The Leafs should fire their goalie coach and bring in a Leafs legend to replace him
Since 2015, Steve Briere has been in charge of keeping Toronto's goalies up to snuff as goaltending coach. Since then, there have been 2 phenomena that seem to happen with every Leafs goalie.
Number one, their game eventually falls off a cliff. He's had Bernier, Reimer, Andersen and now Campbell and Mrazek under his tutelage - all of whom have had their games go down the tubes before the end.
Number two, they always seem to bounce back after leaving the Leafs. Frederik Andersen was a complete non-option for the Leafs last season. This year, he will be a Vezina candidate. Bernier and Reimer are both better goalies today than they were in Toronto.
It's time for someone new to take over goalie coaching duties. Briere has proven ineffective. If only there was a coach available, one who could relate to a goalie in the center of the hockey universe, and one who's style was a mixture of Campbell and Mrazek's.
As it turns out, such a coach does exist, and he's already on the Leafs' payroll. It's time to change Curtis Joseph's job title from Community Representative to Head Goaltending Coach. CuJo not only has experience with goalie coaching, he can also relate to the stress and the mental side of being a star goalie in Toronto.
At this point in time, the Leafs' goaltenders are drowning. Despite this, the Leafs are still 3rd in the ridiculously good Atlantic division, with an outside shot at winning it. Given the train wreck in net over the past couple of months, that seems pretty wild. Imagine how much higher in the standings we could have been with an extra save or two per game?The only way that can happen is if their goaltending gets back on track. Hiring CuJo for the role not only feels right - it also makes sense.
Joseph was the Leafs' starting netminder from 1998-2002. During his time as the number one in Toronto, the Leafs not only made the playoffs every year, but they also had varying degrees of postseason success in each of those years, including a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001-02.
We have seen a substantial turnaround from the Montreal Canadiens since hiring Martin St. Louis as the team's new head coach. It would be nice to see another legend help turn things around for another Canadian club. CuJo having a similar impact for the Leafs' goaltenders would be one heck of a story.
