Maple Leafs lose season finale, secure spot in NHL’s bottom five

Former Leafs goalie James Reimer recorded the victory for Ottawa.

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Published Apr 15, 2026  •  Last updated 1 minute ago  •  2 minute read

The Toronto Maple Leafs' John Tavares attempts to keep control of the puck with the Ottawa Senators' Lars Eller following closely and goaltender James Reimer looking on during the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre on April 15, 2026. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press

That’s a wrap on the 2025-26 Maple Leafs season.

Fittingly, it was a former Leafs goaltender who formed the bookends on a season from hell.

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Cut from a tryout by Toronto last fall, James Reimer recorded the victory on Wednesday night in Ottawa as the Senators beat the Leafs 3-1.

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William Nylander ended Reimer’s shutout bid eight minutes into the third period when he scored his 30th goal of the season. It is the sixth time in his National Hockey League career that he has scored at least 30 goals.

Out of the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, the Leafs ended the season with little interest, losing their final seven games while being outscored 35-18. Their last win came in Anaheim on March 30 when they beat the Ducks 5-4 in overtime, hours after general manager Brad Treliving was fired.

The good news for Leafs Nation is that the club will finish 28th in the overall NHL standings, putting them in the top five for the 2026 draft. The catch is that if a team higher than Toronto in the standings wins the draft lottery on May 5, the Leafs will be knocked out of the top five and their first-round pick will go to the Boston Bruins.

Toronto (32-36-14) finished with 78 points, 30 less than a year ago when it won the Atlantic Division.

The Leafs will hold exit interviews on Thursday, when captain Auston Matthews is slated to speak to media for the first time since the Ducks’ Radko Gudas ended his season with a knee-on-knee hit on March 12.

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The Leafs were outshot 38-20 by the Sens, marking the 62nd time in 82 games that their opponent held an edge.

It’s likely the game was the last behind the Leafs bench for coach Craig Berube, whose Toronto future is in much doubt. And it might have been the last Leafs game for defenceman Morgan Rielly, who may be asked to waive his no-movement clause by the incoming head of hockey operations.

Joe Bowen called the last Leafs game of his legendary broadcasting career from the press box in Ottawa, along with longtime partner and colour commentator Jim Ralph, after not being on the road for games for the past several years.

As for the roster re-tooling that will be the task of the new hockey boss, that person will have their work cut out.

Teams won’t be lining up to trade with the Leafs, and there are just two unrestricted free agents — forward Calle Jarnkrok, who did not play in Ottawa because of injury, and defenceman Troy Stecher.

Drake Batherson, Warren Foegele and Dylan Cozens, into an empty net, scored for Ottawa.

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