Maple Leafs finally sound like they are ready to make significant changes

Following a seventh first-round playoff loss in eight years, it sounds like the Toronto Maple Leafs are finally ready to start making significant changes to a roster that has mostly underachieved come playoff time.

The changes already started this week with the expected firing of head coach Sheldon Keefe.

After management met with the media on Friday, it sounds like changes are now going to come to the roster, especially as it relates to the core four of forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander. 

While nobody in the management group offered specifics, it is not difficult to conclude that somebody from that group is going to be playing elsewhere next season. 

General manager Brad Treliving said they need to find ways to do the "hard, unsexy things" that are not related to skill.

Keith Pelley, president and CEO of the team, said fans not only deserve a championship but are demanding one and that they are not there to "sell jerseys."

The statement about not being there to sell jerseys is particularly eye-opening because it is very easy to read through the lines on that and see how it could relate to moving on from one of the team's most popular players. 

Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander have been the most common denominator through all of these playoff shortcomings, while they are also slated to combine to take up $46.5 million of the team's $87 million salary-cap allotment next season. Given the lack of playoff results, it is hard to continue justifying that. 

Those contracts, however, are going to be a big roadblock in any potential deal. Not only does the money limit what teams could be in the market for a trade, but all four players also have no-trade clauses and can control where they ultimately go. As such, Maple Leafs fans should have lowered expectations on the potential return for whoever gets traded. 

Marner seems like the most likely player to get traded as he only has one year remaining on his contract and has become the focal point of the team's playoff struggles in recent seasons. 

The other thing the Maple Leafs have to be careful with here is why they have been losing in the playoffs. It is not always the defense, the goaltending or the lack of "hard, unsexy things." It is more often than not a lack of goal-scoring. Both in terms of their depth and from their core players. 

The Maple Leafs need to change something because at this point the consistent results keep telling us what they are. They just have to be smart about what they are changing and making sure they target the right pieces and players to fix it. 

Finally committing to making changes is a big first step, and one they have been reluctant to take over the past few years.