Berube sends a direct challenge to the Leafs' leadership group before Buffalo

With Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres potentially a make or break for the Maple Leafs' season, all hands need to be on deck when it comes to leadership, production and effort.

The team is aware of how rough it's been and Craig Berube can only do so much behind the bench. It's the leaders and veterans who need to rally around and figure out a solution, even those who are on the shelf still need to help give input and rally around each other.

However, it was up to the core leaders of the Maple Leafs to get it done on Monday according to Berube as he pulled the veterans and letter-holders aside and explained what he needs from them going forward.

For him, it's not difficult -- just play harder:

Knowing who was involved we can narrow it down and see who is bearing the brunt of the responsibility though we can't guarantee every name.

Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly are three locks given their captaincies, and you've got others like Max Domi, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Scott Laughton who classify as veteran and 'senior' players, so they had a potential to be part of things.

But it's a message that Berube has been trying to instil all year and it has worked in spurts but often leads to a lot of half-hearted efforts, where the team seems to get complacent and forget to stick to the strategy.

He was upset that his bench has been quiet recently, not working with each other to be vocal and offer advice or encouragement. Laughton critiqued the effort level too recently, so there's a disconnect somewhere that's causing a lot of issues.

You pretty much have one more game to prove things to fans before things start to get ugly, and as quickly as the team was in the playoff race, they find themselves near the basement of the Atlantic with no ladder in sight.

Buffalo is a notoriously stingy opponent and often have Toronto's number even if they have been one of the worst teams over the past decade.

It doesn't matter whether the Sabres are dead last or the Maple Leafs are first (or anything in between) it's always a hard game.

Now add to that the heater Buffalo has been on since firing Kevyn Adams and you have a recipe for disaster if Berube's squad comes out with another listless performance.

This is the time for the leaders to step up. For the most part they've done what they need to on the scoreboard, but it's the small things that are compounding into bigger issues.

If the captain and his band of misfits can't steer the ship, it feels like there might be a bit of a mutiny in Toronto with the potential of both the coach and his players to walk the plank.

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