Earlier this week the Toronto Maple Leafs held their end of season press conference for both the players and head coach Sheldon Keefe. Everyone was disappointed with the result and reflected on their series loss against the Boston Bruins, but it was more of the same in regards to their answers when they took questions from the media.
The players and coach maintained believe and faith in the group. Keefe, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and even John Tavares remained positive about this group and that they can get it done. However, the longest tenured Maple Leafs player, Morgan Rielly, was probably the most critical of the group and what lies ahead.
While everyone was maintaining the status quo in regards to this core group, Rielly broke free and gave a very reasonable and honest answer that many wanted to hear.
Rielly Breaks From Status Quo
While many were still disheartened with the result, but being optimistic about the future, Rielly didn’t go the same route as his fellow teammates. He has seen enough disappointment and failure in the past to know that this can’t keep going on.
His comment during his end of year media availability basically said what fans and media alike are feeling. It wasn’t good enough and that the team isn’t close to competing compared to those that are still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.
“I don’t want to stand here and try to tell you that we’re on the doorstep of anything because we’re sitting here today doing this,” Rielly said according to TSN’s Mark Masters. “The belief is there that it’s attainable, but there’s work and improvement that has to take place. So, how close are we? I don’t know, we’ll see. It feels both attainable and a ways away and that’s what drives you as an individual. That’s what drives a team forward to either have success or we’ll see.”
For the first time in a long time, we got a realistic and candid answer from a core member of this team as Rielly didn’t sugar coat anything. He also added that this year stung the most given how things played out in Game 7 and that “anything other than a championship is a disappointment.”
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It’s great that Rielly still has that belief, but saying that there’s more work to be done and that there needs to be improvement is a very strong depiction of how he feels about this team. Rielly is a leader on this roster for a reason and his emotion and dedication is always noticeable. We saw it when he went after Ridly Greig when he took a slapshot on an empty net goal and the team rallied around his suspension. Why was that same emotion, consistency and spark lacking in the postseason?
Maple Leafs Don’t Matchup Against Others
Once again in the postseason, the Maple Leafs lacked any ability to be dominant for long stretches and play with the killer instinct needed to win.
When you average the worst goals per game in the postseason with 1.71 and only click with 4.8% on the power play with the offense you have, you aren’t going to match up well against teams like the Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers. All of these teams have been firing on all cylinders so far and with the fire power the Maple Leafs have, they should’ve been doing the same.
If the Maple Leafs were to go up against one of these teams right now, it would be over instantly. Even Panthers’ forward Matthew Tkachuk took a shot at the Maple Leafs when they were preparing for the Bruins, saying he knew they [the Bruins] would be their opponent.
Their opponents already know that if they face the Maple Leafs, it’s going to be an easy one for them.
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While we saw the team show that they can play a strong, physical shut-down game of playoff hockey that can win you games, they didn’t have anything going for them early on in their series against the Bruins, which was the difference maker. The penalty kill and mistakes cost them in Game 1, there were breakdowns in Game 3 and in Game 4, there was a lackluster start and frustration showing on the bench. It was the boiling point and could’ve been a turning point had they dominated offensively and scored more than two goals in the last three games. Or throughout the series.
In the end, it wasn’t enough and the Game 7 loss shows that. A lot needs to happen this offseason to truly make this team a contender. Everyone needs to adopt a winning mentality and play to win. The Bruins did just that, which is why they moved on and the Maple Leafs are left to figure things out… Again.
Rielly’s comment really stood out and it should really resonate with the team that while they still have the belief in each other, it’s not enough. More needs to be done in order for this team to be a true competitor and force to be reckoned with in the postseason.
Until that happens, this team will continue to suffer more disappointment.
