The mood inside Scotiabank Arena has officially gone from uneasy to outright grim. What was supposed to be a night celebrating franchise legend Darryl Sittler instead turned into another rough reminder of where the Toronto Maple Leafs currently stand.
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Tuesday’s 7-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres didn’t just cap off a winless five-game homestand (0-4-1). It felt like a turning point in the wrong direction. Buffalo now sits eight points ahead of Toronto in the Atlantic Division, while the Leafs find themselves six points out of a Wild Card spot. With the calendar flipping to February soon, the margin for error is shrinking by the game, especially with the Olympic break in just a few weeks.
Here are three takeaways from a night that could end up defining the Maple Leafs’ season.
Joseph Woll Struggled
The defensive play in front of him was far from the best we’ve seen. But Joseph Woll did not give the Maple Leafs the saves they needed to stay afloat. He allowed six goals on 30 shots, with the seventh coming on the empty net, finishing the night with a .800 save percentage.
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More concerning than the total was when the goals came. After Toronto battled back to tie the game in the second period, Woll was beaten on a Rasmus Dahlin tip off a cycle, a play where he was slow to react. Over his last five starts, Woll has allowed 22 goals. Unfortunately, it didn’t look much better with Anthony Stolarz between the pipes. If they are going to turn their season around, they need good consistent goaltending from both goalies.
The Maple Leafs Look Gassed
The most troubling part of the loss was not the score. It was the lack of response. Outside of an early goal from Matthew Knies, Toronto looked like a team running on fumes. As the game went on, Buffalo put their foot on the gas to further the gap between them in the standings. And, the Maple Leafs offered very little pushback.
It has been a tough season, it doesnt seem like they ever got over the loss of Mitch Marner. Plus, injuries to key players like Chris Tanev and William Nylander, the workload appears to be haunting this group. Craig Berube hinted post-game that the team needed more compete, but visually, this looked like a tired hockey team. They were second to pucks, lost battles along the boards, and were outworked by a younger, hungry Sabres team that has their sights on their first playoff berth in the first time in 15 years.
Is it Time to Sell?
After watching the game last night, it proves that the Maple Leafs should strongly consider being sellers. For years, the Maple Leafs have gone into deadline season as buyers. But this year feels different. Toronto has dropped seven of its last eight games, and Brad Treliving is not only battling the difficult decision to fix the team but to also keep his job.
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They can’t keep continuing to move future assets, including first-round picks or top prospects to patch holes on this roster. There is a growing argument that the smarter move is to start to sell to hopefully copy the Boston Bruins and do a small retool. Players like Bobby McMann have been one of the few bright spots, he could be a rental player that lands a huge return. There’s also Scott Laughton, Calle Jarnkrok, and even Troy Stecher. Who could help replenish a prospect pool that has been extremely thinned out over the years. If they haven’t decided yet, it’ll be made quickly, with NHL teams making their decision on what direction they go by the Olympic break.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs will now head out on the road to take on the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. After that, they will make stops in Western Canada before the Olympic break comes into effect on Feb. 4th.
