Toronto Maple Leafs
Alex: Ah, yes. This one is going to be fun.
This season has been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster for both the team and the fans.
They started off the season ok, before plummeting into an absolutely garbage few weeks of hockey including a six game losing streak. This losing streak, ultimately, cost Mike Babcock his job.
The Toronto Maple Leafs promptly hired Sheldon Keefe to replace him and immediately the team looked better. They were scoring more, looked more engaged, just looked like they gave a damn.
And then they dropped a stinker to the Philadelphia Flyers and followed up with another loss the next day.
This coaching changed showed fans that the hiring of Keefe wasn’t a quick fix to all of the team’s problems.
Things are better, but they aren’t perfect. They’ve seemed to fix a bunch of smaller issues such as allowing the first goal of the game and letting in crucial goals at either the start or end of a period.
But they still haven’t been consistent all year.
Here’s the question Wilbert. With the talent that this team has, we can assume that missing the playoffs isn’t going to be an option for Kyle Dubas and the rest of the organization. With that being known, when would be the right time for the team to pull the trigger and make a move to shake up the roster, if at all?
Wilbert: “The right time is already here. Why wait? After the season, they will certainly lose some players in free agency; Barrie, Ceci, Muzzin. Why waste the year you have these players by not going all in for the win.
You don’t have to dominate the season to win in the playoffs, look at Tampa Bay, they dominated the regular season only to be left disillusioned by Columbus after 4 games.
Qualifying gives you a shot to win a cup, from which spot doesn’t really matter. To win it all, you have to beat them all.
There are enough assets that can be moved to get a good rental, no that doesn’t include Nylander. Players like Ceci, Kapanen could be the main part of a package to bring in a rental.”