Insider says Leafs have time to figure things out

TSN Insider Bob Mckenzie is telling Toronto Maple Leafs fans to cool their jets as the team attempts to figure out exactly what the problem is when it comes to winning games. Appearing on TSN’s Overdrive, McKenzie said luckily for the Leafs, they play in the Atlantic Division and, other than the Boston Bruins, no team is playing all that consistently this year.

“Outside of the Bruins, in this division, you look at the Florida Panthers, you look at the Montreal Canadiens, you look at the Tampa Bay Lightning…I’m just saying if it takes a month to figure things out, you might have a month to figure things out this year.”

McKenzie adds that’s very different from last year when Tampa Bay was running away with the division title and Boston and Toronto were essentially duking it out to see who would get home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

“We knew mid-season that Tampa the best team (in the Atlantic). They were not going to get caught. And Boston and Toronto were just going to fight for home ice, and nobody else in the division was coming. It’s the exact opposite this year. The Bruins look like they’re going to run and hide on everybody, but virtually every position after that—Florida, Montreal, Toronto, the Lightning, Sabres—everybody, it’s like a dog’s breakfast.

McKenzie’s assessment might come as cold comfort to some Leaf fans, though. With a 13-13-4 record on the season so far, the team is nowhere near where analysts thought they would be before the year began in October. Following the firing of coach Mike Babcock, Toronto appeared to be reinvigorated, going 3-0 in their first three games. Since then, the team has dropped three of their last four and seems to be having trouble scoring, the one area the Leafs shouldn’t be having an issue with. Despite all that, McKenzie says fans should probably relax a bit.

“I understand the mindset of Leafs’ fans is to look at the collective picture and throw up their hands and say ‘this team is going nowhere’, and maybe that’s the case. But I’m saying it’s way too early to tell. And the division might be forgiving enough that it gives you some time to figure it out.”

Now, loyal Leafs fans, it’s up to you to decide whether McKenzie has a point, or whether he’s blowing smoke. You can see watch McKenzie's full comments below.