Thoughts on Barry Trotz as Leaf Coach

 

Photo From ESPN

With the Leafs finishing a frustrating October with a 4-4-2 record with just ten points in the first ten games. This Monday morning, we have seen the Leaf fanbase in their usual form thinking the world is ending and the Leafs need a change, I have even seen some people say the Leafs need to blow it up and start fresh which is just embarrassing but not surprising. Many fans are questioning if Sheldon Keefe has lost the room and it’s a fair question to ask but personally, I don’t think that is what’s happening here, but for fun lets look at the coaching situation. Every Leaf fan is praying for Barry Trotz to take over behind the bench and it’s simply because he is the marquee name. Remember not too long ago this fanbase was planning the parade when Brandon Shanahan announced that Mike Babcock was the head coach of the Maple Leafs, I didn’t have this blog then, but I was praising the hire and supported the tanking season that brought us Auston Matthews. Then we enjoyed runs to the post season but after three years fans and players grew tired of Mike Babcock, and we saw a coaching change made. Early into the 19-20 season Sheldon Keefe took over which everyone saw coming a mile away and early in the Sheldon Keefe tenure the mood in Leafs Nation was a positive one because the team were winning games, everyone seemed to ignore the defensive issues that remained because they were winning games. The Leafs still had ups and downs like losing to a 42-year-old Zamboni driver who works for MLSE but Toronto thanks to deadline additions stumbled into the post season before losing in five games against Columbus. Everyone still had a positive attitude with Keefe because they all thought “well he hasn’t had a full season with the team”. Next, we had the pandemic season that saw Toronto win the North Division but fall to Montreal in seven games why? Defensive issues. Last year we saw Toronto start the season slowly finishing October with a 4-4-1 record and nine points before finding their groove in November and finishing with their best season in Franchise history picking up 115 points, the team would end up losing to Tampa Bay in seven games.

Sheldon Keefe as Leafs coach has a record of 120-54-21 giving him a .669 winning percentage in the regular season. I need every Leaf fan to take their time reading this so that it hopefully registers, Sheldon Keefe the guy everyone wants fired has the best winning percentage then any other Leaf coach in team history. That’s better then Pat Burns or Pat Quinn who were loved by this fanbase. Trust me when I tell you Sheldon Keefe is not this team’s issue, the issue is defensively this team struggles. How many times did I mention defensive issues in the beginning of this article? Heading into this season Toronto saw Timothy Liljegren dealing with a sports hernia injury something unexpected, then Jordie Benn got hurt in the preseason, and once again Jake Muzzin suffered a bad neck injury against Dallas. The Leafs problem is their defense doesn’t have the depth that they had hoped for simply because their blue line is so beat up. I mentioned it in my previous article about Justin Holl that if the lineup was healthy would be the team’s 6^th or 7^th defenseman but because of all the injuries Holl must be paired in the top four because they don’t have the depth anywhere else. They are using Filip Kral on defense someone who in a normal situation would be getting regular minutes with the Toronto Marlies but he’s up here because Mete hasn’t been feeling 100%. If this defense was healthier this team would be in a better situation and in a better spot in the standings as well. The Leafs have a few days before a Wednesday night meeting at home against the Flyers and it sounds like both Benn and Liljegren could be available and if they are that could mean Holl slides down the depth chart and onto a lower pairing or possibly out of the lineup. Now, with these two returning it doesn’t automatically solve the blue line issues but it’s a start.

Don’t get me wrong I am a fan of Barry Trotz as coach he has been successful in the league and whenever he decides to return any team that gets him will be lucky and in time will surely have success but if Leaf fans think Wednesday against Philadelphia that Trotz will be behind the Leaf bench I’m sorry to tell you, but you guys have a better chance of winning the Lottery. Barry Trotz coming in during the season isn’t the answer to solving the teams’ problems currently because Trotz will inherent an injured defense group, he would still inherent a bottom six forward group struggling to produce. So as frustrating as things are right now and believe me, I get it because I am frustrated too but right now all we can do is be patient and hope that with Liljegren and Benn returning hopefully they will bring a much-needed boost to the defense.

Saturday night we heard Elliott Friedman mention that Toronto was in talks to acquire Ethan Bear from Carolina but decided against it because Kyle didn’t want to part with another high draft pick but that tells us Kyle is working the phone trying to make a move that will better the team, but fans need to learn its easier said then done but at least he is trying to fix the problems in the lineup. Of course, if the Leafs struggles carry into November, then Dubas may have no choice but to make a coaching change but personally I think this team will climb back into the win column and I also think it is more likely that Shanahan will see how this season goes and make changes in the offseason because both Keefe and Dubas’s contracts expire at seasons end.

If Shanahan were to fire Dubas in season like some fans may also want my question to you is simply Who’s the replacement? And how does it better the team? Look at the Vancouver Canucks they fired Jim Benning and brought in Patrick Alvin. He inherited a bad team that Benning built that had many issues due to bad contracts and poor signings but under Alvin the Canucks are still a bad team that he is trying to acquire pieces to improve the team, but it is going to be a very long road for Vancouver and their fans.

If and when there is a management change for the Toronto Maple Leafs it will likely be after the season ends April 13^th or whenever the teams post season happens to end, because then Shanahan will be able to put a management and coaching staff in place that can work through the upcoming draft and free agency and build a team that can play the style that Barry Trotz has his teams play, if he is in fact hired.

Like I said I completely understand the frustration of the fans but all the hot takes I see from people online are simply massive overreactions. This Leaf team finished October with a better record then last year even though it doesn’t feel like it, now I know everyone who reads that will laugh but numbers don’t lie ten points is better than nine. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again I strongly believe that this team will improve as players get healthy, and the Leafs and their fans will begin to breathe a little easier when the wins arrive.

Thanks as always for reading and remember let’s be patient.