‘It’s Time’: Leafs Know They’re Running Out of Playoff Breakthrough Chances – TSN.ca

TORONTO — Kyle Dubas didn’t just double down.

The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager pushed his chips all-in — a decision that could significantly affect his tenure in the high-pressure role he’s held since spring 2018.

Dubas once again resisted any potential off-season urge to blow up the core of his highly qualified but playoff-starved squad after another first-round elimination last May.

Toronto actually performed better than in previous postseason failures. The result — a razor-thin loss in seven games to two-time Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning — was the same, but the feeling was that the Leafs were on to something and deserved a chance to get it back.

However, with his contract expiring at the end of the 2022/23 season, Dubas may not have a chance to make a similar decision if a group he supports unconditionally is once again unable to deliver.

So where does this belief come from?

“Being in the group every day,” said the 36-year-old manager at the start of the training camp. “When the group was younger, you try to establish yourself. Now they try to prove together that they can win.

“I don’t expect people to hear and believe that. They’re going to want us to show it, and that’s 100 percent acceptable. But I see what the group is about every day.”

This optimism is justified – at least on paper and when looking at the results of the regular season.

The playoffs were a different story.

A team led by reigning Hart Trophy winner and 60-goaler Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have failed to make the second round in six straight seasons since the club returned to the play-offs in 2016/17.

On the other hand, Toronto has also fallen to a team that has made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in the past four seasons (Boston 2019, Montreal 2021 and Tampa 2022) since future captain John Tavares signed in the summer of 2018.

The Leafs last made the playoffs in 2004 — before the NHL imposed a salary cap and before Twitter existed — and have the league’s longest Stanley Cup drought, dating back to 1967.

“It’s going to be a narrative,” said Matthews, two-time defending Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy champion as the NHL’s goaltender, of past postseason stumbles. “We can only control what we can control.”

Head coach Sheldon Keefe said the challenge ahead was clear for a team eyeing a division title for the first time in a normal season since 1999-00.

“We definitely welcome that,” he said. “An incredible opportunity for us to continue to grow as a team and continue down this path.”

“We’re not going to give up,” added defense attorney Morgan Rielly. “We will not abandon this process.”

His colleague Jake Muzzin, who won the 2014 Stanley Cup with Los Angeles, said “it’s time” to repay the trust Dubas has shown.

“We have a good opportunity,” he said. “You want to take advantage of it.”

For one man, players know their GM has his neck on the line.

“He believed in us and kept the team together,” said Nylander. “He basically bet everything on us to be successful.”

CAN MATTHEWS GO BEYOND 60?

In 2021-22, Toronto’s all-time leading player became the first NHLer to score 60 goals in a season since Steven Stamkos a decade ago.

Matthews, who has two years left on his contract and can sign an extension next summer, is reluctant to discuss statistical targets. But 65 goals – Alex Ovechkin is the last player to reach that mark in 2007/08 – could be achievable if the 25-year-old can stay in the line-up.

He scored his 60 goals last season despite missing 10 games through injury and suspension.

“I don’t think you ever know what to expect,” Rielly said of Matthews. “I wouldn’t expect anything other than a great season and a really motivated person who is one of the best players – one of the best athletes – in the world.”

FOLD QUESTION MARKS

The Leafs have made a major overhaul in their goaltending department, saying goodbye to starter Jack Campbell and underperforming Petr Mrazek.

In the spotlight are substitutes with chips on their shoulders in Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov.

A two-time Cup winner with Pittsburgh, Murray has endured a miserable season with Ottawa in the last two seasons, while Samsonov – a 2015 first-round pick – was sacked by Washington.

“A new opportunity,” Matthews said of Toronto’s new Knick duo. “Two guys who feel like they have a lot to prove.”

SCHEDULE MONITORING

The Battle of Ontario has been mostly inactive since the mid-2000s.

But with the Ottawa Senators emerging from their rebuild and the Leafs among the Atlantic Division’s big hitters, the provincial rivalry could heat up again from Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena.

Another date circled is Campbell’s return to Toronto on March 11, signing with the Edmonton Oilers in free agency. The Leafs also meet their former teammate on March 1 in the Alberta capital.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 9, 2022.

Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter.