The Toronto Maple Leafs are in one of, if not their most successful run of regular season success in franchise history. However, while the team is on an 8-year playoff streak, they only have one playoff series win to show for it. The question remains, what is the problem with this Leafs team?
Just over a month ago, longtime rivals the Boston Bruins dealt the Toronto Maple Leafs another early playoff exit.
The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth time in eleven years, but despite having a different roster, the blue team was unable to win again.
As usual, almost all hockey fans took to social media to share their thoughts about the Leafs’ issues, and after giving it some serious thought, I believe I’ve identified the problem with this club.
If the Leafs are to win a championship, they must alter their current mindset, which is the issue with this period.
The Biggest Issue With the Current Toronto Maple Leafs
Now of course, I have no idea what the Leafs locker room is like, and I fully believe every player in that dressing
room wants to win a Stanley Cup. The notion that Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews don’t care about winning is bonkers to me.
With that being said, it’s clear the Leafs have a tough time actually winning games when it matters the most, and they need to change their mindset if they want to get over the hump at some point.
Like I said before, the Leafs obviously want to win, there is not a doubt in my mind about that. But when it comes to the big games, the Leafs need to adopt a mindset of winning, instead of trying not to lose.
Now I will give the Leafs credit, they know how to make a series close. With the exception of the 2023 series vs
the Florida Panthers, every Leafs series that they’ve lost since 2018 has gone seven games (or five vs Columbus), including rebounding from a 3-1 series deficit vs the Bruins twice, or coming back from 3-0 down in game 4 vs to force a decisive game against the previously mentioned Blue Jackets.
The Leafs have only won one series since 2004, despite their many near calls, and I think that all of this losing is starting to get to these players.
Who can blame them, after all, losing important games won’t make anyone happy? However, they must alter their perspective in these crucial games until they genuinely go far in the playoffs.
Craig Berube, the new coach, would probably help with this; Sheldon Keefe did his best, but it’s time for a fresh perspective.
In other words, Mitch Marner’s ability to make the playoffs or the Leafs’ mentality are not the primary issues.
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‘A Lot Of People Suspect Vegas (Golden Knights) Will Be Around (Mitch Marner)’: Talk Around Maple Leafs Star Won’t Go Away
Mitch Marner’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs isn’t clear, but it’s very on-brand if the Vegas Golden Knights make a play for the talented forward.
A highly talented player that could be on the outs? Cue the Vegas Golden Knights.
As talk continues to intensify surrounding the future of Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner comes word that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Vegas Golden Knights attempt at grabbing the highly skilled forward.
“One of the things with Marner is that a lot of people suspect that Vegas will be around it,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Wednesday. “Because Vegas is just smart, they are around any good player. So I got people hypothesizing Shea Theodore and Logan Thompson deals to me, for example.”
Marner is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible to sign an extension as soon as July 1. His agent, Darren Ferris, has reportedly indicated that his client intends to play out the remainder of his deal in Toronto.
To say the situation is complicated would be an understatement. Last week, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving told TSN’s Pierre LeBrun that they won’t make a trade just for the sake of making one. It’s also believed that the Leafs won’t come to Marner and ask him to waive his no-move clause unless there is a deal on the table.
The Golden Knights have arguably perfected the art of acquiring a star player who is on the outs with their club and orchestrating a deal to bring them to Vegas. In 2019 they acquired Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators along with Tobias Lindberg in exchange, for Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg, and a 2020 second-round pick. They prompted signed him to an eight-year, $76 million extension. They did the same with Jack Eichel, prying the outstanding center from the Buffalo Sabres in November 2021 in return for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a first-round draft pick, and a potential second-round selection. As part of the deal, Vegas also received a third-round pick.
What’s to stop Vegas from using Marner in the same way again? A good trade deal, of course, and Marner himself, who has to consent to any suggested changes.
It seems unlikely that anything will change in the circumstances between now and the NHL Draft because the Stanley Cup Final is still ongoing. And because the Draft is scheduled to occur in Vegas at the MSG Sphere, imagine the spectacle of a Marner deal being revealed on that enormous 16K screen. It would feel very Las Vegas-like.
