The Maple Leafs Can Keep Their Contention Window Open

It’s too early for most Toronto Maple Leafs fans to speculate on what to do this summer to get this team to the next level. Fans are understandably emotional right now due to another playoff disappointment in a long line of playoff disappointments, and many have called for a complete levelling of the personnel from management down to the players. And while very few pieces on the team have performed up to expectations, it’s unrealistic to expect a complete teardown. So, what should the Maple Leafs do this summer?

First, it’s essential to understand the current state of Maple Leafs management. President of hockey operations Brendan Shanahan has no contract for next season, and it sure doesn’t seem like he will get one with Toronto. Not after the complete collapse of this Maple Leafs team that just could never win when it mattered the most. Shanahan came into Toronto and unveiled the Shanaplan, which was objectively a failure as the Maple Leafs never made it out of the second round and lost every Game 7 they ever played in under his watch. Regardless of the results, Shanahan never wavered from his plan, even when it became apparent that he needed to pivot. Ultimately, he remained steadfast, and it likely cost him his job, or at the very least, it should have.

That should be the first significant domino to fall, and it will be another major shakeup in Toronto after they let general manager Kyle Dubas walk two years ago and sent former head coach Sheldon Keefe packing last summer. But that can’t be it, Toronto can’t just march in another president of hockey operations and call it a summer; they need real change on the ice, palpable, brutal, change that shakes the makeup of their hockey team. It cannot be tinkering around the edges like the team has done in the summers past.

Toronto needs to let Mitch Marner walk; unfortunately, he will set sail for nothing in return. Toronto will gain significant cap space, and how they use it will be imperative to their future success. During his nine years in the NHL, Marner was an incredible point producer in Toronto, producing 221 goals and 520 assists in 657 career NHL games. The 28-year-old was also solid defensively and killed penalties, averaging 92 points per 82 games. But his playoff numbers were abysmal by his standards, tallying just 13 goals and 50 assists in 70 career playoff games. Marner went quiet when it mattered most, and he was never a game breaker for Toronto when the stakes were at their…