Player-Friendly Toronto Maple Leafs Media short-changes fans with bad analysis

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a team that hasn't won in almost 60 years, and are, at this point, an absolutely pathetic testament to mediocrity.

Despite history, they currently find themselves very competitive in a wide-open Eastern Conference: In the middle of a first-place battle, with three franchise players in their primes, and in what seems like a "last hurrah" sort of situation, the Toronto Maple Leafs GM was tasked with upgrading his team's centre-ice position. He failed brutally.

The Leafs are embarrassingly thin at centre for a pro team with championship asperations, and they had options to gain cap-space and make moves (Kampf and Domi, both useless, combine to make $7 million) but chose to play it safe. At the end of the day, the Leafs, with a generation of building on the line, augmented their roster by massively overpaying for a 31 year-old career third-liner whose stats suggest he's more of a fourth liner, and who's natural position is winger.

Before Laughton even played a game for the Leafs, it was a high-risk move with low potential upside (31 year-olds in the NHL just, as a general rule, do not improve). Laughton is popular, versatile and from Toronto + it was a "seller's market" so there was an understandable tendency for the media and Leafs analysts to look on the bright side when this trade was announced.

That said, the Leafs paid a first-rounder and a prospect for a 31 year-old grinder who doesn't usually play the position he was acquired to play and offers very little upside. The only problem? Hardly anyone pointed this out.

Player-Friendly Toronto Maple Leafs Media short-changes fans with bad analysis

People who aren't peers/friends with Laughton said as much, and as the days marched on, it became extremely clear that they were right. But the main narrative I've heard while listening to the radio and reading the papers is that Laughton is a playoff warrior who has the right stuff and Leafs fans just have to give him a break and give him time to get acclimated.

In the NHL, the main analysts who get the most air-time are ex-player and they really don't like you making fun of their friends. And by "making fun" I just mean speaking the truth about the evidence in front of you.

"Its far too early to make assumptions about him" - Jay Rosehill. No it's not. Laughton is 31 and has been in the NHL for years. He is a fourth liner on a top team - that's not assumption, for most of his recent career he scores like a fourth liner and loses his minutes. He is also past the age where it is 100% guaranteed that he is not as good as he used to be.

"It's not the start that Laughts wanted," - Jay Rosehill

I'm sorry, but if you call him "Laughts" your analysis about his play means zero. You can't be expected to give real analysis about a struggling player, objectively, when you're on a nickname basis with the guy.

In eight games, Laughton has a 34% Corsi, the Leafs are outshot 42-24 with him on the ice, scoring chances are 41-17 for the competition (29%) and the Leafs have been outscored 6-1 in his minutes. Laughton has zero points, less than one individual shot per game, and a 36% Expected Goals Rating.

That is worth less, ironically, than Nikita Grebonkin, Fraser Minten and (less ironic) Alex Nylander, Connor Dewar and Ryan Reaves were previously bringing to the team. Laughton hasn't just struggled, he's been the team's worst player.

And it doesn't matter if he's popular and good in the room. Those things are true about Ryan Reaves, so if that's all the Leafs needed, they had it.

I also realize that Laughton could get better. But the problem isn't that he could get better, it's that he CAN'T get that much better. He's a career grinder in his 30s. These players do not have any upside.

If Scott Laughton was 27 with upside, I'd be saying the same thing Jay Rosehill is saying. But the point I'm making is that even in a best-case scenario, this was a bad trade. But my ultimate point is this: The Media doesn't criticize the team enough for their bad moves, after 60 years of collective failure, but instead criticizes the fans for being impatient.

That's backwards and messed up. The Leafs blew it, let's just be honest with ourselves.