First significant announcement made for the Leafs after loss to Bruins
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston has shared the first intriguing piece of news from the Maple Leafs following Saturday's OT loss to Boston in Game 7. Per Johnston, the Leafs have scheduled a press conference tomorrow in Toronto.
The Leafs erased a 3-1 series deficit against the Bruins to force a final and deciding Game 7 on Saturday, but did nothing with it, as they allowed the Bruins to survive until overtime, when David Pastrnak broke the hearts of Leafs Nation with a fancy move in tight to tuck one past a sprawled out Ilya Samsonov to secure the series win.
Following the game, Sheldon Keefe and several players did speak with the media, but as Chris Johnston reported on Sunday evening, the Leafs will be at Scotiabank Arena on Monday to take part in a full-blown media scrum, where everyone is expected to speak.
The most interesting detail about this, though, is that Sheldon Keefe is expected to speak tomorrow as well, while management is expected to speak later in the week. As Johnston pointed out, that isn't the norm for the Leafs.
In past availabilities, the GM and coach often spoke on the same day. Obviously, last year was different in that Kyle Dubas was going through a contract negotiation at that time, which had thrown things off slightly. Now, with the management set to meet with the media days later than the players or the coach, it likely means that huge changes are afoot in Toronto.
Obviously, the Leafs have let a lot of fans down over the course of the last 57 years, but especially over the last 8 years during the Matthews, Marner, Nylander era. Despite qualifying for the postseason each and every year since Matthews' draft year, the Leafs have managed just one single playoff round victory, and when they did win a round, they only won 1 single game in Round 2. Something's gotta give.
I think everyone is expecting a mass exodus in Toronto this summer, involving people in upper management, perhaps the entire coaching staff and even a potential dismantling of the core in the locker room.
With Auston Matthews and William Nylander having already signed extensions, it's likely that any changes will be made with the idea of building around these two supremely talented star players. Morgan Rielly is another player who is signed long-term, who may stick around, but beyond that, all bets appear to be off.
John Tavares and Mitch Marner both hold no-movement clauses, but they only have one final year remaining on their current deals. Could Brad Treliving look to move one or both players? That may prove tricky with Marner and Tavares having full control over where they are willing to play.
At any rate, this week should be an eventful one for the Leafs. We could see some heads roll as soon as Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or even sooner.
| POLL | ||
5 MAI | 1672 ANSWERS First significant announcement made for the Leafs after loss to Bruins Do you think John Tavares will waive his no-movement clause to help the Leafs this summer? | ||
| Yes, he'll be willing to help the team | 335 | 20 % |
| No, I can't imagine he'll waive | 1139 | 68.1 % |
| I really don't know | 198 | 11.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
