Do the Maple Leafs have an accountability issue?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a tough start this season, now on a three-game losing skid after falling 5-3 to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

Owing to a few bad penalties and giveaways early, the Bruins built a 4-1 lead in just over 20 minutes. As Toronto started to rally back, Max Domi took a penalty, and Boston put the game to bed. It was a frustrating watch for Leafs fans who continue to tune in nightly with the expectation that the team has learned some lessons from the last game, only to make the same mistakes.

But what was maybe most disheartening was the reaction from the team in the locker room after the game. Speaking to media, veterans like Max Domi and John Tavares offered more of the same vague generalities we’ve been hearing all season.

“Despite the outcome, I think every guy in here battled in the third period, and that’s all you can really ask,” Domi said, adding very little on his third period penalty that may have cost them the game.

“I thought we battled pretty hard, maybe just didn’t execute on some of our opportunities,” Tavares said.

As the team continues to drop important matches in similar ways, it begs the question: are the Leafs really taking accountability for their losses?

By no means am I saying that it’s time to panic, or that the Leafs need to start disparaging their teammates at the podium. Nor is this meant to call out Domi or Tavares specifically–Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and other seasoned players have come up with similar words as of late. It’s that comments like theirs point to a bigger issue with the Leafs. There’s no denying that this team, which came into the season with high expectations, is struggling right now. As things continue to go south, who amongst the team’s leadership group is willing to step up and carry that on their shoulders? A good player can thrive when their team is succeeding, but a great player and leader is one who owns up to their mistakes and takes accountability for a loss, even when it’s not their fault.

Take the example of Anthony Stolarz’s comments in October. After an early season loss to the Seattle Kraken, he received praise for calling out the team’s perceived lack of effort. But instead of his teammates wearing the criticism, and owning up to it, Stolarz backed down. Just days later the goalie clarified his comments and Nylander came out saying “it’s all good,” as if Stolarz’s valid criticism was overly harsh or abrasive. In that moment, the team had an opportunity to come out and embrace that they hadn’t been good enough for their goalie, but instead they brushed it off.

Moreover, Stolarz himself has struggled mightily in between the pipes since then, posting a 4.05 GAA and an .874 SV% since those comments, per Sportsnet Stats. Again, it’s not that the blame is on Stolarz, as the team’s defence has looked poor in front of him, but now more than ever is the time for the goaltender to be open and honest about his own struggles in the crease this season.

All to say, Tuesday night’s postgame presser was a frustrating watch for a fanbase struggling to understand what is going so wrong with this team right now. There’s no doubt the players are feeling it too, of course no one thinks they want to be dropping key games, but a bit of individual accountability would go a long way. And ultimately, whoever steps up and wears the weight of these losses on their shoulders will be remembered and respected most from this period when the team turns things around.