Brendan Shanahan: “There will be changes.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs' players met with the media this morning (via Zoom) to break down their season, review what went wrong and talk about the future. Then later in the afternoon, the Leafs' management group including President Brendan Shanahan and General Manager Kyle Dubas met with the media to talk about what sort of changes will happen this offseason as a result of the Leafs' shortcomings and... well it's safe to say that changes are coming.

When asked if there will be changes, Shanahan didn't mince words:

"There will be changes. There's a killer instinct that's missing that we need to address."

How's that for leadership? 

He's 100% right that the Leafs lack a killer instinct and he's smart to not shy away from that fact. It'll be interesting to see what sort of moves Shanahan and Dubas have up their sleeves this offseason because I don't imagine they're content to nibble away at the edges, so to speak. If they truly want to add some killer instinct, they'll have to look closely at their core players, rather than just their depth, complementary players. I'm talking superstars like Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander. There's no denying the fact that they're talented players with immense skill... but do they have that killer instinct that Shanahan is talking about? I'm not so sure.

Don't be surprised if at least Marner is dangled in trade talks this offseason as it looks like he and his hometown team are headed for a nasty split. If there's one player on the Leafs' roster that personifies that absence of killer instinct, it's Marner. He looked absolutely disengaged this post-season and, frankly, he neglected to take much responsibility for himself in his post-game comments and with today's season ending comments. Again, he's a supremely talented player, but I'm not sure he's the type of player to put a team on his back and lead them to victory. I might be wrong, but I suspect I'm not. 

Again, don't be surprised if Marner is sent packing this offseason in favour of someone with a bit more resolve, even if the talent isn't an equal match.