The Toronto Maple Leafs are running out of time to turn their season around. Toronto currently sits 10 points back of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and has gone winless in seven straight games, raising serious concerns about the team’s direction.
With the skid continuing, talk around the team has started to shift, and one former player has added fuel to the conversation.
Former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill Jokes About Toronto’s ‘Tank Job’
Toronto’s latest setback came in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Matias Maccelli and Nicholas Robertson scored the two goals for the Leafs, while goaltender Anthony Stolarz allowed four goals before Toronto pulled him late in the game for an extra attacker.
The decision to pull the goalie drew attention from former Leafs forward Jay Rosehill, who joked on social media that the move might be disguising a bigger plan.
“Pulling goalie really disguises this tank job. Smart,” Rosehill wrote sarcastically on X.
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In hockey discussions, tanking refers to the idea that a struggling team might not push aggressively to win games late in the season in order to improve its draft position. The NHL uses the Entry Draft to distribute incoming young talent, and teams that finish near the bottom of the standings have the best odds of landing top selections through the draft lottery.
Teams that miss the playoffs enter the lottery, and the worst-performing clubs receive the highest probability of earning the No. 1 overall pick. That selection often provides access to a potential franchise player, which is why fans sometimes speculate about tanking during difficult seasons.
This isn’t the first time such talk has surfaced around Toronto this year. After a shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils earlier this week, some fans jokingly suggested that even Auston Matthews might have been “helping the tank” after what many described as a soft shootout attempt that was easily stopped.
Of course, tanking accusations are often fueled by frustration rather than evidence. Still, Toronto’s current slump has only intensified the conversation. During the seven-game stretch without a win, the Leafs have been outscored 32-14.
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The franchise’s longest losing streak remains 11 games, which occurred during the 2014-15 season under interim head coach Peter Horachek. With the team still searching for answers, fans are watching closely to see whether the current slide continues.
For now, the Maple Leafs will try to stop the bleeding when they face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
