The Maple Leafs have a room full of stars and not one of them would go to war for Auston Matthews
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The reality of the situation after the Radko Gudas hit on Auston Matthews is that the current Maple Leafs team isn't built to win and some simple deals won't fix things.
The locker room atmosphere for the Maple Leafs is frosty to say the least. Their response to Auston Matthews' season-ending injury brought a lot of concerns regarding how they lead on a day to day basis.
But this is just a culmination of a much bigger issue that has been building up for the last decade, which is their consistent lack of real resilience in the face of adversity.
It's something that needs to change soon than later if they want any chance of success and according to Elliotte Friedman, at least they are going to reassess the entirety of the team from the captain on down:
A lot has happened in a very short time in Toronto; some time over the next couple of months we're gonna get a better idea about how everybody feels about the overall future of Matthews and the Maple Leafs.
Beyond Matthews' hit, let us take a look at other incidents where Toronto players just stood by.
Past playoff failures prove the team needs a more resilient identity to survive the postseason
Anthony Stolarz was run out of the playoffs by Sam Bennett, and no one did a thing; then got run over earlier this year while Brandon Carlo stood idly by.
Even going back, John Tavares was taken out in the playoffs in 2021, we have Chris Tanev being targeted a week after a concussion return and somehow Matvei Michkov didn't find himself in a fight.
They have consistently been affected by the antics of guys like Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Corey Perry. What do they all have in common? Stanley Cup wins.
It proves that the edge mentally and sometimes physically over your opponents is a much more important tool that seemingly only winners possess which would make sense why Toronto hasn't won in forever.
But it also shows the heart and passion extends beyond the locker room. Teams like Boston and Florida are united fronts. They are best friends. They play for each other and pick up the slack every night.
Toronto has a bunch of expensive players who are seemingly trying for their bonuses instead.
An intense look at the locker room reveals why a mandatory culture shift is more important than trades
We heard a lot about the bond Scott Laughton created, and with him shipped out of town - who is there now to rally the troops? If he was still on the team when Gudas hit Matthews, the defender may be missing games for an entirely different reason.
It took a decade, but MLSE is starting to realize the culture has to be their first before the talent. If there's a group of elite talent but no foundation to set them on, they're going to sink pretty quickly; it's why you need the Marchand-esque players.
We aren't saying the Maple Leafs need to fight everything that moves, but if they want to save their jobs then maybe they need to start acting accordingly. Just become a nuisance to play against; get angry, these are your 'brothers'.
It's no longer about finding elite playmakers for Auston Matthews, but giving him players who care about him enough to step up when he goes down.
If Toronto can't give him that, then it might not be long before the captain starts thinking about where else he may want to play.
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The Maple Leafs just pulled a classic Toronto move by winning a game they arguably needed to lose
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Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
MARS 16|714 ANSWERS The Maple Leafs have a room full of stars and not one of them would go to war for Auston Matthews Do you think the Maple Leafs are cleaning house after the reaction to Auston Matthews' injury? | ||
| Yes | 605 | 84.7 % |
| No | 109 | 15.3 % |
| List of polls | ||