For the past eight years, scoring goals in the regular season has rarely been an issue for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Since Auston Matthews joined the team in 2016 and scored 40 goals in his rookie year, reshaping the trajectory of the franchise, the Leafs have consistently ranked among the top-scoring teams in the NHL, finishing no lower than ninth. In fact, they had the second-best offense in the league last season.

When the team faltered in the playoffs during the “Matthews Era” — a pattern that has largely persisted — critics often pointed to the Leafs being too flashy, lacking toughness, and needing to add gritty, defensively-minded defensemen. This same narrative surfaced again last spring, despite the fact that a lack of scoring was the primary reason the Leafs lost to Boston in seven games.

However, general manager Brad Treliving had a different perspective. He didn’t think the team needed more goal-scoring help. Instead, he opted to strengthen the defense by signing veteran blueliners Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and adding goalie Anthony Stolarz. Treliving’s approach suggested he believed these moves, combined with the hiring of no-nonsense head coach Craig Berube, would make the Leafs more defensively sound and, consequently, a tougher playoff contender.

Those moves have indeed improved the Leafs defensively, with the three new acquisitions making solid contributions. But the problem now is that the team is not scoring nearly as much as last season, when they were already struggling to generate enough offense to advance past the first round.

In back-to-back losses to Washington and Pittsburgh — the NHL’s worst defensive team — the Leafs managed only three goals. As a result, they fell below three goals per game for the first time since Matthews was drafted. As of Sunday, the Leafs ranked 18th in the league in offense, a drop that mirrors their significant defensive improvement.

Before the losses to the Capitals and Penguins, the Leafs were leading the Atlantic Division and appeared to have struck a balance between offense and defense. But those defeats suggested that if you’re waiting for the Leafs’ offense to become more explosive — believing that a strong defense would lead to better offensive results — you might be waiting a long time.

There’s nothing wrong with the team’s key players, although Matthews has been dealing with injuries. They’re all still producing. But the bottom six forwards are offering little to no offensive support, and the team continues to play Ryan Reaves, who contributes nothing offensively or defensively, in a supposed deterrent role. Even more concerning is the fact that Toronto’s defense corps is one of the lowest-scoring in the league.

If you remove Morgan Rielly, who has four goals, the remaining eight defensemen to dress for the Leafs this season have combined for just three goals. This includes Timothy Liljegren, who played just one game (without scoring) before being traded to San Jose. Liljegren, now with the Sharks, has already scored three goals, but he didn’t fit Treliving and Berube’s vision and wasn’t given much of a chance.

The only real attempt Treliving made to add offensive depth in the offseason was signing aging veteran Max Pacioretty, who has been serviceable but struggles with injuries. Meanwhile, it’s becoming clear that Nick Robertson’s impressive preseason was more of an anomaly.

Treliving surely recognizes what’s happening, and understands that, at some point before the trade deadline, he’ll need to look outside the organization to find scoring help. However, the trade market isn’t offering much right now. The recent deal that sent Jacob Trouba from New York to Anaheim is an outlier in today’s NHL, where meaningful trades rarely happen early in the season.

Treliving has already given Fraser Minten a shot, and Easton Cowan is excelling in the OHL, but he won’t be NHL-ready until next season at the earliest.

Alex Nylander doesn’t possess the same skillset as his brother, and unless Leafs fans are expecting Max Domi (who has zero goals in 19 games this season, and just nine in 80 games last year) to suddenly become a different player after recovering from injury, there’s little immediate help on the horizon. There’s also Bobby McMann, but his health remains uncertain, and Calle Järnkrok’s return remains unclear.

Until this weekend, the lack of scoring relative to last season hadn’t been a major issue. The team’s improved defense and solid goaltending were being well received. Upcoming games against lower-tier teams like Anaheim, Detroit, and Buffalo could provide an opportunity for Berube’s squad to generate more offense and ease concerns over the team’s scoring depth.

But here’s the bottom line: When it mattered most last season, the Leafs couldn’t score enough. Now, with fewer offensive weapons at their disposal, that problem is only more pronounced. Addressing it will be crucial moving forward.