen as one of the Leafs' best efforts so far this season. Not only did they end a seventeen-game home winning streak for the Avalanche, but they also put themselves back in a playoff spot for the first time since the early days of the season.
Even with their ongoing run of form, the Leafs' next hurdle is coming up quite quickly. No, it's not the return fixture against Colorado on January 25th. It also isn't the game against the Buffalo Sabres on January 27th.
On Thursday, the Leafs will head to Las Vegas for the first of two games against the Vegas Golden Knights. Eight days later, Toronto will welcome the Golden Knights to Scotiabank Arena.
Of course, you could say every team looks forward to playing Vegas. Whether it's the reunion with a superstar that left for the Sin City or a playoff rematch, teams do tend to have Vegas circled on their calendars.
For the Maple Leafs, it's the former reason for which anticipation for the first of two contests against Vegas can be seen to come from.
Despite being locked in negotiations for much of the summer, the Toronto Maple Leafs were ultimately unable to get Mitch Marner to agree to a contract that would have kept the Greater Toronto Area native in town for the foreseeable future. As a result, Mitch Marner found himself at the centre of a sign-and-trade that landed him in Las Vegas, with Nicholas Roy being the return for the Golden Knights.
For Toronto, the 2025 offseason was one marked by change. Two straight home blowouts to close out their second round bout with Florida could not be tolerated by the Leafs organization. As a result, the team sent Brendan Shanahan packing and opted for pro-physicality signings to back Craig Berube's tough coaching style, breaking up the "Core Four" in the process.
While the change in strategy didn't pan out in the beginning, it's clear that the team is starting to see returns on their decision. But that might not matter if they can't beat the Vegas Golden Knights.
Sure, it's just two regular season games and a loss or two to Vegas might not end Toronto's season. But it's the nature of Toronto's summer evolution and Vegas' ability to consistently contend for Stanley Cups that will turn heads here.
If the Leafs can beat Vegas even once, there will be reason to justify what was the biggest move that the team has made in almost a decade. Whether it's a need to change the team's identity or a desire to get something back in the event of losing Mitch Marner, such means of justifying the team's change over the offseason would immediately be justified in the event they can have their way with the Golden Knights.
That's what's at stake on Thursday. And an ability to navigate that challenge should allow the Leafs to clear yet another hurdle in their quest to completely turn their season around and to finally go on a deep playoff run.