In the two weeks since my last fan therapy, the Toronto Maple Leafs have erased any doubt as to what this current incarnation is. They went on the longest losing streak since the early 90s, they have failed to beat teams of all calibres, and they have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that this current team is incapable of winning.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are sellers; this much is clear. The nature of their selling, however, remains to be seen. I personally do not think that a full teardown and rebuild is either necessary or possible. There are too many good players and pieces to allow the Leafs to remain in the bottom third of the league, which is required to build up the futures in a rebuild. What we are therefore talking about is a retool. I think it is safe to say that the direction of travel since Kyle Dubas was fired has led us down the wrong path. This season’s regression is beyond anything anyone was expecting. The ailment has been diagnosed, the prognosis is untenable, but the treatment plan is still being written.
As fans, we need communication
As a fan, I can tolerate much when it comes to this team. I think we all can. But what has been intolerable in recent memory has been the lack of both transparency and direction. Much has been said about the Leafs lack of transparency, especially when it comes to injuries. The bombshell from last week on The Athletic regarding the elimination of the sports science director position speaks volumes to the frustrations many Leaf fans have had this season regarding player injuries.
Leaf fans are nothing if not tolerant. Despite being the second-winningest franchise in the League, the vast majority of its fans have never seen their team lift the Stanley Cup. The drought will be 60 years old next year. Just since 2010, the fandom has tolerated a decade of being atrocious, half of which was by design. We were fine with being bad on purpose; in fact, we loved it. The 2014–2016 seasons were genuinely fun! We were terrible, but we wanted to be! It was a true rebuild, and frankly, it was successful, or at least would have been in any other market. Unfortunately for us, what followed was a literal decade of “close but not enough.” The Leafs gave it their “best shot” (HA!) time and time again but couldn’t seal the deal.
And here we are. A decade after Auston Matthews arrived, and the Leafs are back again at the bottom of the table, this time unwillingly.
Losing is kind of cathartic
There is a weird sense of peace here. It’s the calm that finally our questions have been answered. It’s done. This era of the Leafs was already over; it was over the second Mitch Marner decided to be a Golden Knight, way back at the beginning of last season. The loss to Seattle last week was the final nail in the coffin.
This piece is not about getting into the minutiae of who to keep and who to sell, which trade targets or draft picks the Leafs should consider. This piece is to beg for any sense of direction from Leafs management.
On Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, Elliotte Friedman said the Leafs were inquiring around the League, positioning themselves as solid sellers. He also said that none of the conversations would be classified as anything “earth-shattering.” He did not further qualify what he meant by “earth-shattering.” One thing is crystal clear, however. The Leafs are not a few pieces away from contending. This is not a team with which you can tinker along the edges and expect to see results. We have had a literal decade of trying to do that, with exactly two playoff series wins to show for it. There are players you can and probably should keep, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, Scott Laughton, Easton Cowan, to name a few, but there are far more that I would be fine to see walk.
The Leafs need to make this deadline a winner. They have clearly decided on and communicated their position, and it is time to put actions to words, because this cannot continue.
