Leafs coach Carlyle ’embarrassed’ by team’s late collapse
Posted April 15, 2014 1:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle admitted Tuesday in a season-end address that he was “embarrassed” with the way the Buds wilted out of playoff contention following a late string of lethargic losses.
“I think the last 30 days of the season was the tell-tale story for our group…We lacked an ability to get inside and compete, specifically on the defensive side…”
“You have to play and you have to compete on the defensive side of the puck with will and commitment and we did not want to do that on a day-to-day basis, and that’s what our struggles were.”
The Leafs were known for their toughness and resiliency in the previous season, famously battling back from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 in a first-round playoff battle with the Boston Bruins. They would ultimately give up a third period lead to lose the deciding game, but Carlyle said the series showed character that was inexplicably lacking this season.
He also lamented the dissolution of the team’s once-gritty identity.
“We never really created an identity for our hockey club this year,” he said. “We had been a competitive group in the year previous, and we felt this group going forward was ready to take the next step.”
“We want to be hard to play against,” Carlyle said, adding that all elements of the team would now be assessed, including leadership.
As for his own future with the team Carlyle said: “I’m here today. In this business you take on the responsibility of wins and losses and you put your best foot forward.”
“Decisions will be made (about coaching staff)…and I’m not the one making those decisions.”
On Monday the Leafs introduced former head of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan, as the team’s new president and alternate governor.
Carlyle says he hasn’t yet formally sat down with Shanahan to discuss his, and the team’s future.
He concluded the address by thanking Leafs Nation.
“We thank them for their support…We know we represent the city of Toronto and the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club. For now we don’t have the ultimate answer to give you and we are embarrassed by what just went down.”
