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3 offseason moves the Toronto Maple Leafs must make after another playoff failure

By Dave Stevenson

May 8, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe speaks to his players as forward Pierre Engvall (47) and forward Jason Spezza (19) and forward Wayne Simmonds (24) listen during the third period against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe speaks to his players as forward Pierre Engvall (47) and forward Jason Spezza (19) and forward Wayne Simmonds (24) listen during the third period against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe (Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports) /

After failing to advance past the first round of the postseason for a fifth consecutive season, the Toronto Maple Leafs must make some changes.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have done it again. They’ve failed to advance past the first round of the postseason. For five straight years, the Leafs have made the postseason. And five straight times, the Leafs have been sent packing without winning a single series.

Five straight times, the Leafs bet on their core, making no significant changes. And five straight times, their core has been unable to deliver even one postseason series win. In the words of ESPN personality Tony Kornheiser, the Toronto Maple Leafs are “choking dogs”. Changes are coming to Toronto and if I were a betting man, I’d wager some of them will be huge.

General Manager Kyle Dubas likely won’t be fired. And he shouldn’t be. The onus for the Leafs’ latest postseason woe doesn’t fall on Dubas. He built a good team. Does Dubas deserve criticism for, say, trading for Nick Foligno instead of Taylor Hall? Absolutely. But Dubas did the best he could to build a division winner. It’s not his fault two of his three best healthy forwards let him down.

This offseason should be a stressful one for the Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Jake Muzzin, T.J. Brodie, and William Nylander should be the only current roster players who are safe. Matthews and Nylander are the building blocks. Tavares, Muzzin, and Brodie each have no-movement clauses and even if they didn’t, they’re worth keeping anyway.

What moves should the Maple Leafs make this offseason? Here are three moves they must make if they want to improve and change a culture that has long needed to be changed.

3 moves the Toronto Maple Leafs must make after another disappointment

3. Shake up the coaching staff

Sheldon Keefe is a mighty fine head coach. If he’s fired, he will be picked up by another team as soon as he wants to be. But the Leafs need to decide if he’s the right coach for them. His lineup decisions were baffling at times. When the Canadiens used four players to clog up the neutral zone and make things hard for the Leafs, Keefe didn’t make any adjustments. That’s unacceptable.

Bruce Boudreau would love nothing more than to coach the Leafs. Gerard Gallant is still available, though the New York Rangers appear to have the inside track on hiring him. If you want to think outside the box, Rikard Gronborg of the ZSC Lions has one heck of a track record and Swedish players swear by him. Keefe had a lot of success in the AHL, but as he just proved, AHL success doesn’t always translate to NHL success.

Should the Leafs keep Keefe, they need to fire Manny Malhotra, who was in charge of their abysmal power play and replace him with someone who will make it work. Boudreau would make a ton of sense to hire. He’s used to working with skilled players.

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