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3 Big Changes Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Make This Offseason

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - MAY 20: Assistant coach Manny Malhotra of the Toronto Maple Leafs goes over a power play set-up prior to a faceoff against the Montreal Canadiens in Game One of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 20, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 to take a 1-0 series lead. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 20: Assistant coach Manny Malhotra of the Toronto Maple Leafs goes over a power play set-up prior to a faceoff against the Montreal Canadiens in Game One of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 20, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 to take a 1-0 series lead. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – MAY 20: Assistant coach Manny Malhotra of the Toronto Maple Leafs  (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Fire Manny Malhotra

For those of you who think they should fire Sheldon Keefe after one full NHL season, you’re wrong. Keefe isn’t the issue, but instead, it’s the man who runs the powerplay.

The Toronto Maple Leafs powerplay was unbelievable to start the year. Everybody, including myself, was praising Manny Malhotra and the work he was doing. However, as time progressed, the same six teams they played started to figure them out and it went cold.

Ice cold.

The powerplay was essentially non-existent for the last two months of the season, and that unfortunately crept into the playoffs. In seven games against Montreal, the Leafs scored three goals on 23 opportunities, representing a 13 percent powerplay (stats: espn.com).

I know John Tavares got injured, but Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and company need to do better than that. Sure, you can put the onus on the players, but the powerplay barely changed during their cold-streak and into the playoffs.

The team kept doing the same plays and couldn’t generate any offense. The man in charge of the powerplay was Malhotra and he needs to get punished for that.

The top five teams in powerplay scoring in the playoffs all moved on in the First Round and it’s because of their ability to score on the man-advantage. If Toronto’s powerplay was mediocre it would have been good enough to beat Montreal, but instead, they couldn’t do anything.

As a result, Malhotra needs to be fired.

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