EMBARRASSING: Maple Leafs now live in Eastern Conference basement

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The Maple Leafs are in last place in the Eastern Conference.

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That nightmare became a harsh reality Sunday afternoon as the Buffalo Sabers emerged from the conference basement with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes and a one-point lead over Toronto.

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Players don't like to look at the standings until the final stages of the regular season, when the serious competition for playoff spots heats up.

But the Leafs might want to start looking at the standings now. A blow of cold water in the face of a person ranked last in the ranking can serve as a wake-up call. At this stage nothing should be left out of sight.

How awkward is this for the Leafs, a team that considered itself a Stanley Cup contender at the start of the regular season?

The Sabers are a team that hasn't made the postseason in 14 years, the longest playoff drought in the National Hockey League.

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Before the NHL games were played on Sunday night, the Leafs were ahead of just four teams, the St. Louis Blues and the St. Louis Blues. Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and the Nashville Predators overall. The Canucks and Flames were scheduled to meet in Vancouver, and a Canucks win would put them ahead of the Leafs.

Potential profit

The Leafs had Sunday off to reflect on the situation. They may get a boost this week with the captain's potential return. Auston Matthews and Matthew Nice, although the collective play will need to be consistent if the Leafs have any hope of turning in the right direction. Two players—even two players who are part of a club's major league—are not going to single-handedly lead the Leafs out of the fire.

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The fact is that the Leafs' immediate figure is terrifying. With one win in seven road games, they will play their next five on the road at Scotiabank Arena after training in Etobicoke on Monday and Tuesday.

In the last eight games the Leafs have played, they have won one.

What are the chances of players bonding, as they like to say, while going on long trips when they haven't even come close to doing so on the ice during games?

After the Leafs lost 5-2 to the Canadiens in Montreal on Saturday night, John Tavares was asked about the level of frustration in the locker room.

“We're not happy that we can't get things moving,” Tavares told reporters at the Bell Center. “I don’t want to use the word disappointing, but we continue to work on ourselves, find our path and stay on it.

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“That’s not to say it’s a long season, but it can be tough if you want to analyze everything up to this point.”

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Well, we imagine this will be just as tough for the Leafs as they have more or less forgotten how to play good defensive zone hockey. The Leafs ranked fifth in the NHL in goals scored entering Saturday's games, but their goal differential is minus-8.

And now we're approaching Thanksgiving in the United States, which is often considered a predictor of what the standings will look like after the regular season ends. This is not a strict rule, but usually what we see when the American holidays come around becomes true by the time the playoffs begin.

As of Thanksgiving 2024, six of the eight teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs actually earned post-season berths. Two playoff contenders, the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, are out of contention. Two of those below the playoff line, the Ottawa Senators and Canadiens, fought back and found success.

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The Leafs (9-10-3), with 21 points, have one game left before the holiday, Wednesday in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Columbus always plays Toronto tough and has won both previous meetings this season, so there's little to suggest the Leafs will pull it together and arrive at Thanksgiving in the US with another point or two.

A year ago, the Leafs were 13-7-2 with 28 points as the Americans enjoyed their turkey dinner and finished first in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Florida Panthers.

Perhaps the Leafs can use the Canadiens as inspiration. Montreal was last in the conference at the holiday, five points out of a playoff spot, and rallied to earn a second wild card.

Is the glass half full?

What the Leafs have going for them now (and the glass is never half full anymore) is that they were just six points out of first place in the Atlantic Division at the end of Saturday's games. The Detroit Red Wings, who never cease to amaze people, led the division with 27 points. And the Leafs were four points shy of second place in the East.

More losses on the Leafs' upcoming road trip will have to lead to some kind of change, whether change helps, and no one needs to remind Craig Berube that the coach is almost always the first scapegoat.

For the Leafs, the first thought should be to ensure their stay in the East basement is short-lived.

What they haven't done much of this season – playing good hockey, putting in effort from the first faceoff to the final game – needs to happen on Wednesday in Columbus.

They have no choice.

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