Leafs GM Dave Nonis addressed the future of his struggling club on Wednesday, making it clear he wasn’t going to make a change just for the sake of making a change.
“It’s not happening,” Nonis told the Toronto Sun about firing head coach Randy Carlyle, or shaking things up via trade. “We’re not making a move [player or coach] for the sake of making a move. We’re not trading a young player away that will erode our depth or take youth out of our lineup. We don’t do that.”
The Leafs have three wins in their last 13 and just one regulation win since Nov. 19. Wednesday’s 3-1 loss -- at home -- to the Florida Panthers was considered by many to be the low point of the season, but Nonis said anybody waiting for Carlyle to be fired was “going to be waiting a long time.”
What’s more, Nonis essentially shot down all trade rumors by bashing the offers that have come his way.
“I’m getting a lot of offers on players, but the offers are all a joke,” he said. “I’m not about to trade a quality player for someone who can’t help us. That’s what’s being presented our way.”
On that note, here’s a tidbit from TSN’s most recent Dreger Report:
Nonis has been trolling the league looking for trades and admits he has had offers on James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly and both his goalies.
However, the general managers with the most interest have yet to produce anything beyond older players in return or trade packages that are not useful to the Maple Leafs in the long term.
It seems as though Nonis is prepared to let his team try and dig its way out of the current situation. The Leafs do have a few things working for them -- they play four of their next five at home, for example -- and stringing together some solid performances could go a long way in silencing some of the whispers.
