Things haven’t been rosy for the Toronto Maple Leafs in recent times, as they have now lost four games in a row while the injuries continue to pile up.
At the same time, the Toronto Maple Leafs have relied heavily on the “core four” to carry the team this year, with a lack of secondary scoring that has been quite worrisome to date. So basically if the opposition could shut down Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander, the Leafs were pretty much easy pickings.
More notably, the overall work ethic and feel of the team just seems a bit off this year, no matter how you look at it, whether it has been the offence, defence, and even now the goaltending.
But most of all, they are perhaps missing one key player from last year that could have been a huge difference maker for the team this year. That player is none other than former Conn Smythe and Selke winner Ryan O’Reilly.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Definitely Miss Having Ryan O’Reilly Around This Year
Although O’Reilly had just an abbreviated stint with the Leafs last season after coming over in a trade with the St. Louis Blues, his immense impact was certainly felt throughout the lineup whenever he played.
O’Reilly provided a strong defensive presence when on the ice, and played competently no matter if his linemates were superstars or the average Joe.
More importantly, instead of having David Kampf center the third line, O’Reilly would have provided the much-needed secondary scoring in the role. Given his breadth of veteran experience and leadership, he would know exactly how to aggressively get the line going and provide the added spark to make the Leafs that much more dangerous every night out.
So far in the 2023-24 NHL season, O’Reilly has put up seven goals and four assists for 11 points. But more impressively was how he single-handedly led the Nashville Predators to a huge victory over the Edmonton Oilers this past weekend with a four-point game, including his fifth career hat trick. That is exactly the type of game-changer the Leafs really need right now. (All stats from NHL.com)
Unfortunately, the Leafs are now stuck with an ineffective bottom six, as things could get even worse if they don’t figure out a solution soon enough. Perhaps they should do something wild, like put one of each of the “core four” on their separate lines just to give the team a jolt and see what happens.
But obviously that isn’t going to happen anytime soon, so struggling players will need to start stepping up soon before major changes are in store for them.