Toronto Maple Leafs: The Enemy’s Insight – Speed Bump

Prior to their recent three-game losing streak, the Toronto Maple Leafs experienced a stretch which saw them post a record of 13-3-2.

If you happen to experience the Leafs solely through Twitter, you certainly wouldn’t know that.

And if anyone can claim to be experts on social media overreactions, it’s Habs fans. They make us look tame.

With that said, let’s see what A Winning Habit’s Omar White had to ask me this week.

“So…the Leafs haven’t won a game since Tomas Plekanec joined the team. Has he been a part of their inability to execute lately (confirming the conspiracies) or is this just a bump in the road.”

As much as I’d love to believe that Tomas Plekanec is a strategically placed double agent, feeding sensitive Leafs intelligence directly into Marc Bergevin‘s ear, that’s simply not the case.

Just for fun, let’s take a look at the first three games of the Plekanec Era™:

• A one-goal overtime loss on the road to the best team in the entire NHL, Tampa Bay, all while missing your franchise centre. Not to mention, Plekanec had been acquired less than 24 hours prior to puck drop, giving him exactly one morning skate’s worth of time to get acclimated to an entirely new franchise and system.
• Another one-goal overtime loss on the road, in the second half of a back-to-back no less, to the scaldingly hot Florida Panthers. Again, without Auston Matthews.
• A beating, on the road again, at the hands of the very good Washington Capitals. Oh, and it happened to be played outside in perhaps the worst outdoor game in NHL history. At one point, the stadium lights just gave up. Like, come on.

So, if you want to blame a three-game losing streak which featured a stretch of back-to-backs against surging teams and a horrific outdoor game all on Plekanec, be my guest.

You’d just be wrong.

Here’s a wild thought: teams go through slumps. Even the good ones. Shocking, I know.

The current version of the Leafs is on pace to have the most successful season in franchise history. That means we are watching the best Leafs team of the last ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

Everyone relax.

“What have you thought of the Leafs defensive play, including the games where they’ve won. Are they structured enough to take on one of Boston or Tampa in next month?”

Ok, I know I just told everyone to relax a second ago, but the Leafs defensive play lately has been abysmal. It needs to change.

Thankfully, the Leafs are sitting pretty in the standings, with a playoff spot all but locked down in early March. They now find themselves in a position where they can tinker with their lineup to gear it up for a playoff run.

And the number one thing they should start doing right this instance is give Nikita Zaitsev a breather.  Because he’s clearly not healthy.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler wrote a fantastic article this week on Zaitsev’s recent struggles, particularly highlighting his head-scratching decisions with the puck. But, there may be a logical explanation for them.

Reportedly, the bone Zaitsev broke, which caused him to miss 17 games back in January, was along the arch of his foot. That bone takes the brunt of pressure during instances of significant weight shifting, like when transitioning from skating forwards to backwards, or moving laterally along the ice.

You know, pretty vital things for a defenceman to do.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just grasping at straws here. But, we’ve seen Zaitsev play like a bonafide top-four defender before. I find it very hard to believe that, at age 26, he completely dropped off in one year.

If Zaitsev can rebound from whatever is hindering him right now, Toronto’s defence will look a whole lot better.

“The reports are cycling that Lou Lamoriello will step down at the end of the season leaving Kyle Dubas to take over as general manager. Are you confident that Dubas can make the necessary moves to take the Leafs to the next level which is hopefully a Stanley Cup?”

Since he joined the Leafs as Assistant General Manager in July of 2014, Kyle Dubas has rebuilt a once-barren minor league system into an unstoppable juggernaut.

He hired Sheldon Keefe to coach the Marlies, where he’s now become arguably the hottest coaching commodity outside the NHL.

Looking at the bigger picture, Dubas completely altered the way an NHL team utilizes it’s minor league system as well, adopting a baseball-esque ladder approach.

Where the ECHL was once a punchline, Dubas began viewing it the same way an MLB team views their Double-A affiliate. Getting sent down to Triple-A (the AHL) or Double-A (the ECHL) is no longer a death sentence.

It’s now viewed as part of the overall developmental process and a necessary stepping stone to the next level.

The 2015 Draft

Dubas’ initial masterstroke occurred at the 2015 draft, his first and only as interim-GM.

Early on, he identified a market inefficiency, that being trading one low-first round pick in exchange for multiple high second round picks. It has since worked out swimmingly.

First, he dealt Toronto’s original 24th overall pick to Philadelphia for picks 29 and 61. He then parlayed that 29th pick, which maintained the allure of a first-rounder, to Columbus for the 34th and 68th.

Now armed with the 34th, 61st and 68th picks, Dubas selected Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco and Martins Dzierkals, with Philly choosing Travis Konecny.

Don’t get me wrong, Konecny is a good player. But, I think it’s pretty clear who exited the exchange victoriously.

While Dzierkals is more of a project, it doesn’t negate the fact that Dubas used the allure of a first round pick to his advantage, trading down for multiple picks of similar quality, and snagging the Leafs a top-four defenceman in Dermott and potential top-six winger in Bracco.

Which is exactly why I think Dubas will be a phenomenal Leafs GM. He thinks outside the box.

Hockey is far too often behind the philosophical eight ball, especially when compared to other sports. Over and over again we see teams make the same mistakes, simply because they’re too afraid to buck tradition.

But, Dubas is different. In his three years in Toronto, he’s completely revitalized the way a minor league system should be used, while stocking its cupboards using an innovative drafting strategy.

The hockey world needs more Kyle Dubases. Thankfully, the Leafs already have one.

Next: Marlies Notebook: Baun to the Next One

Thanks for reading!