Rival NHL executives comment on how concerned we should all be with the Leafs' start this season
Last season through 10 games, the Leafs were 5-4-1 through 10 games and this season are 4-4-2 through 10 games, meaning they only have 1 point less than last season at this time. While they have played much worse than they did through the first 10 games last season, it's not as though they would be too far off of last season's franchise record 115 point pace if they can catch fire. With the media and social media making so much noise about firing Sheldon Keefe, and/or Kyle Dubas and to trade Mitch Marner, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reached out to a few NHL Executives to get their thoughts on the Leafs' current play and here's what they had to say.
Team exec No. 1: "Playing .500 10 games in and two points out of a playoff spot let's not panic here!! They obviously need to figure it out but way too early to panic."
Team exec No. 2: "I would be a little bit nervous if I were them. They haven't looked great so far. I still think they are very likely to make the playoffs, but I don't think it is guaranteed, and the bar for them is higher than that."
Team exec No. 3: "There are 72 games to go, lots of runway. That group will get going."
Team exec No. 4: "It's too early to panic. The games I've watched, it really was how inconsistent they were during the game. They looked great then just awful. I thought before the season goaltending was a concern but (Ilya) Samsonov has been solid. Offensively they have a top-five team in the league maybe even top-three. Defensively they need to defend as a five-man unit and take pride in it. Also losing to all these weak teams just shows me they don't have a killer instinct. They go into games thinking it's going to be easy. So that's on the coaches to get them ready. With all that, I totally think they will be fine."
Clearly the consensus is that it is far too early to push the panic button in Toronto or make and drastic changes to the lineup or staff. While many predicted the Leafs to win the Atlantic easily this season, I would much rather have them fight their way in. Why? Because they will have to start playing playoff type hockey and grind out wins near the end of the season. It worked for the LA Kings when they won their cups and has worked for Boston numerous times, even if they didn't win the cup. Those Finals appearances did not come easy.
Should the Leafs continue to struggle into November and December and they receive bad news about Jake Muzzin, a shakeup may happen sooner than the trade deadline. For now, let's hope that the Leafs can figure things out and get on a roll.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 2 | 216 ANSWERS Rival NHL executives comment on how concerned we should all be with the Leafs' start this season How many points will the Leafs accumulate in 2022-23? | ||
| 115 or more | 19 | 8.8 % |
| 105-114 | 80 | 37 % |
| 98-105 | 85 | 39.4 % |
| Less than 98 and miss the playoffs | 32 | 14.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
