Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs Facing Pressure to Fix One Big Problem

Auston Matthews has been a much different player this season under Craig Berube.

Not only is he being relied on more defensively, but is adding a new weapon being his playmaking ability.

An assist machine, he was able to find open lanes while preventing opponents from being able to capitalize.

But the team needs scoring, and while it's great that Matthews is becoming a more well-rounded player, he's expected to be one of the top, if not the leading scorer of the team.

Which is why it's pretty bad that Brad Treliving hasn't had a sit-down with Berube and discussed Matthews' role a bit more.

The NHL's best goal scorer over the past half a decade has been lights out, but this season is only lining up for exactly half of the offensive zone faceoffs.

Compared to other top stars who are consistently put in a position to make things happen, Matthews is the opposite, being asked to prevent chances instead of make them.

All find and dandy but for a team that's as anemic as Toronto is when it comes to secondary scoring, they need him to show up and show up fast.

One goal in five games is not very Auston Matthews like, and in relation to his contemporaries almost feels handcuffed under Berube's new style of play.

While it's great that his playmaking is top notch and he's become more of a complete player, he's being relied on way too heavily and should lead way for someone like David Kampf to come in and help out.

Toronto's top PK and one of their best defensive centers has sat out in favor of stubbornness.

It's not working, and something has to change. If it's a lineup change that needs to be considered to help lessen the workload on the captain, or if it's giving him the green light to fire at will; something has to be figured out with only two games to do so.

Didn't Brad Treliving trade Nikita Grebenkin and a first-round pick for a defensively sound forward who can help?

Where's Scott Laughton? Why not give him a chance to play with Matthews at times?

Marner's arguably been the better player between the two, so let him run with Tavares and Nylander; have Matthew Knies patrol his own line with the other big boys and wreak havoc on the Senators physically.

is it wonky, sure is. But with only a couple games left, time is of the essence and if Craig Berube's stubbornness doesn't get put in check a bit, he could have led the team to their biggest failure ever in the Auston Matthews era.

Simply by not letting him be Auston Matthews.