Now that the dust has settled on another NHL trade deadline, where do the Leafs go from here?
All we know is the plan is to make a plan. Mercifully, there are 18 games left in this train-wreck of a season.
At any rate, we kicked off the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take by giving our thoughts on Toronto’s ugly loss to the Bolts over the weekend. Also, in typical Leafs fashion, both Scott Laughton and Nicolas Roy are off to great starts with their new team. Laughton scored in his Kings debut while Roy buried a goal in Colorado’s shootout winner over Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. When it rains, it pours, right? We laughed about those developments for a few minutes. Meantime, Bobby McMann is expected to make his Kraken debut on Tuesday night against Nashville.
So, the Leafs have dropped seven in a row. Unsurprisingly, they were absolutely stomped by Tampa on Saturday night. Thanks to St. Louis’ win over Anaheim on Sunday, the Blues are now only six points back of the Maple Leafs in the standings. Of course, Toronto’s first round pick is top-5 protected. EMBRACE THE TANK. Matias Maccelli scored again to extend his point streak to five games. Since returning from the Olympic break, Toronto’s been outscored 32-14. Yeah, it’s been ugly. Obviously, we talked a bit about Berube’s future. There’s no way they can bring him back, is there?
Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons dropped by to weigh in on the Leafs’ current mess. From what he’s hearing, Simmons suggested there’s definitely a scenario where both Brad Treliving and Craig Berube return next season. He also touched on the organization’s approach right now — essentially a “plan to make a plan,” with no appetite internally to conduct a full autopsy on the season just yet. That said, we did give Treliving some credit for taking accountability when he addressed the media on Friday afternoon. Simmons also discussed the path forward, what the Leafs need to do to get back into contention, and why he believes Chris Pronger would be an ideal fit as team president. Lastly, he weighed in on Auston Matthews’ dip in production under Berube.
Toronto’s off to Montreal to tangle with the Habs. Join us on Tuesday (11 AM ET) for a full game preview as the tank-a-thon continues.