The Toronto Maple Leafs’ extremely low ranking on The Athletic’s fan survey of front-office NHL groups shouldn’t be a shock. Perhaps it’s a tad surprising given the team’s reshaping of their blue line, the club’s repeated regular season success, and a group of elite forwards. Similar to the Edmonton Oilers, who received a low ranking despite a solid offseason due to their hiring of Stan Bowman as GM, the Leafs made one move that frustrated Leafs Nation. That inevitably dropped Toronto down the charts.
While the survey means little to nothing in terms of the Leafs’ potential to find success this season, it was a failed promise that turned the fans.
What Did The Leafs Promise That They Didn’t Deliver On?
Sean McIndoe of The Athletic makes a strong point in a recent story, explaining his theory on what caused the Leafs to rank 30th out of 32 teams. He noted:
I figured the Leafs would rank low, although I was surprised to see them all the way down at 30. It’s hard to argue, though, especially after the front office called its “we’re finally going to shake things up” shot and then went on to have the same sign-a-few-guys offseason they always have.
source – ‘NHL jersey number trivia, Wayne Gretzky’s quote and an alien challenge: Summer mailbag’ – Sean McIndoe – The Athletic – 08/12/2024
McIndoe rightfully points out that the organization hinted at big changes and then made very few. Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were the big names added, but all of Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares stayed put.
While GM Brad Treliving and President Brendan Shanahan never came out and explicitly said they would be trading one of the core four pieces, both certainly hinted at looking at their options. They alluded to the idea that things hadn’t worked and that repeating the same patterns was not the recipe for success. Fans started to expect the organization would finally pivot after years of going with the same four guys and not seeing playoff results.
No changes will lead to anxious feelings the 2024-25 campaign will be more of the same.
Does The Ranking for the Leafs Matter?
Technically, a fan survey doesn’t mean a whole lot except when it comes to ticket sales and merchandise revenue. But, when we’re talking about the Maple Leafs, this organization knows selling out the building and making money isn’t an issue. However, from a different perspective, the fan’s reaction to a failed promise could hint at the reality of the situation behind the scenes in Toronto.
Related: Maple Leafs News & Rumors: McMann, Robertson, Minten & Tavares
Either this front office group isn’t willing to make changes — or as McIndoe phrased it, “hard decisions” — or they simply don’t know how to. Either this team is too loyal to their stars or they can’t find a way to successfully move on without losing the trade. In either case, it’s a problem because it means the wrong people are steering the ship and trying to fix a mistake they got themselves into.
Some of this is on former GM Kyle Dubas. That said, Shanahan has been pulling many of the strings with this franchise for quite some time and the organization’s opportunity to move on from these contracts has essentially passed. If this group is either willing to lead the fan base on or can’t make good on their hints to make significant changes, what else can’t they do?
Then again, maybe this front-office group is right and the fans are wrong. It’s possible this core finally figures things out under the guidance of the new head coach and that Craig Berube’s addition changes everything for Treliving and Shanahan.