2023-05-15 17:20:21
The Maple Leafs believed they had ended their curse by advancing to the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 19 years. However, their hasty exit at the hands of the Panthers quickly brought a foul mood to Queen City.
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Obviously, the four members of the leading group were singled out for this fishtail end: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander. The one on whom Kyle Dubas has invested almost half of his salary envelope with the clear objective of winning with the attack.
In some Toronto media, we expect a major cleaning. On the ice as in the heights of the Scotiabank Arena.
First overall draft pick in 2016, Matthews will enter the final year of his contract. Same for Nylander. For their part, Marner and Tavares will see their agreement come to an end at the end of the 2024-2025 campaign.
“My intention is to stay here for a long time,” Matthews told reporters at the Leafs’ season report in Toronto. I’ve already said who how much I love playing here. For me, it’s an honor. The effort you put into trying to achieve the desired result is extremely motivating.”
“It’s important that this be done before the start of the next season, but it will be settled in due time.”
For the Maple Leafs, time may be pressing a little more since July 1 is also the date on which the 25-year-old forward’s non-movement clause will come into effect. As for Marner. If they want to reduce their payroll without losing the services of these players for nothing in return, transactions could be considered.
“I am lucky to play for this team. I want to keep playing for this team and I hope I can keep playing for this team. It was my dream growing up,” said Marner, a Toronto-area native.
Invisible against the Panthers
Moreover, if the four offensive leaders were productive in the regular season, it was far from being the case in the playoffs. In each of the last seven games they have played, the Leafs have scored two goals.
“We had our chances. Against the Panthers, we had more overkill than against the Lightning. [Sergei] Bobrosvky was in his element. We should have been more incisive around him, ”analyzed Marner.
It is insufficient to hope to win, even in overtime. And it’s hard to understand from a team that ranked ninth in goals scored (278) during the regular season.
Facing the Panthers, the Leafs’ four big guns were limited to three goals (two for Nylander and one for Marner). Matthews? He had to make do with two assists. Two points acquired in the first two games of the confrontation.
During the calendar, the four attackers had combined their efforts for 146 goals, more than half of the production of the team (52.5%).
“If I had all the answers, I wouldn’t be in front of you right now,” Matthews told reporters around him. All the teams that have won have first experienced things that they would have preferred not to experience.
“It’s the evolution that leads to a team that fights for championships season after season and positions themselves to be contenders. That’s what we’re trying to build here,” he continued.
Except that, considering the core of players in place, things don’t seem to be progressing quickly.
Rielly keeps faith
We can therefore wonder if it is this same group that will lead the team to the promised land for the first time since 1967.
Morgan Rielly, the strongest player on the team in those two playoff rounds, wants it.
“There is no doubt that I still have faith in this group. It’s hard when the results aren’t there, because that’s all that matters, but I think good things are happening,” said the defender, who is under contract with the Leafs until the end of the 2029-2030 season.
Moreover, he did not hesitate to reiterate his confidence in Dubas, for whom the situation is likely to heat up over the next few days. The Leafs have only won one playoff round since he took over on May 11, 2018.
“I believe in him. Everything he does is for the good of the team. He put us in a position where we had the opportunity to win. We must not forget that, ultimately, it is the players who are on the ice.
We will see if Brendan Shanahan, the president of the team, will make the same reading of the situation.
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