How the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Regain Their Top-Team Status
The Toronto Maple Leafs record is way better than what it should be, if we are to assume a team's record should be reflective of their play.
Other than Auston Matthews and William Nylander having Hart Trophy level seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't really played well.
Their GM has been horrendous. Their coach isn't very good. Their goalies have, for the most part, been bad. The blue-line has been a joke all year.
Somehow the team is still winning most of their games, but it doesn't take a genius to see that teams that rely so heavily on winning one-goal games will eventually regress to where their play says they should be. Same goes for teams who don't win very many regulation games, who have an obscene record in games where they blow a two goal lead, or go down by two goals.
But with a little proactive managing, the Toronto Maple Leafs could regain their status as a top team. They have a great core, so it really shouldn't be so hard to build a great team around it.
How the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Regain Their Top-Team Status
1. Bring up Dennis Hildeby.
The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect goaltender is having a great season in the AHL.
With the exception of Joseph Woll, you can't say the same thing about any other Leafs goalie in the organization.
Eventually, Woll will return and resume his job as the team's starting goalie. Neither Ilya Samsonov or Martin Jones is an NHL goalie right now, or likely to become one again in the future. The Leafs should be starting Dennis Hildeby until Woll is ready, then go with the pair of rookies for the rest of the year.
The risk/reward here is really in their favor. Goalies are basically random, but when they are hot, they tend to stay hot. These guys will be fine for at least the rest of the year, and they'll save Ilya Samsonov's $3.5 million on the cap.
How the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Regain Their Top-Team Status
2. Get a New Coach
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren't realistically going to make me happy and fire Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving in the middle of the season. The next best thing is firing Sheldon Keefe.
I'm sick of the way he consistently fails to develop young players, and I think he's terrible at making lines and defensive pairings.
I do not want to watch him overplay TJ Brodie, Mark Giordano and Ryan Reaves for the next five months.
Get rid of Keefe and replace him with Claude Julian.
3. Sign or Trade William Nylander
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to make a decision here, because every day that passes brings us closer to Johnny Gaudreau territory.
The Leafs are not only deep at forward, but they have Matthew Knies on the verge of stardom and it's a pretty good bet that at least one of Nick Robertson, Easton Cowan and Frazer Minten can become stars as well. This means trading Nylander is at least a decent option.
In addition, Nylander is playing at his absolute peak with nowhere to go but down. He is approaching 30 and these contracts never work out. Not at $10 million or whatever.
Finally, the Toronto Maple Leafs don't have anything approaching a #1 defenseman. If you could trade Nylander for a no-doubt #1, it would be smart.
But there is risk in that, and he's just flatout awesome and probably will be for a while. I can see good arguments for both trading and signing him. Either way, make a decision today and get it done tomorrow, because the clock is ticking.
4. Get a Real 3C
Max Domi isn't a good NHL player, and the Toronto Maple Leafs should never have signed him. He is decent enough offensively, but he is a one-dimensional player who makes it very hard to ice a balanced lineup.
Domi hasn't lived up to expectations, and the Leafs need a better third-line centre. That centre should be Elias Lindholm.
A pending UFA that the Leafs should trade for and then let walk in the offseason, Lindholm is an excellent playoff rental and a stop-gap until Frazer Minten can take over the role next year.
If the Leafs send Domi back the other way, the difference is under $2 million in cap space. Lindholm might cost a first, but the Leafs have no choice but to cash in their draft picks to try to win while Auston Matthews is this good.
5. Play Nick Robertson More
Nick Robertson has the second best shot on the team and isn't even on the power-play. That alone is enough for me to want Keefe replaced. Robertson has been great this year, in a sheltered role.
But he doesn't need to be sheltered. I'd love to see him play with Tavares. This guy does nothing but compete and score. He needs more ice-time.
6. Bring Up Topi and Mikko
Nothing has been so frustrating this season as watching Kokkonen and Niemela thrive with the Marlies while the Leafs ice the NHL's worst blue-line.
The way in which this organization babies their prospects is bizarre and annoying. There is a reason that outside of the top of the first round, they have pretty much failed completely during the last decade to develop any NHL players of consequence.
TJ Brodie has declined to the point where he could maybe be an OK third pairing player. The Leafs blue-line as a whole isn't physical and it's not especially good at moving the puck. What, then, is the point of it?
An ELITE NHL team might have Jake McCabe and Timothy Liljegren as an amazing third pairing. Right now they are an OK second pairing. Benoit and Timmins are fine depth players, but the Leafs need some new juice on the blue-line.
It would be nice to trade for a star defenseman. It just isn't likely. Why not insert two rookies into the mix? People act like that's crazy, but how much worse could things actually be for their blue-line? At least this way you save money you can spend elsewhere, and you have upside.
Sure there is risk, but there is also reward.
In conclusion, this Toronto Maple Leafs team is going nowhere, but they have a great core and need to make some changes. Since they are limited in what they can do, they should look for a solid 3C, ideally Elias Lindholm.
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They should play their young players more, and call up some rookies to save some money. After that, changer coaches and call it a day.