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With another poor loss and lackadaisical effort last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs have officially been knocked out of the playoff race, ultimately disappointing their fan base once again.
Known to be a loyal and long suffering group, Leafs fans are likely filled with ire as their team collapses for the second year in a row when it mattered most. Having not made the playoffs more than once in ten years, Toronto appeared to have finally turned things around with some success during the shortened 2012-13 NHL season.
Most NHL pundits, however, felt that the team’s success could not be maintained through an entire 82 game schedule and Toronto’s recent eight game losing streak does nothing but add validity to their predictions, despite not all being accurate. With that said, there is not a whole lot of positive attitude being received from Leafs Nation, and most, if not all, are crying for immediate changes to this team.
Which brings us to the point of this blog – What will/should be done this summer?
The constant discussion of personnel changes is to be expected with just about any professional sports team, however when it comes to one where its fan base has been let down for so many years, a “blow it up… mentally is often hard to flout. With that established, I feel that it is important for those who are directly involved to try and not let their emotions, or those of the fans, get the best of them.
Toronto does, despite experiencing much anguish, have a pretty good core of players available to them. The problems which seem to persist are perhaps toward those who are not necessarily considered a part of their core, and rather those who fill complimentary roles. While players such as Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner, Joffrey Lupul and even Dion Phaneuf may not have had great years, these are players I expect can be much better with a stronger supporting cast.
Hang on Colin, I thought you were in favour of moving Dion Phaneuf?
Here’s the thing - I have never been a big fan of Phaneuf as a top pairing defenseman nor have I been a fan of him as a captain. That being said, he happens to play the most minutes on the team, is trusted to play against the oppositions top lines, and often takes the brunt of the blame after losses (we’re all guilty).
Because it’s far too easy to join the masses in saying that Dion needs to either be traded or stripped of his captaincy, I am going to take a different approach (a more likely approach) and say that management needs to address the team’s defensive system and complimentary players, first.
Let’s face it – with players like Franson, Gunnarsson, and Ranger, in addition to two rookies who like to carry the puck in Rielly and Gardiner, the Leafs were not very stable on defense. Since acquiring Gleason, however, they did improve said position by rounding out their talent a little more. That said, their backend still possesses too many offense first type guys, and needs to be upgraded first and foremost.
What has been discussed to this point is the obvious. We all know it, the organization surely knows it, and as such I expect big changes stemming from the back end this summer. Once accomplished, provided I am on the right track here, this team I argue doesn’t have a whole lot to change. As I mentioned above, there are complimentary players who could be swapped in and out of the lines to try and shake things up, but for the most part, the young core which the Leafs currently possess should, in theory, be able to get it done.
The problem most of you have with reading this, I’m sure, is that the type of defensemen which the Leafs need to improve the horrid play in their own end do not come cheap, if ever for that matter. Toronto will need to sacrifice a few young players to better insulate and balance their roster in terms of defensive coverage. They need a strong stay at home guy who is reliable in his own end. They need a player who can be paired with Phaneuf and take some of the defensive responsibility off his shoulders.
And in trying to acquire any of said type players, Toronto would need to move at the very least a Kadri and or Gardiner. They will likely need to part themselves with a first round draft selection. They will need to find a team who has a very strong, rather experienced defenseman who also happens to be rebuilding and could use draft picks and or young players.
Needless to say, it is going to be a tough challenge for Toronto to improve upon their biggest weaknesses without giving up some serious assets.
Is David Nonis willing to roll the dice this summer in order to accomplish said feat? Or will he remain patient and confident with this group in hoping that they do in fact have what it takes? In reference to the latter, perhaps he sees no issues with his on-ice personnel and feels the coaching needs to change?
What do you think?
Thanks for reading!