Toronto Maple Leafs held 'blunt' team meeting earlier this week: report
The Toronto Maple Leafs simply aren’t a very good hockey club right now.
And internally, it doesn’t seem like they’re holding back on that opinion either.
The Leafs are currently sitting 14th out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference as of Friday afternoon, and could, in fact, be in danger of losing the NHL’s longest postseason streak.
And according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the team opted to try to turn around their woes with a few honest conversations earlier this week following a 5-4 loss last weekend.
“They were an absolute mess [on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes]. And I heard that they had a meeting on Monday, a video session and a talk. And I heard it was honest, it was blunt, it was intense, and at times it was brutal, and it was pointed. I think some guys were singled out,” Friedman said on Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts.
The meeting didn’t have much of an immediate effect, however, as they then fell 5-3 to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday and 4-3 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
“And when I heard that, and then I saw how they played, for the most part, against Boston on Tuesday… they were bad for a lot of that game, really bad. And it had to be concerning that you have that kind of meeting, and that’s the response you had.”
What’s next for the bumbling Leafs?
If the Leafs are going to turn it around, they’ve got an uphill battle ahead of them. MoneyPuck.com gives them just a 12 per cent odds at the playoffs this season, which isn’t exactly a glowing review.
The positive for the Leafs is that they’re still putting up offence, as their 65 goals are tied for first in the Eastern Conference (with Boston) and fourth in the league. They’re also only two points out of a wild-card spot, with not much separating the bulk of the conference.
But if the Leafs have any hopes of even making the playoffs, they’ll have to start stringing together a few more wins than they have so far.