Dropping three more spots since last year’s rankings, the Toronto Maple Leafs are, once again, among the lowest of the lows in the NHL when it comes to confidence in their front office. The Athletic conducts a survey every year, ranking management and executives and Toronto came in 30th out of 32 teams. Only the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings ranked worse.
It’s a tough position to be in, especially when your team is the focus of the hockey world in Canada. All eyes are on you, and it seems you’re struggling to build a strong team.
Why Did the Maple Leafs Rank So Low?
The article notes that goaltending is a big question mark for the team, even if new GM Brad Treliving tried to change things up. The combination of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll doesn’t exactly inspire confidence and this is a roll of the dice at a time the team needs to win. Unproven at best and potentially injury-prone, there’s a real chance this bet doesn’t pay off.
They add:
“Overall, while the Shanahan/Treliving duo has been far from disastrous, it has proven underwhelming. A few diamonds in the rough, a few misses for sure, but more or less the same strategy of the previous regime.”
source – ‘NHL front-office confidence rankings, 2024: How fans feel about every team’ – Dom Luszczyszyn – The Athletic – 08/06/2024
Where Did Things Go Wrong for the Maple Leafs?
Suggesting that the Leafs looked like they would be clear winners when the “Shanaplan” began, the article explains, “…it’s getting harder and harder to feel like Toronto is on the cutting edge given the lackluster playoff results over the last decade and some of the decisions made to get there.” The team has had multiple opportunities to change up a formula that isn’t working and they’ve passed up those opportunities year after year.
Instead, Shanahan, and whatever GM he’s micromanaging, take the “boring and bland” approach. Dom Luszczyszyn, who curated the results in the article writes, “It’s as if the decisions are made via a focus group to minimize risk — hit a few singles instead of swinging for the fences.”
This offseason has followed a similar pattern. Yes, the Leafs took some chances with their blue line, but some of the key pieces are still there and the forwards have hardly changed. The same amount of money allocated to five star players remains unchanged, leading to adjustments around the edges but not much more.
Who Is To Blame for the Maple Leafs Lack of Success?
Coaches have been hired and GMs have been replaced, but the same figurehead at the top has remained in Shanahan. Until the Leafs either win or he’s replaced, the organization is likely to rank in roughly the same place each time this survey is conducted. But, it’s not all on Shanahan. Perhaps not ironically, the Pittsburgh Penguins ranked 29th — a team now led by Kyle Dubas, who managed the Toronto Maple Leafs for years and significantly contributed to their current standing in the rankings.
His Penguins dropped from 10th last year to 29th this year. It’s a huge drop, namely because he took a swing on Erik Karlsson that didn’t work. Needless to say, while the Leafs are not known for taking big swings, big swings don’t always pan out.
Can the Maple Leafs turn things around and inspire confidence with the moves they made this summer? A couple of playoff series wins might be the only reason to push them up the rankings. Another 100-point regular season won’t mean anything. Only postseason success will change the narrative.