Toronto Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell Needs to Take a Sabbatical

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell is broken and it’s sad to watch.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 6-4 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, losing another game they should have won.

For the sixth time in his last eight starts, Campbell allowed four or more goals and for the fourth game in a row, his team lost. After an unbelievable start to the season, Campbell has gone from Vezina Trophy candidate to an AHL-level goaltender.

During Saturday’s loss, Campbell wasn’t the issue on every single goal, but sometimes you just need a save, no matter the circumstance.

Campbell looked off from the start and his body-language showed someone filled with anxiety. He was seen out of his net during the play that eventually turned into the second goal, which is something you rarely see from Campbell.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should never score four goals in a game and lose. In fact, in Campbell’s six losses since the calendar flipped, Toronto has scored three or more goals in five of those games that Campbell lost.

Toronto Maple Leafs Jack Campbell Can’t Be Trusted

We all love Jack Campbell as a person and want him to succeed based on his lovable personality in interviews. However, it’s becoming apparent why it’s taken 12 years for him to become an NHL starter.

Campbell’s game is slipping everyday, but more importantly, the anxiety seems to be building in his head, as shown by the quote below (via: Luke Fox, Sportsnet):

If I’m Sheldon Keefe, I wouldn’t start Campbell for a week after reading that quote.

That’s a quote from a player who needs a rest. As a professional athlete, your goal is to try your absolute hardest at all seconds of the game and dedicate your body and mind towards trying to win.

Trying his absolute hardest should be Campbell’s number-one priority right now, instead of pretending he’s Seinfeld’s George Constanza, doing “the opposite” of what he believes in.

He’s a sad puppy-dog and that mantra unfortunately doesn’t fly in professional sports. I don’t care what he did at the beginning of the year anymore. This is a “What have you done for me lately?” type of league and Campbell needs to get his head straight before the team puts him back in net.

At this point, Campbell is throwing away millions of dollars every game, as Toronto is definitely second-guessing whether or not they should sign him to a long-term contract.

As a result, it would be in the best interest of the Toronto Maple Leafs to let Campbell rest for a week and not think about hockey before returning to the ice.

He desperately needs a break and if he can’t come back with a clear-mind, it may be time to look elsewhere for a number-one goalie, or pray that Petr Mrazek can run with the job.