The Toronto Maple Leafs changed coaches and elected not to chase after the name-brand goalie their smartest fans were calling for.
Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz will man the crease for the upcoming Toronto Maple Leafs season due to an extremely high-risk bet on the pairing made by GM Brad Treliving.
For a guy who seems incredibly reluctant to take any risks, it's somewhat bizarre that old Brad bet his career, or at least his and Shanahan's jobs, on two guys who have next to no NHL experience as starting goalies, neither of whom has exceeded 40 games in a season in years and years.
So, the Leafs are in trouble if Joseph Woll gets injured or performs badly. That one, however is pretty obvious. It also applies to every single team, even if they happen to have a top goalie. This article will focus on three other things that mean the Leafs are in trouble, only these ones are far more specific to the team.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in trouble if......
.....they enter the season without Mitch Marner signed to a contract.
This will be an absolute disaster of epic proportions. The risk of walking your second best player to free-agency is insane, and the Leafs need to just step up and get the contract done because otherwise this will permeate everything that happens all season long.
If the Leafs don't sign Marner to a contract before October it's a huge sign that this franchise is in the dumpster. That is a season-ruining mistake and they can't let it happen.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in trouble if......
.....Eastown Cowan isn't on the roster when the team plays their 11th game of the season.
This will indicate that the Leafs are not only a poorly run team, but that they are actually just dumb. Teams that want to win the Cup need top-of-the-lineup players making entry-level money. With Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson (hopefully) and Easton Cowan, the Leafs finally have what they have been missing for years - namely quality youth that can compliment their stars on cheap deals.
The missed opportunity of having Eason Cowan in the lineup - who is ready for the NHL beyond any doubt - would be one of the biggest unforced errors a team that lives to make them has ever made. If the Leafs don't promote Cowan this season it is a major sign of incompetency.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in trouble if......
Max Domi isn't playing on the first line. I know they have a new coach, but the numbers Domi posted with Auston Matthews, compared to how awful he was in every other situation, makes this a no-brainer.
The thing is, Matthews has proven he can make Domi into a superstar level player, and playing them together stretches their lineup in a way they can't otherwise do. If Domi plays even one shift this season at centre ice it will be a massive embarrassment to this franchise.
Domi as a centre was a player who didn't even deserve to be offered a new contract. The fact that they did sign him hopefully shows that they know his only value is as a winger, but this front office doesn't exactly inspire confidence that they are well informed and know what they are doing, so it's hard to say.
Suffice to say, if you ever see Domi at centre this season, it's a major sign the Leafs are in trouble.