There’s no question the Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled out of the gates to begin the 2025-26 campaign. Fortunately, they could get a boost to the bottom-six of their forward core relatively soon in the form of Scott Laughton.
Laughton has been recovering from a lower-body injury since the end of the preseason, and he hasn’t participated in any practice up to this point in the regular season. Earlier today, Nick Barden of The Hockey News reported that Laughton is expected to resume skating today, indicating he’ll return relatively soon.
However, Laughton’s return is unlikely to resolve the issues plaguing the Maple Leafs this season. The team’s power play is currently tied for 28th in the league with a 12.5% success rate, and the team is middle-of-the-pack in puck possession. Being that he’s a physical center who can win faceoffs and chip in for 30-40 points a year, it would be unrealistic to think Laughton is the only thing Toronto needs to get their season back on track.
More injury notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Despite getting back in the win column against the red-hot Detroit Red Wings last night, the Buffalo Sabres may have lost a valuable top-six winger for the foreseeable future. According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, Jason Zucker left last night’s game with an upper-body injury and is still being evaluated by the team’s medical staff. Although he only skated in 8:28 of yesterday’s contest, Zucker finished with one goal on two shots.
- Moving back to Toronto, the team could be without defenseman Chris Tanev for their upcoming matchup against the Sabres. After leaving their most recent game with an upper-body injury, TSN’s Mark Masters reported yesterday that Tanev remains questionable to return. Given that the Maple Leafs are financially limited in what they’re able to do, the expectation is that Philippe Myers will make his season debut if Tanev is unable to play on Friday.