The troubles in Toronto have been well documented this season and for good reason. The Maple Leafs, who had a busy offseason with a lot of turnover, are currently on a six-game losing skid that began against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 9th, during which they have not had a lead in over 400 minutes of game action.
Many have been quick to place blame. Some have identified the man with the keys to the car, GM Kyle Dubas, for removing most of the size and grit from the roster over the past three-and-a-quarter seasons in favor of pushing a speed and skill-focused game. Others are looking at the on-ice personnel for the lack of a complete 60-minute effort. Most of the lynch mob, however, have pinpointed bench boss Mike Babcock and his systems as the problem.
Of course, you could make a case for any or all of these factors contributing to the Leafs' well-noted shortcomings, but with Babcock making some questionable decisions, such as rolling 4 lines late into a game while down a goal instead of relying heavily on the Leafs' big difference-makers--namely Matthews, Tavares and Nylander--it's hard to let the head coach off the hook.
Dubas met with NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger on Tuesday at the GM's meetings and had this to say:
"We collectively have to pull our way out of this so that involves everyone -- that's myself in management, our staff, the players and coaching staff alike. We've all got to find our way through and continue to analyze that and how we can all help each other."
When asked about Mike Babcock's status with the organization, Dubas would not give up much.
"I think everybody has their opinions on what the team should do, especially here," he said. "I think there's a very knowledgeable fan base here and a deeply passionate fan base. They have high expectations for us and we have high expectations for ourselves. Whenever things don't meet the standards that everyone expects for the team, externally people start to develop reasons as to why. And at the same time we're not happy when we don't reach that standard, either. Right now, the way things have gone, people are looking internally at us for the answers and we're trying to make sure we deliver what we're capable of."
Dubas expects the club to meet those expectations.
"I think I will be disappointed if in the coming days, weeks, we don't begin to show a greater resolve and strength and fortitude to get back to playing the way that we've shown even earlier this season, and doing that for 60 minutes and doing that for days and months at a time," he said. "That's what we think our capabilities are."
The Leafs, of course, have more problems than just Mike Babcock and his perceived inability to adapt on-the-fly and change his in-game strategies to get the team back into games where they are trailing. Defenseman Tyson Barrie, who came over along with forward Alexander Kerfoot, has been less than advertised, to put it lightly. Auston Matthews has gone goalless in 9 consecutive road games. Captain John Tavares is failing to make the same type of impact as he did last season, a career-year that saw the hometown boy score 47 times. The Leafs do not have a single win from a backup goaltender this season, forfeiting all but one point during games where the backup gets the start. The club has also faced an abnormally large number of injuries to key players this season.
There is a lot of uncertainty in Leaf Land right now. Even Dubas is feeling it, although he has been very non-committal about what he plans to do to address the issues.
"Going into the year the expectation was that I was looking forward to see how our team would respond to this type of adversity," Dubas said. "And when we did hit a stretch where we lost a number in a row, one of the key parts of the year I was looking to is: How we would respond as a group? Obviously right now we're in the midst of it, so it's a great time to ask the question."
