The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing what they do best lately, and that is losing. The 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday furthered the Leafs’ pathetic post-Olympic play, extending their losing streak to eight straight and making the possibility of the club falling to the bottom five in the NHL standings a realistic prospect.
Once again, Toronto began the game as if in a coma, being outshot 18-5 and falling behind 2-0 on goals by Oliver Kapanen and Phillip Danault, and played catch-up for the remainder of the night. The Leafs narrowed the deficit to 2-1 on William Nylander’s 22nd goal of the season, but Toronto managed only 18 shots on Habs goalie Jakub Dobes and could not draw even. Joseph Woll made 30 saves in the loss, as the Leafs fall to 26th place in the standings.
Once again, the lineup mismanagement by head coach Craig Berube was on display. Marlies leading scorer Benoit-Olivier Groulx was recalled from the AHL Marlies on Tuesday and replaced Calle Jarnkrok in the lineup. Based on the line combos at practice on Monday, it appeared as if rookie Jacob Quillan would get his first opportunity to play meaningful minutes this season, slotted between Easton Cowan and Nick Robertson, but Groulx was inserted in his place, and Quillan was moved to the fourth line between Steven Lorentz and Dakota Joshua.
Quillan played a team-low 8:25 in the game, while the 26-year-old Groulx played over 14 minutes. It is clear that Berube has complete control of the roster and how he allocates ice time, and if he is refusing to play young players to find out if they are candidates to make the NHL next season, it is a reason why the veteran bench boss should be fired before the campaign has ended. Groulx could be a fourth-line candidate and is under contract next season, but Quillan is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and has not been given a meaningful chance in seven games this season.
In the pursuit of a top-five pick, the Leafs have played the most games (65) of the clubs surrounding them in the standings. Realistically, it is possible that Toronto could fall to 29th overall with Winnipeg three points behind them (with two games in hand), and St. Louis and the NY Rangers five points behind them (with one game in hand). The two games are at home against the first-place Anaheim Ducks, and in Buffalo on Saturday against the ridiculously hot Sabres.
While the losses piling up are particularly annoying to the members of Leafs Nation, they may in the end be a means to an end. Falling far enough may save the Leafs from surrendering a high pick in a strong 2026 Draft and make it a forgone conclusion that Berube will be axed.
