Serious concerns are suddenly growing around the Maple Leafs

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Vincent Carbonneau
May 22, 2026  (6:04)

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Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Mitch Marner and John Tortorella have already pushed Vegas one step closer, and that alone has to sting in Toronto.

That is the real angle here now.

This is not about some fantasy of Marner ending up in Montreal. It is about the Leafs letting him go a year ago, only to watch him get this close to the Cup with Vegas.

And the timing makes it worse.

Vegas is up 1-0 in its series. Montreal is up 1-0 in its series too. So Toronto fans are staring at a bracket where both nightmares can stay alive at the same time.

One is the Canadiens making noise again.

The other is Marner doing exactly what Leafs fans always wanted him to do, just in another sweater.

That is why the JD Bunkis line hits. Toronto can handle Montreal winning. Toronto can handle Marner winning. Handling both storylines at once would be brutal.

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Because if Vegas keeps rolling, the whole Leafs conversation comes back harder.

Every old argument gets dragged out again. Was it the roster? Was it the market? Was it the fit? Was it the pressure? Was it a mistake to let a player like that walk?

And if Marner is a real part of a Cup push, Toronto gets no place to hide from those questions.

That is what makes this different from a normal ex-player story.

Marner is not some former Leaf quietly finding a second life in a smaller market. He is one of the faces of the entire era Toronto is still trying to explain away.

So if Vegas gets close, it becomes a direct mirror.

A team the Leafs moved on from.

A player they could not win big with.

A spring where he suddenly looks a lot closer to the prize.

That is tough enough on its own.

Then add Montreal being up 1-0 too, and now Toronto has to watch its biggest rival and one of its biggest what-if players both gain traction at the same time.

That is where the emotional damage comes from.

Because a spring can still break Toronto in two different directions...

The Canadiens can hurt the Leafs by winning.

Marner can hurt the Leafs by proving he could win after leaving.

And if both runs stay alive deep into June, Toronto fans are going to feel every second of it.

Previously

Injury alert in Montreal after major update on Canadiens defenseman

NHL hammered the Canadiens with severe penalties and Montreal is in chaos

Canucks legend just dropped blunt honesty on a return and fans are stunned

POLL

1 HOUR AGO   |   49 ANSWERS Serious concerns are suddenly growing around the Maple Leafs Would a deep Mitch Marner run with Vegas hurt Toronto more than a deep Montreal run ?

▢    Yes

▢    No

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