What to do?

The loss of Tavaras is enormous, but the Maple Leafs can still win without him. They have several options, the first one being simply putting  Keerfoot up as the second centre. I know this is probably the best option, but bear with me for a minute. I would like to see if they could move Spezza up in the slot. Spezza has been the go-to man in the past.

The Leafs have been playing pretty solidly without the services of Tavaras. The main reason is the emergence of Matthews. He has taken the load of this team and carried them. He is proving he is one of the best players in the game.

The defence has been weak at best. They are still allowing too many scoring chances. The Maple Leafs are making it way too easy for opposing teams to enter into their zone. They are making blind passes in the defensive end, panicking because of pressure. They must be more organized and better prepared in their end of the rink.

The forwards have to come back and help the defence. The must give the defencemen a target to pass the puck to and come back in the defensive zone. No more cherry-picking. We can't afford to be outnumbered in our end of the rink.

But generally, when you think of the disaster of what has happened with the injury to John Tavares, they have not done so bad. The Leafs have to keep their heads above water until John comes back. If they can still stay in the playoff hunt while John is injured, they will be a better team at the end of the season.

Randy

Maple Leaf Style

I understand the way Babcock coaches. I know it is his way or no way at all. I get it. They are expected to toe the line, or any other expression you can think of that I missed.  But there is a line. Or should I say, borderline psychotic? Seriously—the benching of Jason Spezza makes him look bad. Spezza started with the Sens. He had family there. It would have been nice to see Jason play that night. It is not like Jason has not earned his spot; he especially looked good on the second powerplay unit.

I have a feeling that Spezza was not Babcock man. To be more precise, Kyle Dubas pick to the Maple Leafs. But when a player has had the career that  Jason Spezza has, he should get a bit more respect.  Jason has taken on the role of the fourth-line centre. He played the penalty kill. He took on the role like a man.

As for the game itself, the Leafs are still playing too loose and leaving Frederik Andersen to his own devices. I understand Babcock saying the offence will have to win the games, but it looks like a rerun of last year. What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Yes, they won the game, I am just saying they need to tighten up in their own end. If the Leafs play like this, say in Tampa, they will get smoked. They can't afford the lack of discipline in their own end.

So how do we feel about the new captain? The Leafs could easily have picked one of four players; Matthews, Marner, or Rielly, and of course, Mr. Tavares. Tavares was the right choice. He is a leader by example. He makes everyone a better player. But the big story is on how Matthews accepted it. It is rumoured that he wanted the C.  Matthews could have whined and complained; instead, he took it out on the Sens. This hockey team has no issues with the leadership. The players have always put the team first and themselves second. If that continues, it might be an exciting season.