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They should fire the coach. Or the general manager. Or make a trade. Or put the lines back in the blender.
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Something has to give after the Toronto Maple Leafs returned from a horrific road trip where they lost four of five games against some of the worst teams in the NHL. Right now, nothing is working for them. The stars aren’t producing like they should, the defense is giving way too many chances and the goalies aren’t bailing them out like they have in the past.
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Add it up and it’s no surprise the Leafs are off to a 4-4-2 start. And while it’s not the end of the world, it’s also not indicative of a team that entered the season as one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup.
Here are five ways to troubleshoot:
1. Fire the coach
It’s one of the easiest solutions the Leafs can provide. And the reason has less to do with Sheldon Keefe, who looks like he’s lost the team, and more to do with who’s waiting for a phone call. Yes, we are talking about Barry Trotz. The 60-year-old veteran coach is all the Leafs need right now: he’s structured, he’s respected and he knows how to turn a top-flight offensive team into a championship contender. The only problem is to fire coach blaming Keefe for everything that went wrong. It is not fair. Still, look around the league and you’ll find plenty of examples where a new voice behind the bench (Philadelphia, Boston and Vegas, to name a few) has led to positive results.
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2. Fire the GM
Talk to the fans and that’s the change they want. And for good reason. In five years of work, general manager Kyle Dubas has not built a champion team. He hasn’t even built a team that can win a playoff round. And with so much money tied up in so few players, you can tell the situation is getting worse, not better. The Leafs lack depth up front, defense and in net. It’s more about Dubas than Keefe or the players. The problem is that changing GMs in the middle of the season is not easy. Just ask the Oilers or the Canucks. As for replacements, you can go back to former assistant GM Mark Hunter, who was kicked out when the team promoted Dubas. Or maybe you let President Brendan Shanahan decide until someone more permanent can come in.
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3. Make a trade
With Jake Muzzin out indefinitely and Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn still nursing injuries that could keep them out for another week, the Leafs’ defense isn’t up to NHL standards. Justin Holl looks completely lost there. Mark Giordano looks old and slow. And Rasmus Sandin seems to be going through the typical ups and downs of someone who has yet to play 100 games. Toronto needs a top-four defenseman – maybe two of them. And the only way to get them is through an exchange. That could mean packing a roster player, like Alex Kerfoot or Nick Robertson, to Arizona for Jakob Chychrun or Anaheim for John Klingberg. The way the defense let them down, Toronto could use both.
4. Change lines
It’s time to separate Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Although the two forwards have worked well together in the past, they just aren’t getting the job done right now. And that has more to do with Marner, who was benched for a few shifts against the Ducks on Sunday, than it does with Matthews. A simple option is to put William Nylander back with Matthews and have Marner join John Tavares on a line. It’s a familiar place for all four players, who played that way under Mike Babcock in 2018-19. It was the year Marner had 94 points, Tavares had 47 goals, and Matthews averaged 1.07 points per game. Not bad, considering that was also the year Nylander went AWOL with just seven goals and 27 points in 54 games.
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5. Do Nothing
The Leafs, who have lost four straight, are 4-4-2 to start the season. It’s bad. But it’s not terrible. Last year the team also went 4-4-2 and finished with 115 points. A win over Philadelphia on Wednesday would put them back in the playoffs. Most of their problems are self-inflicted and could be fixed once Matthews and Marner start producing like they’re supposed to. Or once part of the defense is healthy. Or once they have regained their confidence. After all, this team is still far too talented to be a .500 team. They just need to start showing it consistently – and for 60 minutes.
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