The Toronto Maple Leafs are on a mini-roll, winning two straight after a dreadful six-game skid. While the streak really isn’t much cause for celebration, it might be just enough to steer the club’s deadline plans away from total obliteration.
The talk over the last couple of weeks has been that this next batch of games will determine the team’s fate. If the Leafs manage to pull out a win against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, the situation may become even more tangled.
Would winning three-straight on the road be enough to convince management to hold off blowing things up?
Would that prove to the higher-ups that this club may still pull off a miraculous stretch run? Perhaps the Leafs may need three more games to determine their ultimate fate.
Tuesday night’s matchup will be the Maple Leafs’ final match before the Olympics. Thereafter, the Leafs play three division games. They’ll face the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Ottawa Senators. Those three games could pretty much seal the Leafs’ fate. Most importantly, they come right before the trade deadline.
As such, the Leafs’ purported sell-off may end up hitting the brakes just a little bit longer.
Maple Leafs management may still be in denial
Entering Tuesday night’s action, the Leafs are seven points out of a playoff spot. They trail the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot. The Leafs are also tied with the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets at 61 points.
Judging from the rhetoric coming out of Columbus, they aren’t giving up on their season just yet. The same goes for the Senators. Ottawa has not veered off course. Then, the Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, and New Jersey Devils, who are all behind Toronto, still think they have a chance to make some noise this season.
That trend could fuel Maple Leafs management’s denial. GM Brad Treliving might not get so trigger-happy at the deadline. If anything, he might try to add whatever he can. In that situation, it could become a very fine needle to thread.
The number of sellers is painfully low, with just about every team still trying to make one last push for the postseason.
Ultimately, the Maple Leafs will need more time to determine their final course of action. A few more wins could close the gap in the standings. Perhaps the Olympic layoff may be just the thing to save the Maple Leafs’ season.
Maybe that’s just hopium. But the fact remains that it may be too soon for management to officially raise the white flag, even if the math does not favor Toronto.