Maple Leafs' problems keep growing, but there is no easy fix

Things are getting ugly, and fast, for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They already one of the NHL's most disappointing teams going into Thursday's game against the Washington Capitals, and their 4-0 loss only added to their problems. It might have been of their worst performances of the season, and further highlights how quickly the season is already slipping away from them.

There are no easy fixes for Maple Leafs' struggles

The biggest problem for the Maple Leafs is there is no one singular problem they can point to as an easy or quick fix.

It is everything.

Auston Matthews has gone from playing and scoring like an elite superstar to just being an ordinarily good player.

The depth is not good, and neither is the defense.

They rate as one of the NHL's worst teams during 5-on-5 play in terms of generating scoring chances and expected goals. It is not just a team that is getting bad results, there is also a bad process behind the results they are getting. They are losing, and consistently getting outplayed.

The team never adequately replaced Mitch Marner this offseason and are missing both his offensive production as well as his defensive impacts. The time might have come for the Maple Leafs to make a change to their core, but they replaced a core player with a collection of spare parts and did not bring in an equal or greater player. That is a big-time net loss. 

If things do not turn around quickly a head coaching change involving Craig Berube could — and maybe should — be on the horizon. 

But even that might fix their issues given the shortcomings and flaws on the roster. 

That falls on general manager Brad Treliving, who could — and perhaps should — also be on the hot seat. But a new general manager in-season is not going to be able to fix all of those problems in time to get the roster to a place it needs to be to compete for a Stanley Cup this season.

This current era of Maple Leafs hockey is no stranger to disappointment. Their playoff shortcomings have been legendary over the past decade. But they at least made the playoffs. They at least had regular-season success and played an entertaining brand of hockey.

This team is in danger of missing the playoffs, and there is nothing about it worth watching right now. There are big problems and no easy way to fix them.