The Maple Leafs can't pin this slump on Craig Berube, and the real issue is finally showing
Photo credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs losses can't all be blamed on Craig Berube, but can't be blamed just on injuries either.
After a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto falls to 9-10-3, once again below .500 as the team faces continuing and worsening woes.
Toronto's struggles this season have been exacerbated by frequent injury issues that have hit at the heart of the team and have sidelined key stars.
Craig Berube spoke after the Leafs 5-2 loss against Montreal on Saturday, saying the team, and himself, need to do better as a veteran group.
Along the players currently injured are Captain Auston Matthews and fellow top-line winger Matthew Knies, along with starting netminder Anthony Stolarz.
On defense, Toronto is without key leaders in Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, and against Montreal gained another injury in Jake McCabe.
McCabe left in the second period against the Canadiens after taking a puck to the face, not returning to the game.
Toronto will have until Wednesday to reset, but with the time to have the team turn a new leaf, it's unlikely changes will come on the coaching side once the Leafs get back into action.
Why firing Craig Berube isn't even on the table right now
The Toronto Maple Leafs front office still has faith in head coach Craig Berube, but he'll need to prove himself more after the Leafs short break.
GM Brad Treliving specifically has said that his faith in Berube hasn't wavered, and Berube still has the backing to be in control on the ice.
Firing Craig Berube may be something too hasty for the Leafs to even consider as of right now, even with their current struggles so far this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs injury issues are one major aspect giving Craig Berube clear leeway to avoid getting any major blame for the Leafs challenges.
With multiple injuries hindering the Leafs potential, Craig Berube is largely handicapped from putting out his best roster, and paying the price.
How the Leafs' injury chaos exposes the real accountability problem
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been hampered by injuries, but injuries have also exposed real issues for the Leafs roster.
The Leafs have not been able to overcome their injury problems, and the rest of the roster isn't showing they can make up for the lost bodies.
Players such as Matthews and Knies are hard replacements, but for a Leafs team that still has stars in John Tavares and William Nylander, offense is still struggling to come.
More specifically, offense isn't coming from the Leafs depth. Toronto is without Nicolas Roy, furthering the lack of production in the bottom-six, but the rest of the team is struggling to make it up.
Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Joshua, & Nicolas Roy all have just a point in their last 10 games. Domi has just two points in his last 10 and Lorentz with four points.
Toronto has also struggled with goals allowed, second in the League despite getting points in their own end from their key forwards.
While Craig Berube does have more to prove with his roster management following multiple injuries, the Leafs roster too needs to get things going, and avoid again being too reliant on a few stars rather than a team effort.
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