The Toronto Maple Leafs had one of their most disappointing campaigns in recent memory in 2025/26, but after the off-season that they’ve had, many are expecting a major bounce back campaign in 2026/27.
Over the summer, Toronto have added Gavin McKenna, Sergei Bobrovsky and Jack Roslovic among others while also hiring a new GM in John Chayka and a new Head Coach in Jim Hiller. Now, they look to turn things around and push for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot in the loaded Atlantic Division, but if the NHL27 video game ratings are anything to go by, this team may not be ready to dominate just yet in 2026/27.
Auston Matthews Falls out of the Top-10 Center Rankings in the NHL
GettyAuston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For years now, Auston Matthews has been one of the best players in the National Hockey League, and on the back of a 69 goal campaign in 2023/24, he was regarded as a top-10 player overall in the league. However, 2025/26 saw him post his lowest goal total of his career with just 27 in 60 games played, and with the team around him struggling in their first season without Mitch Marner, the pressure on him only mounted.
Now, that poor play has seen him suffer with the latest video game release, as NHL27 have now released some of their ratings ahead of the new game, and for the first time in a long time, Matthews is not rated among their top-10 centers.
At No. 10 in the center ratings is Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele at a 93 overall, and according to the overall ratings, Matthews as a 92 just misses out, being rated the No. 25 overall player in the game among the ratings that have been released thus far. While it may seem disrespectful, every center above Matthews had a much better campaign in 2025/26, and while he can change that narrative with one good season, it’s hard to deny how he’s fallen off in the past 18 months.
Can Auston Matthews Bounce Back in 2026/27?
Most of Matthews’ struggles have come due to the injuries he’s suffered in back-to-back years, as he has played in a combined 127 games over the past two seasons, and as a result, he has less goals in that time than he did in his record breaking campaign in 2023/24.
However, the team have added more talent around him this off-season, and with the addition of McKenna to a loaded top-six, whether the captain plays alongside the No. 1 pick or Matthew Knies, the pieces are in place for a bounce back campaign. Obviously there’s much more to getting back on track than simply getting the right linemates involved, as Matthews needs to go through a whole season healthy, and with no Olympics in 2026/27, the hope is that he can finally be healthy and become the captain, the leader and superstar for Toronto that he’s been across his career once more.
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