Former coach is highly critical of the Leafs and Toronto.

Leafs former head coach Paul Maurice was asked to share his thoughts on the situation in Toronto, and never one to pull any punches Maurice spoke his mind freely. As per the Brandon Sun:

“If you’re saying something good about a player, he’s a rock star, and if a guy has a tough night and you want to deal with the media honestly, you’ve got to be careful about how hard you go at his play because then the next day or maybe even that day, it’s a drive-by shooting,” “They’ll find something that’s not going and it’s 40 people in the stall figuring out whether they should trade him, play him more or execute him.”

Really strong comments from Maurice who made it clear he feels the media in Toronto is a huge part of the problem, but he's not the first former Leafs coach to criticize the team, and he likely won't be the last. Maurice admitted that he may not have been prepared for the Toronto media, and stated the only guy he felt really had a handle on it was the late great Pat Quinn.

"I thought Pat Quinn was probably the best at it because for the most part everybody was a little afraid of him."

Unfortunately there was only one Pat Quinn, and he's no longer with us. Shanahan will be hard pressed to find the right players and personnel to handle the overwhelming pressure of this market.