Craig Berube questions Maple Leafs' 'heart' after 5-2 loss as pressure builds with deadline days away

It's been a miserable stretch for the Maple Leafs coming out of the Olympic break as they have lost three in a row to divisional rivals, with their latest a 5-2 beatdown thanks to their provincial rivals, the Ottawa Senators.

Having been outscored 14-5 over that span and looking more and more like a team that needs to sell as quick as they can, things are getting hot in Toronto to say the very least.

Speaking of hot, someone no doubt feeling the fire right now is head coach Craig Berube, as his style has drawn constant criticism as of late, and it feels like he has started to lose the lustre of what once was; and everyone is started to get frustrated.

He also may have done himself no favours when it came to his post-game comments either.

Speaking to the media after the game, Berube explained that he couldn't do the team's job of playing and that they have to want it just as bad -- a sign he may have lost the plot a little bit:

Short of saying his team was bad, this is about as rough as you can get. Calling out the team for their lack of heart and competitiveness isn't a good look, and it feels very similar to what we saw earlier in the year when the team was playing with about as much passion as they do now.

Sure, it could be seen as a motivator to try and pick up the boys so to speak, but this is 60 games into the season, we aren't in mid-November. This team should have had it figured out and Berube at this point should be able to have a structured game-plan that works.

It's frustrating for the players to be shot down by their head coach, but again it is on them to perform. It's a tough balancing act that very few teams are able to find synchronicity with and right now, the players aren't listening and the coach sounds out of options.

Unfortunately, the relationship between Berube and the Maple Leafs is like oil and water; always clashing no matter how hard they try to mix.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Hockey Canada says Wayne Gretzky locker-room claim is 'not true' in official post