Maple Leafs ranked among the worst following front office confidence survey

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Cooper Godin
August 9, 2024 (7:33 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were recently ranked among the worst following a front office confidence survey by The Athletic.

Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have been trying to buy in to what their management group has been selling for years now and despite changes in the General Manager role, the results have stayed the same.

In the Brendan Shanahan era, the Toronto Maple Leafs have won just one series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which came in the first round in 2023 when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fans have been wanting this core featuring Auston Matthew, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares to take that next step and get over the hump for a deep playoff run, but it hasn't happened yet.

As with any team that goes through a rough patch, fans will place the blame all over, from the management group, coaching staff and the players, but going into the 2024-25 season, with a new head coach, some solid defensive signings and a second season at the helm for Brad Treliving, things look promising for Maple Leafs fans, but we'll have to wait and see if this team is able to get past the first round next spring.

Recently, The Athletic released their results from a survey that asked fans how confident they were in their team's front office. Some of the categories they were asked to rank were - roster building, cap management, and trading, among others.

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, they were given a D grade, which had them 30th among the NHL's 32 teams, with only the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders behind them. The lowest grade the Maple Leafs were given was a D- for trading, while the highest was a C for drafting & developing players.

"A lot of the league's top contenders are where they are thanks in large part to savvy management. They maximize and optimize their team's chances, giving their club the best shot to win that they can." The Athletic said.

They went on to add, "At the start of the Shanaplan, it certainly felt like the Leafs were one of those teams. It's getting harder and harder to feel like Toronto is on the cutting edge given the lackluster playoff results over the last decade and some of the decisions made to get there. A lot of what the Leafs do feels safe, boring and bland. It's as if the decisions are made via a focus group to minimize risk � hit a few singles instead of swinging for the fences."

It'll be interesting to see if this grade changes in the summer of 2025, but that will all depend on what the Maple Leafs are able to accomplish this coming season and what their management group does to the roster in the next 12 months. If the Maple Leafs have yet another early playoff exit in 2025, there could be big changes to the roster by not re-signing pending UFAs Mitch Marner and John Tavares, as well as the possibility of firing Brendan Shanahan, something fans have called for over the last year or so.

Source: The Athletic
NHL front-office confidence rankings, 2024: How fans feel about every team

Source- Maple Leafs Daily
Maple Leafs Fans' confidence in front office ranks amongst the lowest in the NHL