It is getting to the point where it is not a difficult decision for Brad Treliving. Something has to change with the direction of the Toronto Maple Leafs after a disastrous third straight loss against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
The question is what.
The Leafs have been underachieving, injury-riddled, and disorganized this entire season, so their December struggles are not a blip. They were given a bit of a reprieve since the Eastern Conference is a cesspool of mediocrity, and appeared to have stopped the bleeding, winning four games on their six-game road trip. They returned home and managed to make Jakub Dobes look like Carey Price in a shootout loss to the Habs on December 6th, won a playoff-style 2-0 game against Tampa Bay, and blew a late lead in an overtime loss to San Jose.
In the last five games, Toronto is 1-4, and should be 0-5 because they had no business winning the game against Chicago after taking the first 50 minutes off, and it is a miracle that they are only six points out of a playoff spot, but that is really an optical illusion. The Buffalo Sabres, earlier this week, were in last spot in the East, and have won six games in a row…..they have gained exactly three points on the clubs in playoff spots with that string of victories. At this point, the Leafs don’t appear to be capable of winning six games the rest of the season, so something has to change.
Again, the question is what.
Change The Voice
Even the most pro-Craig Berube faction in Toronto has recognized that the veteran head coach is flustered and likely at his wits’ end. That was reflected in his comments after the loss to Washington on Thursday, directing the media to talk to the players about their lack of passion. The book on Berube is that he holds his club to account, but if they put in the effort, he will defend them to the hilt. The Leafs obviously do not look like a team that is putting everything on the line every night.
There have been calls for a change in the coaching staff, most notably power-play guru Marc Savard – and that is deserved with how chaotic and ineffective the Leafs have been with the man advantage, but singling out an assistant and throwing him into the volcano is likely not going to satisfy the hockey gods.
Treliving is rumored to not want to make a change, but anyone who saw the look on the face of the Leafs GM after the 5-3 loss to Nashville on Saturday has to recognize that he is facing the potential of the season going down the drain and has to decide on whether to chuck his head coach and staff after 1 ½ seasons.
The other factor here is, will anyone take the job. Peter DeBoer’s name has been mentioned frequently, but taking the Toronto job would be a departure for the veteran bench boss, as he traditionally takes on jobs with playoff teams capable of winning the Stanley Cup, not teams in trouble looking for a change agent. Getting DeBoer to take the job might require MLSE to open up their vast checkbook and pay a head coach less than what a left-handed reliever would cost the Blue Jays.
If DeBoer decides to wait until the summer to read the landscape of the available coaching jobs, does Treliving explore other options like Bruce Boudreau, Jay Woodcroft, Gerard Gallant, John Tortorella or does he stick with Berube and ride out the season for better or worse? Does he have the backing from Keith Pelley to make a coaching change or does Treliving risk losing his job along with Berube if he does not find a new bench boss?
Change The Chemistry
No one player is responsible for the Leafs downturn; it is a collective effort. Of course, the core players have more responsibilities, so they will get more of the blame. Auston Matthews is not the 60-goal Matthews and has not been that player for over a year, which, of course, calls into question whether he is still hurt or his past injuries have limited his effectiveness. William Nylander has not scored in 11 games.
On the recent three-game road swing, he and Matthews had no points and were -7, but anyone who watched the Dallas game saw the perfect “Mr. Willie” illustration in the third period. After Scott Laughton narrowed the lead to 2-1, John Tavares brings the puck into the Stars zone and the puck comes along the wall, where Nylander meekly goes after it. His lackadaisical play results in a Dallas counterattack that ended in a two-on-one break that Dennis Hildeby had to make a good save on.
The problem here is that trading the core guys is popular fodder on post-game podcasts and call-in shows, but it is simply not realistic. Morgan Rielly, Tavares, Matthews, Nylander all have no-movement clauses, and as we witnessed this summer when Rielly was approached by Treliving if he would be willing to waive it, the answer was no. Mitch Marner would not waive, even though he had no interest in taking the heat for his failings as a player, and the core group that remains will not waive either.
What is at issue is Treliving and his need to do something. He has spent nearly all of his draft capital on the next two seasons, so he cannot make moves like trading draft picks for Philip Danault or Mason Marchment, but he has been in the trade market since the summer to add a forward and has not been able to find anything. The most impactful move that Toronto has been able to pull off was the waiver claim of Troy Stecher.
It is getting to the point where Treliving needs to make a “change for change’s sake” move. Not trade prospects like Easton Cowan or Ben Danford, but move a Matias Maccelli or expiring contract in Bobby McMann for an NHL player.
Simply sitting idly by and watching the season go down the drain is not an option. The Leafs have one more game against Pittsburgh on Tuesday before the three-day holiday break. The holiday trade freeze is lifted on Saturday, and at this point, Toronto needs to make some sort of move to shake things up.
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