The Toronto Maple Leafs are the talk of the hockey world once again. Toronto made a ton of moves this summer to try to give its roster a new look. Mitch Marner joined the Vegas Golden Knights, while the likes of Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, and Nicolas Roy came in to replace him.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that this has worked thus far. In fact, one NHL writer is willing to say the team is regretting its decisions. Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson included Toronto in a list of teams that may be feeling buyer’s remorse.
“It wasn’t going to be easy for any of those players to fill Marner’s skates. Maccelli began the season on the Leafs’ top line but has been moved to their second line. Roy and Joshua have skated on the third and fourth lines. Nevertheless, they haven’t yet provided the kind of depth the Leafs were hoping for when the season began,” Richardson wrote on Tuesday.
Maple Leafs Already Feeling Frustrated With Performance
Chris Tanouye/Getty ImagesThe Toronto Maple Leafs attempted to replace Mitch Marner with the likes of Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua.
The Maple Leafs have only played six games to this point in the season. However, frustrations with their play are already coming to the surface. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz called out the team following their 4-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, in fact.
“I thought the first two periods we kinda let them walk all over us,” Stolarz said, via The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel. “They outworked us in front of the net. They blocked shots, they beat us up and down the ice and the score was indicative of that.”
“Enough’s enough. We kinda got to start picking it up here.”
Stolarz also commented on how easy it was for Seattle to get their looks. Toronto didn’t challenge the Kraken much during the game. And it allowed the opposing team to accomplish a lot of what they wanted to do.
Another incident during the game certainly added to the frustration. Kraken forward Mason Marchment collided with Stolarz in the third period. No one wearing Blue and White reacted to this until Stolarz flipped the net and went at Marchment.
Things have been settled in the Maple Leafs locker room as of now. However, the frustration certainly remains. And Toronto will try to get back on track against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
Mitch Marner Replacements Still Settling In
As Richardson mentioned, the players brought in to replace Marner’s production haven’t exactly put up inspiring numbers. Maccelli, Roy, and Joshua have combined for a goal and four points in six games to begin the year.
Maccelli is a young player who can certainly improve. The coaching staff gave him looks on the first line, as well. However, this has not worked out. And coach Craig Berube changed his lines as a result.
Joshua and Roy, on the other hand, were never seen as big-time point producers. In fact, neither player has a 20-goal season under their belt. And only one of them — Roy — has a 40+ point season to his name.
Toronto opted to add depth to its roster rather than go big game hunting. The Maple Leafs are not having the worst start imaginable, as they are 3-2-1 entering Tuesday’s game. However, this is certainly not the sort of production they wanted out of their offseason acquisitions.
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