In need of a shakeup

The Toronto Maple Leafs need a jolt.

They need something to snap them out of the funk that has them on a two-game losing streak and a miserable 3-4-3 run. And they need it soon – before they slip completely out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

The Leafs are preparing to close out 2011 with a New Year’s Eve game in Winnipeg against the Jets – whom they just happen to be tied with, along with the New Jersey Devils, with 41 points apiece – and it is becoming abundantly clear this pleasant group of fellows aren’t getting the job done.

Following a good start to the season – the Leafs were actually first overall at one point – it has been a steady downhill journey and now a playoff spot is in jeopardy; not that one was ever assured. It would be a stinging indictment against GM Brian Burke if this team misses the playoffs for a seventh straight season. Burke celebrated his third year on the job Nov. 28 and while he came to town with his chest puffed out telling the world how tough his team was going to be to play against, it hasn’t worked out that way.

The Leafs are not a tough team to play against, especially with grinder Mike Brown out of the lineup. On the contrary, they are actually quite a soft team – even more so in their own zone. They continue to be the NHL’s worst penalty-killing club and they are weak in terms of getting pucks out of the defensive zone.

Giving credit where credit is due, Burke has done a very nice job in transforming what was an organization with no apparent game plan into one that is definitely moving in the right direction. The Leafs have become younger and faster. Toughness has been replaced by speed and skill; so much so that the team’s two enforcers, Colton Orr and Jay Rosehill, rarely play.

Burke now faces a dilemma: does he pull the trigger on a trade now when a quarter of his lineup is out with injuries? Is it wise to make a trade just for the sake of it? Defencemen John-Michael Liles and Mike Komisarek are out along with forwards Mike Brown, Colby Armstrong and Matthew Lombardi. Also, first line centre Tyler Bozak may miss the game against the Jets with a sprained shoulder after he crashed into the boards at practice Friday. Or does Burke wait until his team is healthy again before making a move?

It’s a tough call and it should be noted Burke has never been one to hit the panic button.

If he decides to keep the status quo, then a couple of things need to change or he’ll be forced to shake up the roster.

For starters, the Leafs goaltending has to be better. James Reimer, who will start against the Jets, got off to a wonderful start to the year picking up where he left off last season, but has not been the same since returning from injury. The effort is there; but the wins aren’t. Jonas Gustavsson had won five of his six games before losing at home to the Canucks and then absorbing another loss after relieving Reimer in Florida Tuesday. Nothing against Reimer, but he has played just 53 NHL games. Gustavsson deserves a chance to have a few consecutive starts.

With the top line possibly down a man now that Bozak is ailing, it is high time for the second line of Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and Matt Frattin to pick up the slack. Based on their play the past few games, they might just be primed to chip in. Grabovski has two goals and five points in his last five games while Kulemin, without question the team’s most disappointing performer this season, scored just his second goal in 30 games in Carolina Thursday night. Frattin – who replaced Clarke MacArthur on the line the Leafs tried to pass off as 1A at the start of the year – has shown signs of becoming a solid NHLer, but he needs to put up numbers or risk being bumped from the line.

After the Maple Leafs play in Winnipeg, they return home to a rather cozy schedule that has them playing eight of their next nine games at the Air Canada Centre. It is imperative to the Leafs playoff hopes that the Leafs go on a decent run during that home stand.

The players the Leafs have called up from the Marlies – Joe Colborne, for a time, as well as Joey Crabb, Nazem Kadri, Darryl Boyce and Aulie – have all given noble accounts of themselves. But having to play four and five call-ups at the same time is not a recipe for success.

If the jolt the Leafs require cannot come from within, then Burke has to step up to the plate. I have said it time and again, this is a good hockey team, but there is plenty of room for improvement. And if things don’t get better soon, then the GM may be forced to do something he’d rather not.

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.