Do Leafs React After Being Read Riot Act?

For anyone who did not realize it, Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz, in his post-game remarks after a 4-3 overtime loss to Seattle on Saturday, did what my father did when, as an almost perfect child, I acted up from time to time, and that was something called “being read the Riot Act”. In my vast research of that idiom (I googled it), it means to stop a particular type of behavior. 

In this case, it means for the Maple Leafs to be more proactive, show a bit of team toughness and aggressiveness, and protect their teammates, especially one who has been hurt in the past by a player making contact. Stolarz is someone who teams are going out of their way to get in his kitchen. You saw it in the playoffs with Ridly Greig and Sam Bennett, and during the preseason in his two starts. 

“Maybe we can take a page out of their book and start getting to the net. I mean, for us, we like to go low to high and shoot. But for their goalie, it’s like playing catch in the yard. He’s seeing everything,” Stolarz said.  

Stolarz’s reaction to this is completely understandable with his history of injury problems, and has to be a clarion call to his teammates. Especially since an injury to him at this point of the season, with Joseph Woll being unavailable, would be catastrophic. Having a tandem of Cayden Primeau and Denis Hildeby for a prolonged period could cost the Leafs a playoff spot. 

There has to be some mutually assured destruction on the ice to keep things on an even keel. To make matters worse, the player who did it was former Leaf Mason Marchment, someone who makes a habit of stirring the pot, someone that GM Brad Treliving would not have traded for Denis Malgin back in 2020, and a player that Toronto could have interest in before the deadline if Seattle is not contending for a playoff spot. 

When was the last time a Leafs player did something particularly aggressive that was positive? Ryan Reaves hit on Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse was probably the only instance last season that the over-the-hill enforcer did anything, and of course, it turned out badly. The last instance could be Morgan Rielly’s forearm shiver to Ridly Greig in February 2024. While it resulted in a suspension for Rielly, the Leafs were galvanized after the incident and went 9-1-0 in the next 10 games.    

Moments like this matter to hockey clubs, and while head coach Craig Berube tried to diminish its meaning by saying the club is handling it internally and that they are moving on, it will be quite interesting to see how this team plays going forward after they have been publicly called on the carpet. If they respond positively, the Leafs will begin to play more like the Panthers, Dallas, Vegas, and Edmonton to get further in the postseason. If they don’t, then the postseason mediocrity we have been witnessing for the last decade will continue.