Why Maple Leafs Camp Feels Different This Year Compared to the Past Decade
Photo credit: Toronto Maple Leafs - X
According to NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, the atmosphere in the Maple Leafs locker room is night and day from how it's been, which could lead to much more success.
A lot has changed over the last few months for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mitch Marner is out of town, Brendan Shanahan was let go, and now the team is solely running through both Brad Treliving and Craig Berube; the identity change is in full effect.
The locker room environment is seemingly healing, and with the team seemingly as close as ever right now, things could be very successful for the Maple Leafs come playoff time.
How the Atmosphere Around Maple Leafs Camp Has Shifted
But it seems that this new identity change has been something needed for a decade, and with a solid direction and no real pressing questions ahead of them it can only mean good things.
That's what NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun thinks, and speaking on TSN's coverage of the Maple Leafs' training camp he mentioned how things are night and day compared to years past:
Let's start with the mood in that room today when they met.
To me it's unmistakable how light the mood was compared to the past decade. We're talking no more 'Shana-Plan', How do they turn the page, how do they get better? Marner; that hung over the entire room the entire year last year.
A few years ago, Kyle Dubas entering the final year of his deal, then Sheldon Keefe a lame-duck coach. It's always a situation where you felt people had their hair on fire on this day and the story got fed from there.
Sink or swim, this is more than ever Craig Berube and Brad Treliving's team. There's a calmness around this team right now. Doesn't mean they'll figure it out like the previous administration, but there's a definite calmness.
To me it's unmistakable how light the mood was compared to the past decade. We're talking no more 'Shana-Plan', How do they turn the page, how do they get better? Marner; that hung over the entire room the entire year last year.
A few years ago, Kyle Dubas entering the final year of his deal, then Sheldon Keefe a lame-duck coach. It's always a situation where you felt people had their hair on fire on this day and the story got fed from there.
Sink or swim, this is more than ever Craig Berube and Brad Treliving's team. There's a calmness around this team right now. Doesn't mean they'll figure it out like the previous administration, but there's a definite calmness.
There was always some type of story coming out of Toronto where there was tension, or certain players were unhappy, or whatever the flavour of the week was.
But now there isn't really any excuse, and the team can solely focus on the task at hand.
A Fresh Start Could Help the Leafs Reset the Narrative
The story over the years was how the Core Four failed to get it done even though they had so much talent.
But that's hardly their fault, as often times the team was built with spare parts and the onus was on the superstars to make as big an impact as possible; by proxy that helped elevate some players but it was a temporary fix.
For years all we wanted Toronto to have was reliable goaltending and a proper bottom-six. It took way too long for them to bring in the proper pieces and while they may have lucked out with Anthony Stolarz; it's a move that seems like would have been ignored years prior.
The Maple Leafs are deemed as chokers, disappointments, failures; all terms that could aptly describe their attempts at a Stanley Cup over the last few years thanks to a combination of immense pressure, some questionable choices, and locker room tension.
But now, it's clear skies and all speed ahead: a refreshing change for once.
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