pk subban leafs

PK Subban blasts Toronto Maple Leafs as 'mediocre team'

Once a prominent member of the Montreal Canadiens, PK Subban spent a good portion of his NHL career provoking the Toronto Maple Leafs. And although Subban, 33, is now retired, he's still at it — albeit off the ice.

As a recent guest on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show, Subban shared his thoughts on the current state of the Leafs, who have gone without a win in their last four games.

"I hope the Toronto Maple Leafs buy a new coach," the Toronto native said when asked if he thought the team would be buyers before the upcoming trade deadline. "I can't stand watching teams accept mediocrity."

As for what the solution to the team's recent woes could be, Subban provided multiple.

After alluding to replacing head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Norris Trophy winner addressed the imbalance of talent between forwards and defencemen.

"I really believe that the the Toronto Maple Leafs need to be buyers at the deadline," he said "They need to find a way to shift some money around and get some defence."

During his fiery rant, Subban also acknowledged holes in the team's bottom six and a "leadership" problem, but did credit top Leafs forwards William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews with "doing their jobs."

"They have three guys in the top in scoring. These guys are all making nine, 10, 11, 12 million bucks a year and they're doing their jobs," he said. "So you're not accepting mediocrity from your players 'cause you're paying 'em and they're performing. So why are you getting mediocre results?"

And speaking of Matthews, Subban said, "If he's not on that team, they're not even in the playoff picture."

With Toronto currently holding the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, Subban predicted that the Leafs could meet the same early-exit fate they have seen in previous years.

"They have too many players on this team, too much talent, to just go through another year, losing in the first round, or potentially not making the playoffs."

Lead photo by

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports


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