Maple Leafs Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Losing Streak, Final Stretch Before Olympics, Potential Sell? – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering Week 16 of the NHL season, and things don’t look very good right now. This past week, they went 0-3 in what was widely considered the biggest homestand of the season to date. It has become an anxious time in Toronto, with the fan base clamouring for the team to start selling pieces and reconfigure the roster. However, it appears the Maple Leafs are waiting to see how things play out between now and the Olympic break in early February.

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Looking ahead, the Maple Leafs are entering a critical stretch of hockey. After losing the first four games of their homestand, they need to turn things around quickly. They welcome the Buffalo Sabres into town, a team they are directly chasing in the standings. Toronto now sits five points behind the Boston Bruins and six points back of the Montreal Canadiens for one of the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Another Losing Streak

After dominating nearly every opponent they faced following the flip of the calendar, the Maple Leafs have once again been hit with adversity. They are now riding a four-game losing streak and have played some pretty uninspired hockey over that span. There have been a few bright spots, but for the most part, they have struggled to keep pace with teams night to night. During the losing streak, they have been outscored 18-8.

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Some of that could be attributed to the condensed schedule leading into the Olympic break. Still, that excuse only goes so far, as every team around the league is dealing with the same thing. After dropping four straight games, the Maple Leafs will need to dig deep and find a way to grind out a win against Buffalo before things start slipping too far out of reach.

Final Stretch Before the Olympics

With one important stretch ending, another begins. After hosting the Sabres, the Maple Leafs head out on the road for a four-game Western road trip. This trip feels like a make-or-break moment for their season. Fortunately for Toronto, most of their upcoming opponents are on the weaker side, with the Edmonton Oilers standing out as the toughest test as the second-place team in the Pacific Division.

The Maple Leafs will play five games in eight days leading up to the break, which is never easy, especially with travel through Western Canada and the time change. These five games, including the matchup against Buffalo, feel like must-wins. Ideally, they would need to come away with at least a 4-1 or 3-0-1 record to maximize points and claw their way back into the playoff picture. The challenge is that the teams ahead of them are also playing well, making it difficult to gain ground even when Toronto does pick up wins.

Maple Leafs Potentially Sell?

Finally, in this edition of Maple Leafs Week Ahead, there is a real possibility that the Maple Leafs could shift toward selling at the trade deadline. After spending several seasons as one of the more aggressive buyers in the league, this year might force a different approach. As mentioned earlier, the stretch leading into the Olympic break could ultimately decide their direction. If they stumble through this road trip, the organization may have no choice but to consider selling off assets.

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That would not necessarily be the worst outcome. It could allow the Maple Leafs to retool on the fly while collecting assets for rental players such as Bobby McMann, Nicholas Robertson, and Scott Laughton. It would also give them time to determine who is truly going to be a part of the next era of the Maple Leafs, while still keeping the roster competitive enough to push for a playoff spot next season. It would be a similar approach to what the Boston Bruins took last year, and now they find themselves in the same wild card race Toronto is battling through.

Maple Leafs Schedule Jan. 18 – 24