The Break-Up?

There is no doubt that the three men to the left have been blessed with an incredible wealth of hockey talent. That talent has seen all three men rewarded handsomely for their regular season successes, but they have yet to find any team success in the playoffs as members of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The annual disappointment that Leafs fans feel likely requires something to change, but the Leafs have put all their eggs in a handful of baskets - three of those being the baskets belonging to these men. Tonight, though, the frustration from the Leafs' highest-paid players bubbled over on the bench, and it may force the Leafs to make changes in the offseason to find postseason success.

Trailing 2-1 in the series, the Leafs needed a win to turn the series into a best-of-three, but a loss would put them on the brink of elimination. Clearly, they needed a big effort, but the Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Leafs found twine at 5:43 of the third period when Mitch Marner finally scored. Earlier in the game, however, emotions seemed to boil over for the Leafs' superstars.
Some on social media think that Nylander was chirping Marner, but it seems pretty clear that Marner is bewildered by whatever Matthews said based on his reaction, and it appears that Nylander is looking past Marner when he responds with his comments. Neither were speaking to Tyler Bertuzzi who was leaning back between Matthews and Marner, so this appears to be a Matthews and Nylander squabble based on eye position and reactions from those on the bench.

Whatever the case may be, it seems that the 3-1 loss tonight to Boston to put Toronto in a 3-1 hole in the series has everyone a little frustrated with each other. That tends to happen when teams can't find answers to their offesnive woes, and there's no denying the Leafs are in the thick of this goal-scoring anemia. Something has to change if the Leafs are going to extend the series, let alone winning it.

Let's go to head coach Sheldon Keefe's thoughts on the exchange in the video above between his superstar players. Is he concerned?
Hold the phone - he "didn't sense any frustration"? William Nylander channeled his inner Phil Kessel in responding to your wunderkind goal-scorer, and Keefe didn't sense frustration? I'm not sure if he's simply not paying attention or no longer cares, but how does that exchange between his two stars not show frustration?

Look, I respect the fact that defended his team's effort in this game, but that's doing nothing to help them score goals on the ice. This comes to down to the coaching staff spending a lot of time watching video and looking for ways to breakdown the Bruins' defensive structure, but I'm not sure they have that much time with Game Five set for Tuesday in Boston. There might be a more simple answer, but the way the Leafs have been stymied by the Bruins indicates to me that this is a bigger than swapping a few players around in the lineup.

A lot of people have speculated that Sheldon Keefe will be fired if the Leafs lose this series, and I completely understand why that may happen. Frankly, I don't think Keefe's systems were built for playoff success because of how the game changes in the postseason, but I'm not here for the whiteboard chatter. What seems clear is that the coaching staff for the Leafs doesn't seem to have a Plan-B for the Leafs when their normal systems fail. That should have everyone in the front office concerned.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting to see different results. It's becoming very clear that the Leafs are testing that theory with their repeated early exits in the playoffs while maintaining the same core group of players. While no one is suggesting a complete tear-down and rebuild, the Leafs may be forced to part with pieces who seemed like good long-term investments in this offseason if they want their fortunes to change.

Brad Treliving went through a handful of rough offseasons with the Calgary Flames before arriving in Toronto, and it seems he'll have a pile of work to do this summer if the Leafs are going to give their fans a reason to believe they can win a Stanley Cup. Or he could do nothing and continue to tinker with the bottom-six players who bust their humps, but are hardly the reason why the Leafs are in the situation they find themselves tonight. Whatever he decides to do, it's clear something has to change in The Big Smoke.

If the Leafs lose on Tuesday, be prepared for months of analysis, discussion, and predictions from pundits on how to fix the Leafs.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!