Injury depleted and facing miniscule odds of making the post-season, the Toronto Maple Leafs embark on the final road trip of the regular season with a match against the playoff-bound Lightning at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Tuesday.
Toronto’s future beyond this weekend depends on the unlikely scenario of Columbus losing the final four games in regulation and the Leafs sweeping road games against Tampa Bay, Florida and Ottawa.
Joffrey Lupul’s season is officially over, as the winger will undergo knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear, to go along with goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who suffered an MCL strain against the Boston Bruins last week.
Head coach Randy Carlyle indicated after the morning skate that Dave Bolland is questionable to play against Tampa, as the center is dealing with discomfort in his surgically repaired ankle and with the loss of Lupul and Bernier, the Leafs have recalled winger Carter Ashton and goaltender Drew MacIntyre from the Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis.
James Reimer will get the start for Toronto and Ben Bishop will be between the pipes for Tampa, who trail Montreal by four points for home ice advantage in their eventual first round matchup, but have one game in hand on the Canadiens.
*******
The quest for reasons why the Maple Leafs collapsed down the stretch has begun to reveal a club with leadership issues, an inability to play the type of offensive and defensive systems necessary for success and an unhealthy sense of hubris.
The core group of the club has to take some of the heat. Phil Kessel is the Leafs best player, but is not depended on to do anything more than score goals. Dion Phaneuf’s abilities as a leader have to come under scrutiny after disingenuous comments that the club worked their hardest in the loss to Winnipeg last Saturday.
Toronto got better than expected performances out of Bernier, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, but Nazem Kadri, Cody Franson and Jake Gardiner regressed and GM Dave Nonis’s attempt to bolster the leadership group by adding veterans Dave Bolland and David Clarkson failed.
The eight-game March swan dive following the victory in Los Angeles was not the first time that Toronto let their guard down this season. The Leafs lost four games in regulation following the Winter Classic and pulled out of that death spiral mostly due to Bernier’s goaltending and the beginning of the Kessel line’s hot streak, as they scored five of six goals in wins over New Jersey and Boston, which spurred their 11-2-1 streak before the Olympics.
In March, defensive and penalty killing flaws that were present for most of the season formed a perfect storm with Bernier’s injury and the top line not scoring at a breakneck pace.
It is undeniable that Leafs coach Randy Carlyle bears some responsibility for the club’s downfall, but it has to be noted that his instructions throughout the season to play more defensively responsible (which included a week tutorial during the Olympic break) fell on deaf ears, which is a same message that emerged two years ago, when Carlyle replaced Ron Wilson.
MLSE Chairman Tim Leiweke is likely not going to be an advocate for sweeping change, as many expect him to be, according to
the Globe and Mail’s David Shoalts.
While the Leafs missing the playoffs is a disappointment and there is likely a recognition that changes and improvements are needed, but Leiweke has history of being a patient and even-handed arbiter as head of the Anschutz Entertainment Group and expressed confidence in his GM and head coach only two months ago.
“Dave Nonis isn’t going anywhere. I extended his contract, he’s is my guy. I like working with him. I think we see the world the same way and I know that he has the best interest of this organization in his heart and I think he’s made good moves.” Leiweke said on FAN 590’s Tim and Sid show in mid-January. “If you look at the players that we have today, there is no question that we all think that we should be in a better position then we’re in today.”
“I think he(Nonis) spoke very loud and clear this weekend, the issue is not the coach. The issue is our players need to understand, October wasn’t a fluke.” Leiweke said. “We gotta get back to playing the way were then.”
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
For Those on Twitter:
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information
click here.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»