That’s the question, isn’t it? What now? What could you possibly do with a core group of skaters that have let you down, time and again? Also, how much of that is in the hands of management? Mitch Marner’s future certainly doesn’t appear to be up to them.
Let’s start with the good things we saw this season, rather than have everything be about the final 3 games of their second round series.
To start we have Brad Treliving, who built a defensive group that you could be proud of, considering what capspace he had left to use, with so much dedicated to the top end of the forward group. Adding Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson changed the way they played. Simon Benoit was a revelation under Craig Berube, especially in the playoffs. At the deadline we saw the addition of Brandon Carlo, who has 2 years left on his contract at an extremely reasonable number, while he also extended Jake McCabe at, again, a very reasonable number. The addition of Anthony Stolarz, alongside Joseph Woll, gave the team a viable tandem in net and while there were some questionable moves, including adding the injured Jani Hakanpaa, it was an overall solid job by the GM.
From there the Leafs played well enough to win the Atlantic Division, which is still the toughest division in the NHL. While there were some absolute blunders throughout the year, they still managed to play some very good hockey overall. Craig Berube brought a more physical, mature game to the ice, which left no doubt that he is a massive improvement over his predecessor, Sheldon Keefe.
While some things still need to change, such as their PK% landing at 17th in the league, while their powerplay was often ineffective and momentum draining, a 108pt season is still something they can hold their heads high about.
They entered the playoffs with a 1st round matchup against the Ottawa Senators. I won’t lie, I predicted an embarrassing loss, which would have had the fans screaming for the biggest changes imaginable, but instead they dispatched the Senators in 6 games and, while they had the opportunity to end that series in 4 and 5 games, they stuck with it and won the series with confidence.
The roster looked great. The overall play was good. The coaching was boardering on great.
Not sounding like such a bad season so far.
Round 2 was another animal altogether, although it had me wondering if the Leafs were different for a moment. With wins in games 1 and 2, the team flew to Florida in full control of their own future. With losses in games 3 and 4, following one of the worst games we’ve ever seen them play in game 5, they didn’t just seal their fate, they locked it in a fuckin tomb and marked the entrance with “Dead Inside” like some type of post apocalyptic zombie horror show. Game 6, being one of the better games we’ve ever seen them play, gave the fanbase little hope, as we all knew what was about to happen (the media included, who kept saying it on live broadcasts, I might add, but are now telling us all that we’re bad fans, go figure). They were going to give everyone hope and then disappoint once again in game 7. Well, they didn’t disappoint in their effort’s to disappoint. A game 7 no-show from the stars, despite some of them yelling at the rest of the team to “wake the fuck up” has made us all forget the fact that this team played what, on paper, would be considered a successful and progressive season.
Win your division. Win a series against your provincial rival. Take the defending Stanley Cup Champions to game 7 in the second round.
That doesn’t sound so bad, actually.
If it wasn’t for everything that came before this year I would be defending the team, but there’s nothing left to defend.
We’re now 100% sure that Mitch Marner is done in Toronto. The player that had the opportunity to give the franchise another all-star winger in his place just a few months ago, but turned down that opportunity because he wanted to stay for a few more short months, will now leave them with nothing but bad memories and a proverbial “fuck you” as he walks away. He will be booed every time he returns to Toronto as part of another team and touches the puck. He won’t return a hero. He won’t return a legend. Instead, he’ll leave a legacy of having one of the biggest ego’s and me-first attitudes of any player that ever pulled on a Leafs jersey. He left nothing on the table during contract negotiations, he left nothing behind in terms of trade assets that the franchise could use for future success, yet he didn’t deliver anything on the ice in almost every game 5-7 of almost every playoff series he was part of here.
The fans are angry. I’m angry. Rightfully so.
But it wasn’t just Mitch. Where was William Nylander in game 5 and 7 when they were outscored 12-2? Where was their captain, Auston Matthews? John Tavares? Morgan Rielly? They were nowhere to be found yet again and I am left to imagine a world where any of them with term remaining on their contract’s are asked to waive and move on.
There’s too much baggage. Too much history. Now, there’s too much bad blood between the players that were supposed to turn this franchise from embarrassing to prideful and the fans, that simply asked for an honest effort when it mattered the most.
