What’s wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs?



There are many potential answers to that question, but we’re going to focus on the tactical side of things today. The biggest storyline with the Leafs so far this season is that they haven’t been able to generate scoring chances at even strength, which sounds crazy when you consider the talent on the roster.



Whenever there’s a chasm that big between talent and results, we can usually point to coaching. But what is it specifically that Mike Babcock and his staff have been doing — or not doing — that’s led to such disappointing play?



It really comes down to a failure to activate their defencemen in the play. To help explain why this is so important for a team built like Toronto, we’re going to break our answer down into a few sections. Before we do so, I highly encourage you to read Jack Han’s article on the 2015-16 Penguins’ use of “total...