'Our fans deserve better': Maple Leafs' defensive ugliness spirals out of control

TORONTO — Imagine what Sheldon Keefe might have said had the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs not been granted a good 10 to 15 minutes post-buzzer to calm down and decide which thoughts would be suitable for public consumption.

"We sit here, and we celebrate guys who score big numbers and score a ton and all that kind of stuff. We don't talk enough about what we give up. That's the reality. You gotta prioritize keeping the puck out of the net," Keefe said from the losers' podium.

"This is different than some of the things we've gone through in the past. This is a group that's really gotta pull together here."

And again: "We've got to pull it together here and keep pucks out of our net. It's out of control."

To his credit, Keefe also pinpointed some positives from Wednesday's ugly 6-3, blown-lead defeat to the hands of the desperate Ottawa Senators. He resisted throwing individual names under the bus or sewering his goaltender or asking GM Brad Treliving for a free agency do-over.

In other words, Keefe has more control these days than the Maple Leafs defence — which is increasingly moving from a step backward to an unmitigated disaster, a problem too large to be outscored.

For the seventh consecutive night at Scotiabank Arena, Keefe's Leafs surrendered four or more goals, a defensive low this team had not reached for 47 years.

In 13 attempts, the Maple Leafs have all of three regulation wins (only the Sharks, Canadiens, Oilers, and Kraken have fewer).

The Leafs' 48 goals against are the most the Eastern Conference.

If the playoffs started today, the Leafs wouldn't be in them. This, despite rolling out four superstar forwards cruising above a point-per-game pace and one Kryptonian averaging a goal per night.

But the other guys get a turn with the puck, too.

So, yes, Keefe is correct to describe his concern level for the team's defence as "very high."

The penalty kill is taking a beating, on this night giving up a backbreaker off Mark Giordano's skate and dropping to 71.4 per cent (26th overall).

But five goals allowed at even-strength usually signals a guaranteed L.

"Some of it's individual. Some of it's collective within the structure. Some of it's just being committed to it," Keefe explained.

Some of it is personnel.

Outside of recent callup Simon Benoit (+2), not one of the free agents Treliving signed over the summer has a plus beside his name: Ryan Reaves (-9), John Klingberg (-8), William Lagesson (-4), Noah Gregor (-4), Tyler Bertuzzi (-1), Max Domi (-1), Max Lajoie (-1).

Klingberg was on the ice for four Ottawa goals and looked all kinds of discombobulated Wednesday. He's a liability.

"We need to protect him better," Keefe said.

Which is true.

Also true: $4.15-million defencemen who haven't scored a goal should provide protection, not require it.

Keefe reminds his audience that it's early. Yet it's not too early to realize this collection of players is too ill-fitting, too mistake-prone to deliver the calibre of lockdown defensive efforts required to win a single playoff series, let alone four of them.

Toronto lost meaningful chunks of its D-zone conscience during its off-season turnover — Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari, Justin Holl, Alexander Kerfoot, Luke Schenn — then traded away a useful bottom-six forward, Sam Lafferty, in the name of cap compliance.

The new guys were intended to boost the offence to new heights and add sandpaper to the identity of the group. Neither has happened — yet.

And judging by the coach's temperament and commentary — this is different — one gets the sense Keefe is realizing he can't turn his current ingredients into a division champ.

"We're facing adversity early, and I think it's good for us to grow and build. We got a lot of new guys here, so build a team together and build around that," William Nylander said.

"You go through adversity together, and I think that builds character. Looking at it positively, we know we're not playing great, and we know we can play better. But adversity, I think, is really good for us."

To that end, Keefe agrees short-term adversity can be spun into long-term success, but that doesn't take the sting out of another red-light night at home.

"Our group deserves better. Individually, guys deserve better," Keefe said.

"Our fans deserve better. It's not good enough."

The coach was talking about the Maple Leafs' defensive performance.

He could just as easily have been referring to his roster.

Fox's Fast Five

• Just another day at work for Nylander, proud Presto card owner.

The stylish, subway-commuting Swede extended his club record season-starting point streak to 13 games with his opening goal, then tacked on a primary assist on Bertuzzi's second-period strike.

Bertuzzi had one of better outings, scoring his first even-strength goal and firing five shots on net.

• John Tavares has been an absolute beast in the faceoff circle this season, going 18-for-22 in the dot Wednesday and improving his overall winning percentage to a sparkling 63.4.

The captain is tracking his best faceoff season yet, his previous being 60.6 per cent in 2021-22.

• Keefe used Morgan Rielly as his top power-play quarterback during Monday's win over Tampa yet flipped back to Klingberg in that spot Wednesday.

Why? Because, the coach explains, the handedness of the point man can exploit different penalty kills.

"We’ve got different looks with a left-hander and a right-hander," Keefe said. "It's less about the individual and more about some of the different looks based on what we want to accomplish."

Well, the Leafs accomplished another power-play goal — their 12th in 13 games. Playing with the man-advantage, a Guy Boucher responsibility, has been the most consistent element of Toronto's team game this season.

• Last we saw Ilya Samsonov (2-1-2, 4.11 GAA, .855) he was getting pulled in the first period of another Leafs comeback win over Tampa and slamming his mask in frustration.

With Toronto's first back-to-back looming this weekend, we suggest the goaltender start Friday against the struggling Calgary Flames. We'd like to see Woll take a breath and face the red-hot Vancouver Canucks Saturday.

"Put in the work," Keefe said of Samsonov. "It's the only way to work through it."

• Remember when the Senators were entertaining a trade of Mathieu Joseph to clear cap space for Shane Pinto?

Well after his three-point effort in Toronto, Joseph has 11 points in 11 games. Not bad for a $2.95-million cap hit.

Some of the best trades are the ones you don't make.