3 People Who Will Be Gone This Offseason If the Toronto Maple Leafs Lose

If the Toronto Maple Leafs fall in the First Round this year, expect some big changes this offseason.

After winning their first playoff series in 19 years last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs quickly lost in five games to the Florida Panthers.

They had a brilliant team, but unfortunately fell victim to one of the best goaltending performances in NHL history from Sergei Bobrovsky.

After failing to advance past Florida, many expected changes, but nobody expected that change to be former GM Kyle Dubas.

Reports indicated that Dubas wanted a bigger role in the organization and it seems he lost his job in the aftermath of a power struggle.

As we all know, Dubas eventually got what he wanted from the Pittsburgh Penguins and that organization is in a better place as a result. Moving on from Dubas was one of the dumbest decisions this organization could have made and I truly believe it will cost them in the future, but I digress.

The playoffs have not been kind to the Leafs over the years and since they've continued to run each year back with the same core and have continued to lose, I think this is the last year they're committed to that process. I think if this team fails to advance in the playoffs, there will be big changes with some names we might not expect.

As such, here are three Toronto Maple Leafs that I expect to be gone from the organization next year if the team fails to advance in the playoffs.

No. 1: Sheldon Keefe

The main reason why Sheldon Keefe became the head coach of the Leafs in the first place was due to his connection to Kyle Dubas and now that he's gone, I'd expect Keefe to follow suit.

I'm not necessarily saying he's going to go to the Penguins and replace Mike Sullivan, but that wouldn't be shocking.

However, I would expect Brad Treliving to fire Keefe and hire his own coach if the team fails.

Whenever a new GM comes in, they typically want to hire their own coach, so this would be the easiest decision by Treliving, and I'd personally be fine with it.

Although I respect Keefe and think that he's a great coach, if the same core is going to stick around, I think they could use a new voice.

When you have the same coach and the team continues to have the same results, it's tough to get that message across. As a result, a new coach could add a little spark and new energy to the room that could help.

There are some great veteran coaches on the market right now that would kill for the Leafs head coach role, so if the team doesn't want to move from it's core, the easiest and most realistic thing to happen is for them to fire Keefe.

No. 2: Mitch Marner

Marner has a no-move-clause, grew up loving playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after another failed season, maybe he'd waive his no-trade to try something new?

I know that's crazy to believe and trading Marner seems like the dumbest idea in the world, but think of the return.

At the NHL Trade Deadline this year, the Buffalo Sabres were able to acquire Bowen Byram
, a top-four defenseman, only for Casey Mittelstadt. I know Byram isn't a number-one defenseman, but he's still only five years removed from being the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and is considered a legit top-four defenseman.

The reason I bring that trade up is because if the Colorado Avalanche were willing to give up that for Mittelstadt, there has to be a team out there willing to move a top defenseman for Marner.

With only one year left in his contract, Marner is set for a pay-raise, deservingly so, but I'm not sure if it should be in Toronto.

John Tavares' contract is also set to expire, so many expect he'd be willing to take a hometown discount to free up space for Marner, but if it doesn't work this year it might be wise to move on.

The last thing I want to see if the Leafs trading Marner, but they need shake-up if they don't win again and with an expiring contract, Marner could be the best player to set this team up for the future.