The Toronto Maple Leafs Summer Just Went From Bad to Worse

The Toronto Maple Leafs have not had a good summer.

There is just no way to spin the additions of a back-up goalie, and two defenseman whose age adds up to almost 70 as a good summer for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They own the two primary outlets that cover their team and they can't even spin this summer into anything beyond a hope and a prayer.

Bless them for trying to spin the "upside" of Anthony Stolarz (a 31 year-old career back-up) after the team missed out on Jacob Markstrom and Jusse Saros, but you'd have to be pretty unquestioning to buy it.

The fact is, things are not going well for the Leafs and yesterday they got a lot worse.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Summer Just Went From Bad to Worse

As you are no doubt aware, Wes Clark, the Leafs head scout and the one guy in the organization pretty much everyone agree was awesome at his job, left to join Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh.

This is a disaster for the Leafs who really don't have anyone else in their front-office who is doing a great job. Obviously Shanahan and Treliving's jobs are on the rocks and seem to depend entirely on the team making it at least to the Conference Finals next year. Treliving seems overmatched and underprepared and is not doing anything close to a good job.

Craig Berube hasn't even coached a game, but he is replacing legendary scapegoat and the winningest coach in team history (by points percentage, at least) Sheldon Keefe. Brandon Pridham, former legend of salary cap manipulation, seems to be sidelined with weird and ill-advised contracts being handed out up and down the organization.

The fact that the Leafs are the NHL's leaders for consecutive playoff appearances, are in the middle of the primes of the two best players to ever dress for their team, and have recently iced the longest stretch of competitive teams in franchise history seems to be completley ignored by all involved, which tells me their PR department isn't even getting it done.

That is just the non-roster stuff. As far as the team's roster goes, who knows? The General Manager seems afraid to make a trade. The team's desperate need for a goalie was not addressed. The forwards have gotten worse with the loss of Nick Robertson *one assumes* and Tyler Bertuzzi. The Blue-Line is better, but not by much.

And Mitch Marner - aka the Proverbial Elephant - is still here and still unsigned.

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has not been in this much of a mess since they randomly fired Brian Burke out of nowhere and replaced him with his stooge and yes-man, Dave Nonis.

MLSE did hire a new President this summer - but you wouldn't know it.

See you later Wes Clark, you did amazing work here -enjoy working for a team with a real GM.