After seven games the Leafs are sitting with a 3-3-1 record, which you would think isn’t too bad at first glance, but there’s definitely something wrong within the group.
A Fissure Appears
We’ll start with the public cry for help from the teams starting goaltender, Anthony Stolarz. By now I assume we’ve all seen the video. If not, here it is:
For years the fans have been asking this team to work a little harder, dig a little deeper and backcheck a little more fiercely. Stolarz simply said it in front of a camera and to many it was a breath of fresh air. To others, a temper tantrum that was unwarranted. I believe the former, but I covered my feelings on that a few days ago.
What is obvious at this point is that there isn’t a united front within the locker room and while there have been rumours of that being the case in years past, this is the first time the dam broke and the waters flooded out. In the past it was said that Ryan O’Reilly wasn’t happy with the locker room attitude, especially during the playoffs. The team wasn’t focused enough and were far too relaxed to truly compete (again, a rumour, but a believable one). Nick Foligno, apparently, came to much the same conclusion and the end result was both veteran players skipping town in search of a more competitive atmosphere (ROR), or a bigger payday (Foligno).
Now we have a veteran netminder that has seen first hand what it takes to win the Stanley Cup call out his team early in the season. A fierce competitor and perhaps the best goaltender the team has had in the Matthews era, Stolarz is going to be a vital part to any success that the team has. In fact, the only player on the roster that you could argue is more important than Stolarz is Matthews and I’d happily play devils advocate and argue the case that Stolarz is the more important piece, especially with Joseph Woll spending time away from the team.
My question now is how many players are backing Stolarz within the room? You can bet that Nylander isn’t happy with him, as it was obvious that he was the one being called out at one point during the video. Auston Matthews should be screaming for more from his team as well, but he’s not exactly digging deep on the ice either. Those that are leaving it all out there include Chris Tanev, Dakota Joshua, Jake McCabe and Calle Jarnkrok, while a group of others (Maccelli, Roy, etc) can’t be knocked for their effort level. Bobby McMann sits within the top 10 in the NHL in hits with 30 in 7 games, which appears to show a deeper commitment to using his size more. He had 136 hits in 74 games last season. The point is that some players are trying their best.
Here is the major issue with all of this.
The players that I listed in the effort column just don’t have the same pull as the star players and none of the stars are bending over backwards to earn wins right now. You can’t have your role players trying hard to pull the stars into the fight, in fact it’s only ever been the other way around with successful teams. The stars take control of games and lead the way to victory, it’s a recipe for success, but that’s not what we’re seeing in Toronto. Instead, in Toronto, it’s much like the rich vs poor, where the rich make all the money (points), while the poor do all the work.
The Buy-In
Which brings us to another major crack in the foundation. On paper you’d swear that things are going very well. William Nylander has 2 goals and 13pts in 7 games to start the season. That doesn’t just lead the team, that places him 2nd in the entire NHL behind only Jack Eichel (16pts). While that’s an unsustainable point-per-game pace, you’d have to assume that any player that is 2nd in the league in the scoring race would be the one the rest of your roster would be looking towards as an example of what to do on the ice, but you’d be dead wrong. Nylander, to me, is the guy that you play beer league hockey with that refuses to backcheck, while saying things like “goals aren’t found in your own zone” and laughing. That guy can get away with that in your local rink because, depending on your league at least, we’re all there to have a laugh, a beer and play the game we love (we’re going to ignore the intense, win-at-all-costs guy for the sake of this discussion, but feel free to tell me all about him in the comment section).
Nylander is that guy and if you don’t believe me you need to focus on him and him alone during his shifts. He is usually standing still in the defensive zone, can rarely be found playing deeper than the top of the circles and blows the zone early at every chance he gets in an attempt to secure himself a breakaway or to create an odd man rush. In my opinion, his greatest skill is his ability to read the play in the offensive zone and be where the puck is about to go, which creates prime scoring opportunities and goals for. His greatest weakness is his inability to turn up the intensity level.
This isn’t the type of game that Craig Berube (or any NHL coach, ever?) has been telling us all that he wants his team to play. In fact, it may be the complete opposite. So why does the Coach sing his praises in the media? It appears that he isn’t just allowing it to happen, but is encouraging it. He doesn’t allow that type of play from Nicholas Robertson, Easton Cowan, Max Domi or anybody else on the roster, but with Nylander it simply seems to be the only expectation. “Score at all costs and I’ll leave you alone” looks like the agreement from where I’m sitting.
The usual suspects follow Nylander in team scoring. John Tavares, Matthews Knies, Auston Matthews and the defensively desolate Morgan Rielly.
Rielly’s “bounce back” season appears to be the feel good narrative at the moment, yet it’s simply that, a narrative. Last season Rielly wasn’t scoring and for the first time his many defensive lapses became glaring. This season he has 6pts in 7 games and, if you believe the main stream media, his game has completely turned around. The teams leader in TOI/GP, both at even strength and on the powerplay, has yet to record a point with the man advantage. That, combined with the fact that he has played 34 seconds on the penalty kill… that’s 34 seconds total, not per game, makes the usually defunct +/- stat a little more relevant here. He’s -4 on the season and the player that is taking the blame is none other than Brandon Carlo, his defense partner. Like so many before him, Carlo is now being labeled a bust in Toronto after being paired with Rielly and finding it impossible to play a normal, defensively responsible game.
Depth, On Paper
Lastly, and this issue is still one that I can’t fully wrap my head around, is the lack of scoring towards the bottom of the roster. All of Nicholas Roy, Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, Dakota Joshua and Nick Robertson have 2 points or less in 7 games. Meanwhile, Steve Lorentz and Easton Cowan have each played 4 games and have 2pts and 1pt respectively. The entirety of that group have combined for 3 goals for and far too many goals against. Yet that group includes some players that can and have produced well in the past. Nicholas Roy, Matias Maccelli, Max Domi and Dakota Joshua have all had some type of offensive success in the NHL, but they simply don’t appear capable of bringing that to the ice in Toronto. Is it the players? Is it the Coach? Is it chemistry?
Whatever it is, they need to figure it out, because this team rarely wins a game when the stars aren’t shining and the depth of the team has never pulled them through a tough playoff game. Good teams can rely on their stars to get them through. Great teams have a roster that gels from top to bottom.
This, at least in the early stages of this young season, isn’t a great team.