The Maple Leafs currently hold a record of 5-4-2 to start the season, which, in case you're tracking, is sub .500 hockey. This is not the start that the Leafs, their fans, the coaching staff nor management was hoping for or expecting.

The team may have 3 elite forwards on the team making big money, but they are seemingly anything but worth the price of admission so far the season. This leadership group must be better - a leadership group that includes the team's highest paid player, Auston Matthews.

"It's just not good enough," Matthews told TSN's Mark Masters, following a loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday. "We need to be better and I think it comes from the leadership group. I need to be better. All of us need to be better. We just need to look each other in the eye and hold each other accountable. It's just been the same thing kind of over and over for us," Matthews said.

One large problem has been players taking an abundance of undisciplined penalties - a problem which you will not see too often from the League's top teams. Playing disciplined hockey requires a cool demeanor and good hockey IQ, something that comes with time and experience, something this young team seems to lack.

It's not all bad in Leafs Nation, as newcomers Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev and Dmytro Timashov have all had positive impacts on the club. Cody Ceci has not looked as bad as advertised - though he would be more effective playing less minutes against top end opposition offense - and Jake Muzzin is looking better and better in his first full season in Toronto.

Combined, Matthews, Marner and Tavares are earning in excess of $33M. For that kind of money, it's fair to demand top end performance EVERY game. Things may turn around in short order, as the team is expecting the return of Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott within the next week or so, with Tavares likely to return shortly after that.

If this team can't turn it around in November and become dominant, I think it's safe to say there may be some changes on the horizon for the Buds. The most likely scenario will be the firing of Head Coach Mike Babcock, but I would not eliminate the possibility of some on-ice personnel changes as well.