Dubas missed the boat in deal to save sinking Leafs
GM still hasn’t fixed team’s need for help on the blue line
It took general manager Kyle Dubas four months and 54 games of watching the Toronto Maple Leafs grossly underachieve before he finally pulled the trigger on his first trade of the season.
The question isn’t whether this long-awaited deal — acquiring backup goalie Jack Campbell and fourth-line forward Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings — makes the team better. It’s why it took so long to happen.
The Leafs have needed a quality backup goalie for more than a year. And they’ve been searching for someone to play what Mike Babcock used to call “heavy hockey” from the moment the now-departed coach accepted the Toronto job four years ago.
That both departments finally got addressed in the second week of February is unacceptable. And with the Leafs sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with two months remaining, it might be too little, too late, for a season that feels like it’s starting to slip away.
Yes, the Leafs are a better team with Campbell than with Michael Hutchinson in net. And yes, the team is a bit tougher to play against by swapping out Trevor Moore for Clifford. But these are marginal improvements.
At this point in the season, didn’t the team need to do something bolder than adding a goalie who might play half a dozen games and a winger who has as many fights (3) as the entire Leafs team does this year? Don’t they need a defenceman? Maybe two of them?
Not according to Dubas, who believes the group as constructed today is good enough to compete for a championship.
“Since the coaching change, I think we’ve been fifth in the league in terms of points percentage,” said the Leafs GM, alluding to the 108-point pace that the team is on under head coach Sheldon Keefe.
“I think, in the long run of a season, if we can maintain that level — and I think we’ve shown some great things since then — we’re going to be just fine. But it’s about being able to go through the crucible if you will, when you’re being severely tested — and I think we’re being tested now — to be able to endure that and to be able to come out on the other side.
“I know there’s some consternation about (missing the playoffs). I know that there’s some anxiety and panic. But I look at it as one of the best opportunities we’ve had in the whole time here, because I do have a strong belief in the group. I do think the group is capable of great things.”
For that to happen, Campbell has to be a lot better than Hutchinson, who essentially cost the Leafs four points in the past two games. Then again, don’t expect any miracles.
In going from Hutchinson to Campbell, the Leafs went from someone who was ranked 54th out of 55 goalies with a .886 save percentage to someone who is tied for 43rd with a .900 save percentage. Hutchinson is 4-9-1 with a 3.66 goals-against average. Campbell is 8-10-2 with a 2.85 goals-against average.
You can spin those numbers by suggesting that Campbell was playing for a Los Angeles team that’s one of the worst in the NHL. But while the Kings have the third-fewest wins in the league, they’re also allowing the fewest number of shots.
Now, Campbell is going to a team that is allowing the ninthmost shots. A team that doesn’t have Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty on defence or Selke
Trophy winner Anze Kopitar at centre. A team in a city where the pressure to win is like no other and where no one is safe from criticism — not even the backup goalie.
Then again, if you think a lack of quality goaltending is the reason why the Leafs are in this unexpected mess, then you haven’t been paying attention.
The reason why Babcock was fired in November is the same reason why Keefe is now struggling to win hockey games in February: for all the offensive talent that this team has, there are just as many defensive holes. And most of those holes are located on the blue line.
The team needs a defenceman. Maybe two, if Morgan Rielly’s injury is worse than it initially appeared.
Someone who can make life easier on Andersen or Campbell or whoever ends up in net.
And they better not wait until the Feb. 24 deadline to find him.