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As some of you may have heard, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost again last night in game 7 again to the Boston Bruins...again. For a team that ices a roster of players that will cost well more than 80 million dollars next season, the Leafs seem to be unable to get past this one team.

I know Toronto fans are hurting today, and believe me, I have nothing but sympathy and empathy for you all today; the rest of the country is behind you as much as we were for the rest of the playoffs… in fact, doubly so. I do believe there is a solution though and a way for the Leafs to be a dominant force next season.

Hire Peter Chiarelli.

Peter Chiarelli and the Oilers had a tumultuous relationship which ended with the team and ex General Manager parting ways. While it never ended up working out for the Oilers and Chiarelli, that doesn’t mean that Toronto shouldn’t look into him. Having PC run the Leafs could actually be a stroke of genius and the very move the team needs to change their fortunes.

Let’s look at the facts.

It’s clear the the Leafs have struggled with how to deal with “Bruins hockey” for a number of years now. Peter Chiarelli’s big calling card when he came to Edmonton was his desire to turn the Oilers into a big and tough team to play against. Players like Tavares, Marner, and Matthews are far too skilled and fast to play this kind of game. Toronto needs more warriors and cowboys. Imagine having more Kadri’s skating around in the playoffs. Personally I have to imagine because I don’t recall seeing him too much during the series.

Luckily for Toronto, once they turf Dubas to the curb and bring in Chiarelli, he can then turn to a team like Edmonton to acquire these players. Gone will be the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Nikita Zaitsev and fans of Toronto will get to cheer for Milan Lucic and Kris Russell instead. Leafs readers may think this is a poor attempt at getting a rise out of a fanbase that is frustrated after another lost playoff series, but that is far from my purpose.

Toronto fans hate these players because they do not play for Toronto, but once they are traded they will play for Toronto and will therefore be good players. Digital ink will be spent, blogs written, and tweets sent, detailing why all of these players are a perfect fit for Toronto.

That is the first step, but the Leafs will have another big issue; navigating the cap. News that Chiarelli was the harbinger of Edmonton’s current fate and the cause of all of the issues the Oilers now need to deal with have been vastly overblown. PC is a brilliant GM because of his ability to get rid of really good players without stressing about it too much. Instead of trying to figure out whether or not to try and sign Marner to a 5 or 8 year deal, Chiarelli can simply trade him away; stress and worry gone!

Leafs fans will also be able to get a look at the future of their team, today. The Leafs have a number of prospects in their system. Under Peter Chiarelli fans will get to see those players in the white and blue jersey's on opening night, likely in prolific positions in the lineup too.

Big numbers and counting are also something that the Leafs don’t like, Jake Gardiner for example seems to be terrified of the number 7. Peter Chiarelli will keep all trades for Toronto simple and neat; one for one deals.

Should Toronto turn around and hire Peter Chiarelli tomorrow, within a couple short years, we could be looking at a very different Leafs team. Ask any Oilers fans and trust me, they will tell you that it is the right thing to do.

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