The Maple Leafs Have a Bigger Problem Than Coaching

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are understandably frustrated. Six losses in seven games will do that, particularly after a stretch that included a convincing win over Edmonton. Jim Hiller is taking criticism, Sergei Bobrovsky is struggling, and even the coach's decisions about who plays and how much are becoming talking points.

But I wonder whether we're looking at a bigger problem than coaching.

What kind of team do the Maple Leafs want to be?

The Maple Leafs seem caught between two ideas of what this team should be. For years, Toronto built around offensive talent. Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and now Gavin McKenna give the organization plenty of skill. Yet the team has repeatedly tried to become more defensively responsible without losing what made it dangerous offensively. That's easier said than done.

Hiller arrived with a reputation for structure and defensive discipline. Those are worthwhile qualities, particularly for a team that has struggled to keep pucks out of its net. But there's a difference between making a talented team more responsible and asking that team to play a style that doesn't necessarily suit its strengths.

Maple Leafs’ decisions are raising questions.

The recent ice-time decision involving Ryan Tverberg and Gavin McKenna caught my attention. Giving a young AHL call-up more time than the first-overall pick might make sense in a particular matchup or situation. Coaches make those decisions for reasons we don't always see. But when the team is losing, those choices become harder to explain to fans who are wondering why the organization's most exciting young talent isn't getting more opportunity.

There's another problem here. Bobrovsky's early struggles have made the defensive concerns even more obvious. It's tempting to separate the goaltending from the coaching, but they are connected. A goalie struggling to find his footing behind a team that isn't defending particularly well is hardly an ideal combination.

And this is where I think the Maple Leafs need to take a breath before making another major move.

Will a new player or two solve the Maple Leafs’ bigger problems?

They can change a lineup, acquire a defenceman, or even reconsider the coaching situation. But none of those decisions automatically solve the larger question of what kind of hockey Toronto wants to play. Fans have heard plenty about changing the culture and building a more complete team. What they need to see now is a recognizable identity developing on the ice.

I'm not convinced Hiller is the entire problem. But he's the coach, and it's his responsibility to find a way to make this group work. The organization also has to decide whether it has given him the right ingredients. Toronto doesn't necessarily need another dramatic makeover. It needs to figure out what it wants to be before it starts making more changes.