The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit 8th in the Eastern Conference – a territory they’ve rarely seen this late into the season since the 2004-2005 NHL lockout.
Playing the first of a critical three-game Western road trip against the Calgary Flames, the Maple Leafs came out flat and found themselves down 2-0 in just over eight minutes into the game – this coming off the heels of a 5-0 home loss to the Montreal Canadians, their third in a row.
As the game went on the Leafs began to push back and were much better in the second and third period, but were still outscored 3-0. When they did get their chances Mikka Kiprusoff was there to shut the door in Calgary’s 5-1 win.
Too many passengers along for the ride.
Tim Connolly was signed this off season to center Phil Kessel, however he’s been outperformed by both Tyler Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski, and has now found himself on the third line. At a 4.75 million cap hit, Connolly is not only overpaid, he’s also been invisible this month, registering one assist in 8 games.
Not to be outdone, Matthew Lombardi (3.5 million) has been just as bad – matching Connolly's one assist during the same span.
Colby Armstrong (3 million) hasn’t been healthy for most of the year – appearing in only 14 games, yet in those games, he has one assist, 11 shots on goal, and is a minus-6.
Mike Komisarek (4.5 million) is currently the second highest paid defenseman on the team. However, he has often found himself in the press box because he has been largely ineffective this season, while his entire tenure with the club could also be categorized that way as well. 
Combined, the Fab Four account for 15.75 million and have provided the club a poor return of investment. To make matters worse, they are all signed beyond this season. Currently, the club is not good enough to be carrying four underachieving players – especially at that price. If GM Brian Burke is unable to dupe another team(s) into taking on one of Connolly, Lombardi, Armstrong, and/or Komisarek, then the team will continue to be handcuffed moving forward, and more performances like the losses to Montreal and Calgary may be on the horizon
Your Thoughts: Are there any passengers on this team?
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