Slow Start

image via the leafsnation dot com

I will make this short and sweet. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been a major disappointment almost one quarter into the current season. Their skilled players are performing at a decent level and putting up points, but defensively they have been atrocious and it shows up on a game per game basis. Not having Tanev for much of the season hurts, but the entire team needs to be better and better soon or the playoffs will be a pipe dream.

The only solace is that the other usual power houses of the East are also slumping and the standings are sort of upside down right now with the likes of the Canadiens, Senators, Red Wings and Penguins holding down playoff spots. Damn, the only team with fewer points than the Leafs right now is the Sabres! Yikes.

Do I have faith that the Leafs will turn it around? They have done that in the past, but right now things are very bleak. Do they need a shake up? I do not think so, Berube is trying his best to get the right combination of players to lead to a winning formula, but at the end of the day the players need to step up. All of them.