Former Maple Leaf details where the current front office has gone wrong
The Toronto Maple Leafs have let their fans down in a big way over the past few years, and now a former player has revealed exactly where they went wrong.
While the Toronto Maple Leafs forward group is one of the most loaded in the NHL, they have not managed to make it beyond the first round except for one single season in the past 20 years. Now, former Maple Leaf Carlo Colaiacovo has revealed that it's one major flaw with the front office that's clearly holding this team back.
«The only thing that I do agree with on these rankings is their drafting and developing. They deserve a ‘C' because, as I've stated all along – and this goes back to when Kyle Dubas was managing this team – when you put yourself in a position to build a salary structure with your team where you're going to build around four forwards, and it is going to occupy a large percentage of your cap, almost half of your cap, how the heck, organizationally, you did not decide to draft and develop more stud defensemen is beyond me,» Colaiacovo explained.
The team have perhaps tried to rectify this error in the 2024 NHL Draft, as they reached for Ben Danford of the OHL, who fits the exact profile that Colaiacovo reveals the team have been missing for a number of years beyond Morgan Rielly.
«That's what has kept this organization back. Since Morgan Rielly, what defenseman has this team drafted and developed that has been a stud on defense?» Colaiacovo asked. "Justin Holl, (Rasmus) Sandin, (Timothy) Liljegren – that's where the organizational failure has been with this team. You've built around four forwards, and you just continue to draft forwards to play with those guys.»
With Mitch Marner and potentially John Tavares on the way out in the coming years, this could free up plenty of cap space for the Maple Leafs to continue development on the blue line and even add a blue chip young player, but for now, they just don't have anyone ready to take the leap to the NHL. Only time will tell whether or not Brad Treliving can succeed where Kyle Dubas clearly failed, but with the Eastern Conference tougher than it's been in some time, even if they can fix these flaws, it's not going to be easy to chase the Stanley Cup.
Source: Hockey Feed
Ex-Leaf reveals biggest problem with current Maple Leafs
Ex-Leaf reveals biggest problem with current Maple Leafs
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10 AOUT | 123 ANSWERS Former Maple Leaf details where the current front office has gone wrong Will the Maple Leafs make it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024/25? | ||
| Yes | 72 | 58.5 % |
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