BOSTON | Obviously, faces were long in the Maple Leafs locker room. We can understand them. After all, this group, whose heart was assembled before the outbreak of the pandemic, has once again failed in the task.
For the fourth time in five seasons, the Toronto team was shown the exit door in the first round. For a team full of talent like the Leafs, this is unacceptable. Especially since she never made it past the second round.
” It’s difficult [à accepter]. It goes without saying, said Auston Matthews, about this elimination. It was a close series, I’m proud of the way the guys fought to come from behind. »
“I had no doubt we could do it. It was difficult to be reduced to the role of spectator for two games,” continued the man who missed the fifth and sixth games.
Captain of the team, John Tavares agreed.
“It’s very difficult not to move on to the next round, not to get the result you want. Especially with the group we have, mentioned the Ontarian. There’s a lot of character here. This group has always continued to believe in it. I am very proud of my teammates. »
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The man for the job?
There will certainly be some soul-searching to be done within the troops. Is Sheldon Keefe still the man for the job? Many will question his work. And this, even if before the start of the season, he signed a two-year contract extension.
The poor man will be able to defend himself by reminding his boss that he was missing an important element of his training in each of the seven games of this series.
In addition to Matthews, who also missed the third period of the fourth game, William Nylander for the first three games and Joseph Woll in the final game missed action.
In Matthews’ case, it was referred to as persistent symptoms of an illness. Then rumors arose that he was possibly injured. The top scorer on the circuit during the regular season did not want to dwell on the subject.
“I don’t want to get into that tonight. We will be able to do it over the next few days,” he limited himself to saying.
Big decisions
Brad Treliving, who has just completed his first season in the team’s general manager seat, will have to decide if the pieces of the puzzle assembled by Kyle Dubas, his predecessor, are still the right ones.
Among the players, there is no doubt about it. Just minutes after the team’s elimination, a different statement would have been surprising.
“Over the years, we grew up together, we went through different trials and good times. We became very close to each other, Matthews maintained. It’s the most united group I’ve ever had the opportunity to play for. It seems like we say the same thing every year, but it really was.”
What is also true is that the contracts of Matthews ($13.25 million), Nylander ($11.5 million), John Tavares ($11 million) and Mitch Marner ($10.9 million) will count for $46.65 million on the payroll. This will be more than half of what will be allowed under the cap.
And with the agreements of Tavares and Marner which will have to be renegotiated, it is certain that it will not be able to hold.
