Brophy on Leafs: What now Brian?

Well Brian, what now?

With the playoffs fading away almost as quickly as the trade deadline is approaching (3 p.m. Monday), Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke needs to do something to shake his team out of this funk.

If nothing else, it is apparent the Leafs need a goalie who can give them a chance to win. Neither James Reimer nor Jonas Gustavsson is getting the job done. That doesn’t mean they won’t form a winning tandem down the road, but for now the Leafs need an upgrade.

The Leafs sleepwalked through two periods against the Washington Capitals Saturday night, falling behind 4-0 in what ultimately was a 4-2 defeat. It was their third straight loss at home and they have now won just once in their past nine games. They have slipped to 10th in the Eastern Conference and are showing no signs whatsoever of turning things around.

Toronto coach Ron Wilson made no bones about his team’s situation – it needs a goalie that can stop the puck.

“The two goals early in the game were stoppable chances,” Wilson said. “They got saves at one end and we didn’t. We dug a hole because of that and we’re kind of always waiting now for something bad to happen. We’ve got to find a way to get over that.”

If the Leafs goaltending has been bad, so has the team’s preparation for games.

Their biggest problem, aside from goaltending, has been slow starts. They don’t quite understand that, after the anthems have been sung, it’s time to get down to business. The Leafs don’t kick it into gear until they are trailing 2-0 – or in the case of Saturday night, 4-0. Toronto has spotted the visitors a lead of two or more goals in five of its past six games.

“There’s not much to say or to make excuses about the way we have started,” said Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf. “It has gotten us in trouble too many times and we seem to keep starting that way. We’re going to have to learn and we’re going to have to learn pretty quickly because we’re not playing with enough urgency. There’s no reason for it and there’s no excuse for it. We have been putting ourselves behind the eight ball lately and trying to come back night after night. We talked about it and we want to start better and then they come out and score on the first shift.”

At the same time, Phaneuf believes the players understand the situation. They know their season is slipping away from them.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency,” Phaneuf said. “It’s not from lack of effort. We want to win hockey games. We want to keep moving up in the standings. We have hit a patch here where we’re having trouble winning. We’re going to come out of this as a group. It’s a tough time right now. No one is happy. It’s not fun when you’re losing hockey games. It’s not fun when you are losing ground in the standings. We’re not going to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves.”

Poor goaltending and a lack of preparation are two theories as to why the Leafs are sinking in the East, but veteran defenceman John-Michael Liles said the players need to look in the mirror.

“It’s a matter of us, as players, taking responsibility,” Liles said. “Coaches can lay it out for you and make sure you have the right game plan, but the bottom line is, No. 1, execution and, No. 2, playing the game the right way. When you get away from that for five minutes…10 minutes…20 minutes…for however long, this league is good enough and it’s deep enough into the season that it’s going to come back to bite you. That’s on us as players. It’s on us as leaders to be ready to play and obviously we haven’t been ready to play lately.”

Burke’s challenge now is to resist the temptation to overhaul things in reaction to his team’s slump while losing sight of the ultimate goal. The Leafs won’t win the Stanley Cup this year. I’m sure that comes as a shock to many of you.

They are better than they were a year ago. That, too, is not news.

Burke has said time and time again he won’t sacrifice the future just to make the playoffs this year and then get bounced in the first round in four games. That, more than anything else, has to be the overriding factor in what he does Sunday and Monday to improve his team.