The Solution for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs fans need to resist blaming their general manager and starting goaltender for recent struggles. Instead, they need to urge the players to begin implementing a team defense mindset.
The systems that the Leafs are now playing don’t appear to be working. If they’re not going to give a full effort then Keefe needs to do something different. Adopting a new defensive style should help, especially if he doesn’t have much faith in his goaltending.
The Leafs could be drastic about their systems and use a style that is awfully boring to watch but effective. Though it would drive fans mad, the Leafs could be extremely successful playing lockdown hockey using a neutral zone trap.
Playing the trap would have the Leafs clog up the neutral zone forcing their opponents to turn the puck over more often. The Leafs wouldn’t take as many chances attacking the offensive zone and it would result in very few odd-man rushes against them. Since they have elite-level talent on the roster, their players would wait for the right opportunities to pinch and take advantage of their opponents’ mistakes.
The fan base is sure to be critical of this suggestion and would hate to see it in action on the ice but it’s effective and would allow Andersen to look like the star he really is. The fans would be forgiving when the Leafs start posting wins with more consistency.
Hopefully, now that the trade deadline has passed and everyone knows their position on the team is secure, they can begin to play with more gusto. With a little more energy and a lot more defense, the Leafs should expect better results both in net and in the box score.