ESPN’s Ray Ferraro pinpoints the Toronto Maple Leafs’ biggest flaw
· Yahoo Sports
The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ disastrous 2025-26 NHL season continues to fuel debate about the franchise’s long-term roster construction. This time, ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro mentioned that the organization’s biggest problem is a lack of depth.
Speaking on The JD Bunkis Podcast, Ferraro reflected on former Leafs star Mitch Marner finding success with the Vegas Golden Knights and what Toronto should learn from the experience.
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“Yeah, build a better team. Like, build a deeper team,” Ferraro said.
His comments come after Toronto finished 32-36-14, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and endured a franchise-record 30-point drop in the standings. The collapse followed Marner’s departure and exposed weaknesses that had been masked during the team’s years as a perennial playoff team.
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Ferraro argued that the NHL has evolved to a point where relying heavily on elite stars is no longer enough.
“Top-heavy teams are really going to find difficulty winning because the floor of the NHL on each roster has gotten closer to the top,” Ferraro said. “Even with these amazing players we have, the floor of the team now is a problem. You need depth. You need some heaviness to your game. You need a consistency through the lineup.”
Why did the Maple Leafs’ top-heavy roster formula fail?
Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner (16) and current captain Auston Matthews (34) at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn ImagesFor years, the Maple Leafs built around Auston Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. While that core delivered regular-season success, the supporting cast often lacked the depth needed for long playoff runs.
Ferraro believes that imbalance became impossible to ignore.
“I think if there’s a lesson, as the word you use, that would be it for Toronto,” Ferraro said. “Is that there’s got to be a way to build a deeper, at least nine-forward, line-over-line team. You’ve got to be able to do that, or it’s just too fast and too demanding.”
The 2025-26 season provided evidence. Toronto ranked near the bottom of the league defensively, allowing 3.60 goals per game. Injuries hurt the blue line, goaltending struggled, and replacement depth players failed to offset Marner’s departure. Matthews’ injury just made things worse.
So, Ferraro’s assessment is difficult to dispute. Championship teams roll four lines, withstand injuries, and maintain structure throughout the lineup. Vegas has consistently done that. Toronto rarely did.
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Marner’s success elsewhere is not the lesson. The lesson is that the Leafs never built enough around stars who were already good enough to contend.