One measly third-place vote. That is all the Maple Leafs garnered as the National Hockey League first and second all-star teams were revealed on Friday afternoon.
To be clear, no one should have expected anything more from the Leafs, not after the club crashed and landed in last place in the Atlantic Division in the 2025-26 regular season. Toronto failed to earn a post-season berth for the first time since 2016, and coach Craig Berube was fired in May, six weeks after general manager Brad Treliving was shown the door.
William Nylander was the lone Leaf to appear in all-star voting, conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season and before the Stanley Cup playoffs started. After recording 79 points (30 goals and 49 assists) in 65 games, Nylander tied for 12th in voting for right wing, getting one third-place vote along with Cutter Gauthier of the Anaheim Ducks.
Nylander’s production would have put him on pace for 100 points in 82 games. His career high for points in one NHL season is 98, accomplished in 82 games in 2023-24. The Leafs have not had an all-star since 2021-22, when centre Auston Matthews and right winger Mitch Marner both were voted to the first team. Nylander has never been voted to an NHL all-star team.
NHL All-Star Teams for 2025-26
First all-star team
- Centre: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
- Left wing: Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars
- Right wing: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Defence: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche and Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Second all-star team
- Centre: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Left wing: Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens
- Right wing: David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
- Defence: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres and Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers
- Goaltender: Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
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