Blow it up?

By: Mark Shannon

The Toronto Maple Leafs playoff chances were officially ended last night.  In what has become accustomed to Maple Leafs teams past and present are their late season collapses.  In what has been a season of highs (winter classic win, and strong start) and a season of supreme lows (eight game losing streak and missing playoffs) Toronto once again will be without playoff hockey….unless you’re not counting the Marlies.

Not too long ago fans of Leaf Nation were rejoicing in what many had hoped would be second straight playoff appearance….not so fast as the Maple Leafs would go into a tailspin losing eight straight games and falling out of the playoff picture.  Leafs Nation are a devoted bunch, but are calling for heads…the heads of the organization.

Some fans have called for the Leafs too blow up the team, but can you do that without starting over?  The Leafs tried too re-tool on the fly six years ago when Brian Burke took over, and so far…well…it hasn’t worked out.

Sure a lot of moves have to be made to make the Leafs a playoff “contender” again, but blowing it up doesn’t seem like the right move at this stage.  There are key pieces in the Toronto lineup that if built around “properly” should still be here when they do contend…but lets get it straight here, this is the Toronto Maple Leafs we’re talking about…they haven’t been the staple of success when it comes to building winning teams.  Key pieces like Morgan Rielly, Phil Kessel, James Van Riemsdyk, and Jonathan Bernier are players the Leafs should and will hold onto.  Everyone else on the team should be open for trade discussions.

Dion Phaneuf and his contract will be tough to move at all if you choose to go that route.  He may not be a number one defenceman, but having him in their lineup wherever they play him is better than not having him at all.  David Clarkson as much as he is maligned in the media and twitter verse is probably another hard guy to move.  The most likely to be traded are the Joffrey Lupuls’, Nikolai Kulemins’, Carl Gunnarssons’, and Cody Fransons’ of the world.  Guys like Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri are key pieces you would like to keep in your lineup, but can you?

Before you make any decisions on players moving or not moving, the franchise should be looking at the top of the chain.  Nonis handcuffed the team by giving out bad contract after bad contract.  Randy Carlyle and his system of play didn’t work well with the Ducks after they won the cup and it doesn’t seem to be working now…so it’s time for a change in leadership, a time for a new beginnings of sorts for the Leafs.

There seems to be a sense of deja vu when it comes to the Leafs every season….too many questions, so little answers.  A once storied franchise has become a laughing stock of the NHL because of there unwillingness to make the moves when they need to.