Someone has to take the blame for how the Maple Leafs have stumbled out of the gates this season. And after the team effectively blamed the Core Four in the summer by trading Mitch Marner to Vegas, fingers are now searching for new targets.
Well, that didn't take long.
Eleven games into the season, and we've already seen a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey tossed on the ice. Two, actually.
That it happened in the first month of the season is surprising. So, too, is the fact that it happened in a visiting rink during a 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
On that same day, a headline in The Athletic read: "Is Craig Berube the right man behind the bench?"
Ouch.
Is it fair? Probably not. But someone has to take the blame for how the Leafs have stumbled out of the gates this season. And after the team effectively blamed the "Core Four" in the summer by trading Mitch Marner to Vegas, the finger is now searching for new targets.
Honestly, you could blame just about everyone right now.
The Leafs have allowed the fifth-most goals per game. They also have the fourth-worst power play. They rank fourth in giveaways. Their No. 1 goalie, Anthony Stolarz, has the 36th-best save percentage among netminders with at least three games played, while their highest-paid forward, Auston Matthews, is tied for 84th in scoring with five goals and eight points in 11 games.
Add it all up, and it's no surprise that the Leafs are 5-5-1 and currently on the outside looking in at a playoff spot, despite having what should have been a breezy month of October where Toronto faced opponents that did not qualify for the playoffs last season nine times.
Now, it's early, and what we could be witnessing is nothing more than the awkward first steps of a roster that lost its top point producer and then underwent a significant overhaul in the off-season, with six brand new faces in the lineup.
That being said, who is to blame for the early-season struggles: the coach, the GM or the new guys?
(Surprise, it's a bit of all three.)
The Coach
Craig Berube guided the Leafs to a 52-win season last year in Toronto — the second-highest win total in franchise history — so the idea that he suddenly doesn't know how to coach this group is laughable. However, this isn't the same team as last year.
Most notably absent is Marner, whose exodus has not only left a 100-point void on the top line but has also robbed the Leafs of their best penalty-killer and defensive forward.
But it's not the players, but rather the system, which seems to be failing the team right now.
Toronto's trademark speed and skill are gone. This no longer looks like a dangerous offensive team, the kind that could score in bunches and turn a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 victory in a matter of minutes.
Berube reportedly had a lot to say in who the Leafs targeted this summer, so he should have the horses to play the style he wants. But something is missing.
The Leafs rank sixth in hits per game, but they are not a team that is hard to play against. Odd-man rushes are becoming the norm, with Toronto allowing a 5-on-1 goal against Columbus on Wednesday. Already, they have allowed five or more goals four times this season.
Offensively, even without Marner, this is a team that has Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies. And yet, the power play has converted on just four of 29 opportunities, a 13.8 percent success rate that is significantly down from 24.8 percent last season.
That's on the players. But it's also on the coaching staff.
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Years after former Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe walked back criticism of his stars, Anthony Stolarz did the same with his comments about William Nylander.
The GM
Give Brad Treliving credit. He reportedly tried to trade Marner in exchange for Mikko Rantanen last season, and Marner reportedly refused to waive his no-trade clause.
The Leafs GM tried to salvage the diminishing asset by trading Marner to Vegas (rather than lose him for nothing in free agency) in exchange for Nicolas Roy. But where Treliving erred was in failing to use Marner's cap space on a player — or players — who would make you forget about Marner, or at least fill other voids in the lineup.
Obviously, the off-season would have looked better had the Leafs been able to convince one of either Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett or Aaron Ekblad to sign with Toronto as a free agent. But when that didn't happen, the Leafs were left to go bargain bin hunting and ended up with Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli and Sammy Blais — who combined won't come anywhere close to replicating Marner's offense or defensive contributions.
In hindsight, this team should have signed a legitimate top-line winger, such as Nikolaj Ehlers. They should have beefed up their defense by targeting someone like Brent Burns. They should have gone big-game hunting. Instead, they came back with a bunch of beans that haven't really amounted to anything.
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The New Guys
To say that the new guys are still finding their way in Toronto would be an understatement.
After 11 games, Maccelli has two goals and four points; Joshua has two goals and three points; Roy has one goal and three points; Cowan has no goals and three points; and Blais has one goal and two points.
Combined, none of the wingers have grabbed the opportunity of playing alongside Matthews and Knies on the top line, although the 20-year-old Cowan has probably shown the most upside. That being said, he's young and still finding his way as an NHL rookie, so asking him to play 20-plus minutes a night against the opposition's best defense is probably not realistic.
Maccelli has looked good at times on a line with Tavares and Nylander, who have combined for nine goals and 29 points. But the big disappointment so far has been Joshua and Roy.
One of the issues with the Leafs last season was a lack of forward depth. The team had two strong forward lines, but the third and fourth lines were liabilities. The Leafs tried to address that problem by acquiring Scott Laughton at the trade deadline and then gave the problem further attention with the additions of Roy and Joshua.
So far, however, neither has done what the Leafs were asking for.
Roy is a minus-4, and Joshua is a minus-7. So much for them making the Leafs harder to play against.
And then there's goalie Cayden Primeau.
Claimed off waivers to fill in for Joseph Woll, who took a personal leave of absence days before the start of the season, Primeau has picked up two of the Leafs' five wins. But with a 4.30 GAA and a .838 save percentage, it's clear that the Leafs won't be keeping him around once Woll returns, especially after allowing six goals on 24 shots against Columbus on Wednesday.
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