RIP to the Maple Leafs’ losing streak. It was a tough week of asking tough questions about whether the Leafs are truly better off than a year ago and half assed questions like “does Craig Berube yell enough?” Thankfully beating Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils for third time and sweeping the season series is a great palate cleanser and once again all is right in the world — unless god forbid something goes wrong against Montreal tonight.

Nevertheless, there are still somethings to talk about and get worked about regarding the Leafs, here are a few topics off the top of my head:

I’m not sure anyone can answer this with certainty until we see what the Maple Leafs look like in the post season, but at best we can say the Leafs look different under Berube and it was time for a change.

The positives under Berube have certainly been a reduction in goals against, and the Leafs have become stingier on giving up chances. They are playing a tougher, more physical game, and with the Leafs sitting at the top of the Atlantic, it is generally hard to complain about where things are at. The Leafs were at 56 points at game 46 last season, so that’s not much of a difference at all from the 58 points they currently sit at. The difference has been driven more by external factors than Craig Berube putting Toronto over the top. Those 56 points last season had the Maple Leafs sitting in a Wild Card spot, while this season that point total would also have them at the top of the Atlantic. The style change is encouraging and certainly lends itself to something new in the playoffs but there hasn’t been a new coach bump in the results.

There are also plenty of areas for Craig Berube to address. The power play continues to come up short compared to what the personnel should be capable of. While that might be a task delegated to Marc Savard, the buck does ultimately stop with Berube. There are lineup card questions that are made of pretty much any coach so dwelling on why Ryan Reaves and Conor Timmins don’t sit more frequently, and perhaps the over usage of players like Lorentz, Dewar, and Myers are pretty typical gripes that would be made of any coach, but the step back from Morgan Rielly under Berube as well as the decrease in scoring when having an offensive driven lineup are more legitimate concerns.

Facing off against Sheldon Keefe certainly begged the question if the Leafs are better under Berube and watching a Keefe led team allow Toronto to claw their way back into the game on Thursday night makes it seem like the answer is yes, Toronto is better off than continuing with Sheldon. The better question might come in the offseason or the next time a highly touted coach becomes available if Berube is still the best option over a great coaching resume, and that one is tougher to answer.

With the timeline for John Tavares expected to be 2-3 weeks (or basically to keep him out of the lineup until the Four Nations), Fraser Minten has a nine game window to once again try to establish himself as a regular part of the Leafs lineup.

Craig Berube opted to keep the rookie out of the lineup on Thursday night, so finding his way into the lineup might not be a guarantee, but it is equally likely that Brad Treliving didn’t recall a prospect in order to have them watch games from the press box. Seeing Minten in the lineup for the bulk of the time Tavares is out seems likely and it is a matter of finding the best place to use him.

Before getting too lost in the weeds and suggesting that Minten should play with William Nylander, it is worth remembering this is more about what gives the Leafs the best chance at winning hockey games first and not the ideal line combination for Minten. The reality is putting Minten with someone like Nylander or Marner likely puts unrealistic expectations of offensive production on him. Let Domi take on the Tavares replacement responsibilities and Minten should focus on being part of a good third line that doesn’t interfere with Craig Berube having a fourth line he can trust as well. Presumably in this scenario Domi would play with McMann and Nylander as they did Thursday night, and Berube can maintain a solid defensive zone safety net of Dewar, Kampf, and Lorentz.

That really leaves the personnel of Ryan Reaves, Pontus Holmberg, Nick Robertson, and Max Pacioretty to work with. It’s probably a given that Max Pacioretty should be in that mix, although my hot take might be that Pacioretty taking some reps on the Matthews line and giving Matthew Knies a look here wouldn’t be a bad thing. I’ll ignore that thought for now since it won’t happen and Pacioretty will probably play with Minten.

It also probably goes without saying that Ryan Reaves shouldn’t be in the mix here at all. That should apply to all lines, but it is doubly true with Minten. That creates an interesting situation where the Leafs could either play Nick Robertson or Pontus Holmberg with Minten.

After a nice little hot streak and it looking like the Leafs had something with Robertson, Domi, and McMann, Robertson is back to having just one point in his last nine games. You can still argue that is better than Pontus Holmberg having one point in his last 12 games, but Holmberg’s play away from the puck and trust from Berube probably justifies using him in his situation. Having a sound line that can keep the puck out of the Leafs net is probably what Toronto is looking for from Minten more than offence, and if Minten isn’t producing at the NHL in this stint it shouldn’t come as too much of a concern.

The goal should be to see if Fraser Minten can build Craig Berube’s trust over the next few games and as a result give the Leafs the opportunity to prioritize a more offensive option in the trade market as they hunt for a centre.

From a purely speculative angle and not based in any current rumour, it seems like a good time to revisit a couple of defencemen who regularly come up when talking about Leafs trade targets.

The rumour of John Klingberg returning to the Leafs and now Tony DeAngelo looking to return to the NHL makes it seem like the defensive market is flooding with the exact options the Leafs don’t need at the moment.

While a lot of focus has been on finding a potential puck moving option, perhaps the best course of action needs to be the Leafs finding a way of elevating the puck movers they have already by giving them an upgrade in the shutdown department. Let Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson be themselves a bit more by interjecting a top four capable defensive defenceman into the mix that allows for Conor Timmins, Simon Benoit, and Philippe Myers to compete for the sixth and seventh spots on the depth chart rather than simply upgrading Conor Timmins.

This is why I’m in support of the Leafs circling back around on Connor Murphy and Scott Mayfield.

Both defencemen are under contract and neither is particularly cheap and neither have had their name come up in the rumour mill as of yet this season. Both players also look like potential fits next to Morgan Rielly and would give Oliver Ekman-Larsson an opportunity to solidify a third pairing against competition he is better suited for.

The defensive market looks limited to say the least heading into the trade deadline and while the position might not be the Leafs primary need, ignoring it completely seems like a misstep. Taking a look at players who will see their contracts expire before their teams are ready to challenge for a playoff spot and free up a few million dollars in the process is probably a worthwhile move.