Panic time, Kampf pet relief and lines with a purpose: leaflets

Here are some more stray thoughts…

If someone tells you they’re not panicking, they’re panicking

It seems like good news that the Leafs are showing some signs of panic and showing some recognition that what they tried to do this season isn’t going as planned. Since it’s not working and with the 20-game milestone fast approaching, there should be a sense of urgency. Whether or not the Leafs have the right people in place to immediately adapt to a winning formula remains to be seen, but accepting that things are a mess is a good start.

The problem with it all being a mess is that it also means you have to ask the tough question of whether this group is one or two steps away from getting back on track to challenge for top spot in the division and challenge for the Cup this season. If you think the answer is yes, then spending resources on bringing in older/expensive talent may be the right course of action and the Leafs can try to move past a slow start.

If you think the Leafs problems go beyond one or two moves, this season is starting to mirror what the Rangers did last season and they’re starting to sell the players that aren’t on the Leafs while being ruthless when it comes to those cuts.

The Rangers may not be a team that’s completely back on track this season, but they recognized who they wanted to keep and made some smart additions while also getting a few future prospects in their system. Taking 2024-2025 as a loss, they are at least back in the bubble team mix on the strength of an 8-1-1 road record, and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games after a rough start to the year.

It will be interesting to see how this non-panic panic plays out for the Leafs, and while the returns of Matthews, Tanev, Woll, Stolarz, and Laughton will all provide a chance to assess what this team really looks like, and how they really play as a group, there appears to be no shortage of candidates in the organization where it might be time to move on.

Kampf’s departure will bring in some money

With Kampf in the AHL, the Maple Leafs were left with a $1,250,000 cap hit. That has now disappeared. And the Leafs now have $1.7 million in cap space to work with. That number shifts to $2.5 million when you factor in the demotion of Dennis Hildeby once Stolarz is healthy and has the potential to increase even more as Matthews, Laughton and Tanev get healthy and further demotions of Marlie occur. The Leafs aren’t locked into the 23-player approach either, although injuries and inconsistent play have made it a nice luxury.

The point is, the Leafs may be in a situation where they could consider bailing out, but it just might not be the best idea. A few years ago, Kyle Dubas made a statement that he didn’t want to spend resources on a team that wasn’t performing, and the Leafs could find themselves in that situation again. And while I’m not suggesting the Leafs find themselves in another trade deadline splash situation by re-acquiring Calle Rosen or picking up Denis Malgin, it might not be a year to add to that.

The bigger win for the Leafs could come in 2026-27, where the $1.175 million in cap space gained from this move can be put to more practical use and planned for use. As things stand now, the Leafs have over $19 million in cap space through 2026-2027.

What do you want them to achieve?

The Leafs lineup card feels like jazz, no matter what note you expect to hit, something completely different happens. When jazz is performed well, it is art at its best. When jazz is done wrong, you get Max Domi at the center.

I’ve never been a fan of jazz. I’m a formulaic pop guy. I want something catchy and easy to recognize and with that I want the Maple Leafs lines to have a purpose and put pieces that look like they would work well together on the same line.

At this point, with Auston Matthews out, it’s difficult to put together the final Maple Leafs lines. Even Scott Laughton’s absence hurts that, but maybe it’s as simple as asking what the Leafs want each line to do and sending them out to do it.

Let’s start at the bottom.

I want the Maple Leafs to hit someone.

Good news: Steven Lorentz, Dakota Joshua and Sammy Blais are capable of that. There is a perfectly acceptable fourth rule.

I want the Maple Leafs to play good two-way hockey

I want scoring opportunities

I want the Maple Leafs to dominate

At this point, just put Matthew Knies, William Nylander, and John Tavares together. They are what works for the team and the Maple Leafs need something to go right.

None of these rules might be perfect, but at least they would all be clear about what to do. With the number of players shuffled around the Leafs lineup card in recent weeks, I’m sure roles and expectations have shifted a lot and some confusion/chemistry issues are keeping players from doing what they do best. Simplifying things, especially in Matthews’ absence, certainly makes sense to me.