Insider reports Leafs' Marner and Matthews era is at the end

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Ryan Hall
April 28, 2024 (2:26 PM)

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Last night's Game 4 performance was one of the most disappointing and disgusting efforts by the Toronto Maple Leafs in their recent history. Several pundits weighed in on the disastrous effort and Chris Johnston feels that the current construction of this team will be the end of the team as we know it.

It's been 8 years and many playoffs series with this core group and after all the hype and all the money spent that team has only been able to put one series together and go to the second round which was last season against the Florida Panthers. Even with that success, the team was deflated and looked weak against the Panthers and lost that series in five games.

During last night's game, it was the first-time Maple Leaf fans and the rest of the NHL saw parts of the Core 4 showing frustration with one another on the bench as Auston Matthews Mitch Marner and William Nylander began chirping at one another which led to Marner throwing a tantrum like he's 5.

«A lot of guys have been here for a while,» said captain John Tavares, before characterizing it as an example of how his teammates continue to push each other.

It's not for the sake of trying, the Maple Leafs have made many trades over the years between three general managers to try to compliment this core and yet it does not seem to work.

«I don't think there's any (frustration),» Marner added. «We're grown men. We were talking about plays out there that we just want to make sure we're all 100 percent on and know what we're doing.

It clear that this construction needs to come to an end as no matter how much the Maple Leafs try they seemed disinterested, have mental blocks, or simply do not work well in the playoffs against teams that they can beat during the regular season.

With MLSE hiring a new CEO in Keith Pelley, all executives from Brendan Shanahan all the way down to head coach Sheldon Keefe and coaching staff will be on watch espcially if the Maple Leafs go out with a whimper in this round.