The Toronto Maple Leafs were once again bounced from the playoffs last year when their top players didn't score and their depth players failed to provide any additional scoring.
Since this wasn't a new problem, everyone expected the Toronto Maple Leafs GM, Brad Treliving, to address it in the summer.
He did not.
In fact, with the loss of Tyler Bertuzzi, the Leafs depth scoring was worse than ever coming into this season, and like every single person who cares about this team knew it would be, it's been a major problem.
The Leafs best players account for the highest percentage of their totals goals of any team in the league. The Leafs defensemen have scored the least amount of goals out of any team in the NHL.
And recently, things got even worse, and the lack of action from the Leafs Front Office is extremely concerning, and a bit of a joke, at this point.
Treliving MIA Again: Lack of Action from Maple Leafs Front Office Is Concerning
Whatever the Leafs were thinking this summer, they didn't seem too concerned with their paper-thin depth at centre. But coming into the season, they should have been, because Auston Matthews is an injury risk, John Tavares is old, the third line was a mystery and David Kamp is a black-hole of offense and the NHL's most expensive 4th liner.
This was obviously bad and it went unaddressed. I actually don't mind that they didn't address it in the summer where it is expensive and inefficient to do so. Considering their cap problems, entering the season with a Fraser MInten option and a Max Domi backup seemd reasonable.
It's not reasonable. Domi is too bad defensively to play centre and needs to be fed O-zone faceoffs constantly to be effective. But ideally, you want your third line to be able to defend and take D-zone draws so you can save the good face-off opportunities for the guys who will make the most of them, namely the four guys you're paying $11 million + to.
The problem I have is that it was nearly two weeks ago now that Pontus Holmberg played on the second line. Last game, it David Kampf. Who knows what they did for last night's game, but I doubt it was pretty.
The Leafs front office is like a bad fantasy hockey manager who just hits the button to set their lines on the first day of the season and never checks back in. You can't "set it and forget it" in the NHL. Brad Treliving needs to come out of hibernation and get this team a centre.
Dressing David Kampf on the second line makes your team look like a joke man.