Dakota Joshua has been completely underwhelmed in the first two months of the season, sliding into the bottom six with a few chances in the top six due to a spate of injuries. Joshua throws hits but does little else, and has not lived up to the secondary scoring expectations placed on him after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks this summer.
“Really motivated,” Blais said Saturday morning, via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. “Definitely a little more on my shoulder tonight. It’s going to be exciting.”
It didn’t seem to matter. Blais didn’t make a shot in 9:39 of playing time and barely made a dent during his playing time. To be clear, Blais’ return to the lineup over Quillan isn’t the primary reason the Maple Leafs lost, but it does speak to the idea that Berube is ruled by sentiment.
Domi, Joshua, Jarnkrok and Matias Maccelli are all underperforming compared to expectations, and they shouldn’t be above reproach. They haven’t earned the benefit of the doubt, or the benefits that come with seniority, as the Maple Leafs spiral out of control through their first 22 games. There’s always discussion about development, at least in the abstract, but put that concept aside for a moment: the Maple Leafs should submit their top pick based on performance and little else. Sentimental value has no place for a team that habitually turns the puck over and cannot provide their goaltender with reasonable defensive zone coverage on a semi-consistent basis.
#room #sentimental #Maple #Leafs #lineup