Maple Leafs don’t want to make a coaching change in-season but…
TSN: Bob McKenzie said on Insider Trading before last night’s Toronto Maple Leafs game that he doesn’t believe that management really wants to make a coaching change in-season.
“I don’t believe for a moment that the Toronto Maple Leafs organization from Brendan Shanahan all the way down to GM Kyle Dubas is predisposed to want to make a coaching change in season, I don’t believe that is the plan at all. But I also don’t believe the Toronto Maple Leafs can have many more games like they did on Saturday night, which makes (Tuesday’s) game against the Vegas Golden Knights and Thursday’s game against Arizona and Saturday’s game against Colorado vitally important to show that these players aren’t rolling over and playing dead.”
On Babcock and their biggest area of need
ESPN: Greg Wyshynski, Emily Kaplan, Dimitri Filipovic, and Rick DiPietro on what is wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs and what to do to fix them.
If Mike Babcock has lost the room and is not going to utilize the roster the way it should be, it may be time to move on. DiPietro notes that their cap issues may it hard to make an impactful trade, so firing Babcock may be on the only way to shake things up.
Wyshynski wonders about trying to add a Pittsburgh Penguins backup – Tristan Jarry or Casey DeSmith – as well as flipping Tyson Barrie plus for fellow pending UFA Justin Schultz.
Kaplan suggests buying low on DeSmith or swinging for Jarry. Bracco and a draft pick for Jarry?
Both Filipovic and DiPietro believe the Maple Leafs need to add a backup goalie as well.
Sabres still looking
ESPN: Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill said yesterday at the GM meetings that he is “actively looking” for help at forward.
The Sabres are dealing with some injuries up front – Kyle Okposo, Tage Thompson, Johan Larsson, Marcus Johansson, and Vladimir Sobotka – and are lacking depth.
They are lacking secondary scoring.