To hear Darryl Sutter tell it, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jekyll-and-Hyde showing against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night might end up being a snapshot of their entire 2025–26 season — and, as always, it’s the end result that really counts.
After sleepwalking through what “The Leafs Nation” podcast co-host Jay Rosehill called “the worst 40 minutes they’ve played,” Toronto erupted for four third-period goals to erase a 3–0 deficit and steal a 4–3 comeback win. The victory, their second straight, pushed the Leafs to 7–5–1 — not exactly the start fans envisioned, but a win is still a win.
Sutter, appearing on Monday’s “The Leafs Nation,” suggested those early-season swings could serve a greater purpose.
“In the long run, this is not the worst thing for them because quite honest, there’s been times the last few years where they were kind of on cruise and still winning and relying on the big guys to win the game or the power play to win the game,” suggested the two-time Stanley Cup winning coach. “Maybe now this is a really, really good teaching and learning experience for them right now.”
Darryl Sutter Suggests Bumpy Start Could Benefit Toronto Later This Season
Sutter should know. The long-time coach won a pair of Stanley Cup championships while at the helm of the Los Angeles Kings, and Sutter said he feels there are just a few small tweaks that could sharpen up what Rosehill said has been “a yin-and-yang season” so far for the Maple Leafs.
“I think you’re just, you’re looking at the fundamental part of your system, and you got to correct those little things,” Sutter said.
“There’s one-on-one reads, there’s three-on-two reads, there’s backcheck reads, there’s D-zone coverage reads. Do all those little do all those little things right and then make that good. Just try and be a second quicker in everything you’re doing.”
But it’ll be an uphill climb for the Maple Leafs, Sutter warned, if Chris Tanev remains out of the lineup for long.
Darryl Sutter Stresses Importance to Maple Leafs of Injured Defenseman Chris Tanev
The 35-year-old defenseman went down after an awkward collision with Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov on Saturday night and was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Tanev, who was kept in hospital in Philadelphia overnight for evaluation, was making his first start after missing 11 days with a concussion, and Toronto announced that he was put on the injured list.
“A lot of what I’m saying there [that the team needs to do], that’s what Chris Tanev does right, those things, and that’s the stability that you always go back to is guys like that,” Sutter said of the player that he coached for two-plus seasons in Calgary.
“You knew he was ready for every game. You knew he could play against everybody. He played hurt, and you know what he’s going through now is something different he didn’t have before, but he played hurt, and he could play with anybody.”
For now, the Maple Leafs will have to find that stability elsewhere — and fast. The season’s barely a month old, but as Sutter reminded, these are the moments that shape a team’s identity long before the playoffs arrive.
The challenge, as he sees it, isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about tightening the details, trusting the system, and finding the kind of consistency that turns a wild November night into something that still matters come May.
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