They lost to a zamboni driver. They lost to teams in the playoffs that shouldn’t have been able to match up against them (Columbus and Montreal, in particular). They lost too many game 6’s and 7’s and not only did they lose all of those games, I can’t recall one where I walked away thinking “they lost, but that was one hell of a game where they left it all out there.” In fact, they have played 5 game 7’s since 2019 and they scored a single goal in each and every one of them. That’s not a sign of a team that is battling with everything they have. That’s a sign of a team that doesn’t have what it takes to push themselves to the next level.
Yes, indeed, the team that was asked to give an honest effort and make the franchise anything but an embarrassment has flipped that script and they did it in amazing fashion. They don’t give the effort that their contract’s demand they should and they are a complete embarrassment from top to bottom.
Their attitudes. Their play. Their contract demands. Their ego’s. Over the year’s it’s been simply embarrassing and it’s been that way because the identity that was fostered through was one of many identities, rather than one that encompasses the team. By that I mean each one of the star players cared more about the name on the back of the jersey than the logo on the front. I’m afraid it will continue, with or without Mitch Marner in the fold.
So, once again, where do they go from here? How do you take a team that has nothing but star-caliber passengers and make them wake up and put in that honest effort?
My personal opinion? You don’t. You make it make sense by trying again and that doesn’t mean bottoming out in the standings in a full rebuild. That means asking the players that have shown you that they’re the sheep, not the wolves when the games matter, to waive their no-move clauses and give a healthy list of teams they’d be willing to go to. It means targeting useable NHL players to ensure the team stays competitive and, if it were up to me, young players that are potential stars that have yet to break out. The Anaheim Ducks just added Joel Quenneville as their new head coach. Would they opt to add a franchise player in Auston Matthews in order to open their window of compete quicker? If so, would they move somebody such as Mason McTavish, as well as some less valuable extras? With Leo Carlsson also in the fold, maybe it’s something they consider. How about the L.A. Kings, who have an aging Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty wanting to push for another Cup? Would they consider moving on from Quinten Byfield (again, with an extra or two) in order to push Kopitar to the 2C spot? Would they see Matthews as a piece that could help push them past the Edmonton Oilers, who they continually lose to in the playoffs? Lastly, the Utah Mammoth showed that they’re willing to spend money when they obtained Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning. With good friend Clayton Keller on the roster and being close to home, I think it would be a destination that Auston would relish. They are littered with young assets as well. Matthews, who is still just 27 years old and signed for a few more seasons, wouldn’t represent selling the future for the present. He has lots of future left as well, so before we scoff at the idea of getting young, top end talent, we should consider that.
William Nylander, who has a contract that is less than savory when compared to his counterparts around the NHL, may be a tougher sell but make no mistake, teams would line up for the talented winger. Would the Carolina Hurricanes, who are desperately trying to add elite talent up front, pay for a star with term on his contract? Why is it so easy for me to picture #88 in a Nashville, Pittsburgh or New Jersey uniform? Why is it so easy for me to picture him in any other teams uniform at all?
Morgan Rielly, who has a contract that is even less enticing than Nylander’s, might not return the same type of assets as his current teammates, but there would be teams that would gamble on the offensive blueliner. The Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings jump out to me as possible destinations, but they’re just guesses, like the ones above.
John Tavares can return. If they went in this direction they could use some veteran leadership. Matthews Knies as well, although I’d wonder about his commitment to the Leafs if they moved his Arizona linemate. If Knies did question his fit here after they move on from the player that he has readily admitted to looking up to as he developed as a young player, then the Leafs would simply be weeding out one more player that cares more about the name on the back than the logo on the front.
Nicholas Robertson? Same deal. It’s not as if this me-first attitude has been restricted to the top of the lineup. Finding him a new home should be a less urgent, but still top priority.
It’s the culture of the Leafs, in case you haven’t been paying attention. It’s the environment that was established by Kyle Dubas as soon as he uttered the words “we can and we will.” Maybe he should have said “if they’re willing to help us, we’ll help them” instead?
Yes, it’s time for an end to all of this, because instead of having fond memories of wins, on-ice battles and big goals, we have memories of zamboni drivers and massive failures. Nothing fond about those. If we’re being honest with ourselves the best memories are of Auston shooting candy dishes off of grannies coffee table and Morgan Rielly yammering on about your insurance coverage. Willy has his muffin shop and Marner his pirouettes.
We have a fuckin joke of a team.
But nobody is laughing except them, as they make their way to the bank.