The Toronto Maple Leafs are unfortunately too good to tank, which is incredibly frustrating.
With three straight wins heading into the Olympic break, the Leafs hold a 27-21-9 record and are five points out of a playoff spot. Currently on-pace for 91 points, if this team keeps that projection, they will barely miss the playoffs and gift the Boston Bruins a top-15 draft pick.
The Leafs are in a weird position right now. They clearly have the talent to win multiple games in a row, but it's not sustainable. When William Nylander and Auston Matthews are cooking, the offense looks like a top team in the NHL, but when they're not performing, they look terrible.
As much fun as it is to beat the Edmonton Oilers and shutdown Connor McDavid, the Leafs cannot afford to be buyers at the deadline and still need to be sellers. Everything has to go right for them to make the playoffs and even if it does, there are so many teams fighting for that last playoff spot, that it seems impossible it will happen.
Since the team doesn't hold their first-round pick this year (top-five protected), it's hard to justify a full-tank and gift the Bruins a high draft pick. However, the team needs to get past that and whatever pick falls the Bruins way, they have to live with it.
Nylander and Matthews are two superstars you can build around, but that's it. Bobby McMann, Matias Macelli, Nick Robertson, Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok, Scott Laughton and Nic Roy are not players who you build a Stanley Cup team around. If they were, this team wouldn't be fighting for a playoff spot right now anyways.
Leafs must trade every forward not named Nylander or Matthews
If GM Brad Treliving wants to keep his job, he needs to trade everyone of those forwards and get as many picks, prospects and NHLers who need a change of scenery immediately. Watching the Leafs barely miss the playoffs, or make the playoffs and lose in the first round is a waste of time for this team and is not a positive for the future of Nylander and Matthews.
Making the playoffs isn't a goal for this team anymore, as they've been Stanley Cup or bust since 2019. This season has had too many lows for them to make up ground and make the playoffs, so they need to take one step back in order to take two steps forward. I think that's an easy sell to Matthews and Nylander, as I'm sure they'd love to see this team retooled and upgraded.
As mentioned, Nylander and Matthews aren't going anywhere and they are generational players to build around. They're our version of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews or even more skileld than Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Both of those duo's won multiple Stanley Cup's but the real reason they did was because they had an amazing blue-line and steady goaltending.
Toronto must trade all of their assets (besides Nylander and Matthews) and build their blue-line or they'll never win. A number-one defenseman is the most critical thing this franchise needs and until that happens, they won't suceed.
Like I said, it's fun to win games against McDavid, but it's not sustainable. The Leafs have too much skill to tank right now, so despite the winning streak, it's time to blow this team up and rebuild the depth, because if they do it correctly, they can be Stanley Cup contenders once again next year.