After a very good start to the 2013-14 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs now find themselves out of a playoff spot. Trends such as giving up far too many shots, taking far too few shots themselves and relying on their goaltending duo to sustain very high save percentages have begun to catch up with them.
Calls to fire Randy Carlyle have become rampant from media and fans. Discussion has been more heated in recent weeks as the Leafs have faltered.
The Leafs are currently in ninth place in the East. The standings are so tight, however, that 49 points puts them two points out of fifth, or two points out of thirteenth, depending on your view.
Firing Carlyle might result in a slight bump in the standings, but coaching does not appear to be the primary issue in this current swoon. He's a proven winner, and while he might not be a media darling, he has worked well with young players in his coaching career.
The bottom line is that Carlyle knows how to win at the professional level. It's possible that he doesn't have the personnel to employ his systems, but there are other, more important issues for the Leafs ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by James Onusko
What the Toronto Maple Leafs Must Do to Climb Back Into Playoff Contention
January 14th, 2014 by James Onusko Leave a reply »
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