Sergei Bobrovsky isn’t pretending the Maple Leafs are where they need to be. He sees a team with work to do, and he thinks the bumps in the road are part of the process.
Toronto is sitting 3-3-1, and the early record has come with some rough losses. The message from Bobrovsky is simple: if the Maple Leafs want to be ready later in the season, they have to clean up the mess now. That means stopping the blown leads, tightening up the defensive end and getting better lineup management in place.
“You either win or you have a lesson to learn to get better. I think it's a good lesson.
I think we gave up a lot of chances 5-on-5 and I think it can be cleaned up. As we learn, those mistakes can be fixed and then we move on.
We have a really good team here.”
That’s the kind of blunt veteran talk that amounts to tough love. Bobrovsky isn’t saying the season is lost - far from it. His point is that there’s still time to sort things out, but the mistakes have to be addressed before they pile up.
Toronto’s issues haven’t been limited to one area, either. Bobrovsky’s own numbers tell part of the story: a 1-2-2 record, a 3.34 GAA and a .896 SV%. Solid in stretches, sure, but not the level expected from him at $7M.
The bigger question is whether the whole roster needs a wake-up call, or whether the fix is more specific. Morgan Rielly, for one, has to sharpen his defensive game. Whether that means watching tape or putting in work away from practice with a skills coach, the source of the problem is clear: he has already been detrimental to the team early on, and Toronto will keep leaking goals if that doesn’t change.
There’s also the matter of how the Maple Leafs play when the stars aren’t carrying the load. The offense has leaned heavily on the usual names, while Colton Sissons, Bo Groulx, Brandon Duhaime, Zack McEwen and Teddy Blueger have combined for just two points, both from Sissons. That’s not enough production from the bottom of the lineup, even if the group is expected to bring some defensive bite.
Something has to give there, whether it comes from a lineup shuffle or from internal options like Miles Wood or Brendan Brisson. The bottom six can’t be asked only to defend. They have to contribute more than that.
Jim Hiller is part of the lesson, too. The criticism is that he needs to adjust instead of getting stuck in his ways.
Once Toronto gets a lead, the tendency has been to sit back and try to protect it. The problem is that this team doesn’t have the defensive personnel to pull that off.
The better approach is to keep pressing, because the current method has already cost them games.
Bobrovsky’s point is clear enough: the Maple Leafs can still turn this into something useful, but only if they take the lesson seriously.
In Other News...
Oilers Linked To A Top-Six Target They May Struggle To Land
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The loss also came with a more worrying subplot for Toronto, as John Tavares left in the third period after an awkward collision with Josh Norris. Jim Hiller had no update afterward, leaving the Leafs to wait on the status of one of their most important veterans while the rest of the league keeps churning through its own trade and roster chatter. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Forward Depth Suddenly Has A New Jason Dickinson Problem
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John Tavares has only added to the uncertainty up front. He is being treated as day-to-day after heading down the tunnel following an awkward collision, and the coach had no firm update on his status. For a Leafs team trying to build rhythm, the concern is less about any one missed game than the way a few nagging injury questions can start to stack up all at once. [Read more 🡒]
Morgan Rielly Is Forcing A Leafs Decision They Wanted To Avoid
Morgan Riellys season has put the Maple Leafs in an uncomfortable spot they hoped to avoid. The veteran defenseman has not been the driving force Toronto needs from the back end, and his play over the past two years has only sharpened the questions around how much value he still provides in a top role. With other defensemen on the roster offering a mix of steadier minutes and more specific contributions, the contrast has made Riellys struggles harder to ignore.
Toronto does not sound ready to make a dramatic move, but the discussion around Rielly is clearly shifting from concern to decision-making. The Leafs would like a version of him that looks closer to the player they expected, yet the path to getting there may involve uncomfortable lineup adjustments or, eventually, a bigger reset. For a team that has leaned on him for so long, even the possibility of a reduced role says plenty about where things stand. [Read more 🡒]