3 changes that must be made for the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer
The Toronto Maple Leafs must change it up ahead of next season. There are some big moves to be made at this point.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made the playoffs in every year of the Auston Matthews era. It has been an incredible run of success for the team since winning the draft lottery in 2016.
However, that has not translated to playoff success for the Leafs. They have only won one series during this run which is a massive failure.
They have made it to game seven multiple times but never succeeded in getting out of that first round outside of the one time.
Toronto has done a good job but it just isn't working anymore. The staleness of losing in the first round has to end now. It is time for major change.
These are the three moves that need to be made for the team to see a serious (positive) difference going forward:
It is time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to fire Brendan Shanahan
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't get it done again this year. That means with three coaches total, they have managed to win just one playoff series over the Auston Matthews era. That is not good enough.
It is time for change at the top after all of those struggles. Brendan Shanahan has done some wonderful things for this franchise but his time has to be up.
You can only blame the coaches for so long. Eventually, it has to fall on the guy that hired them all. Shanahan was a Hall of Fame player and he may even find another job in a front office but his time to leave the Leafs is long overdue. This is the way.
Sheldon Keefe should follow Brendan Shanahan out of the door too
It isn't all Sheldon Keefe's fault. He did a lot of good as a head coach as well. There are things that the players on this team learned from him that they'll hang onto forever.
With that said, if Shanahan goes the entire coaching staff has to go too. The newly hired President isn't going to keep a coach around that he had nothing to do with.
The GM has only been there for a year so we'll see how that goes but don't expect Keefe to stick around. It is time for a new voice there.
Keefe will find work in the NHL. This team just didn't have what it takes to get it done and he will be one of the fall guys.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to change up the "core four" this summer
The "core four" has always been a very exciting group for the Toronto Maple Leafs. That group includes Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares.
Matthews just scored 69 goals and is one of the five best players in the NHL right now. He has already won the Hart Trophy and two Rocket Richards. He is probably not one of the ones being moved.
Nylander just had an incredible 98-point season that included a contract extension at the mid-way point. It is hard to see them letting him go either.
That leaves Marner and Tavares. Not many teams are going to jump on Tavares' contract at his age with one year left so that may be a hard person to shake.
Marner would be a good fit for a lot of teams so he is the likely candidate. It is a shame that these guys were never able to win together but this mix just isn't working. It is time for change.
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