5 Keys for the Toronto Maple Leafs the Rest of the 2014-15 Regular Season

The rest of the the 2014-15 season has to be about looking forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Focusing on the here and now, or the recent past, would be far too depressing.

This is yet another lost season that will see the team miss the playoffs and likely fail to pick up a top-three pick in the NHL Entry Draft this summer.

The team has to address a number of areas of concern. No stone should be left unturned in trying to become a more competitive club.

Let's take a look at five keys for the Maple Leafs for the rest of the regular season.

Let the Kids Play

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With an eye to the future, the Leafs need to test some of their youngsters to see just how good they can be. Morgan Rielly certainly qualifies here. It looks like he can be a top-pairing defender for a long, long time. Now is the time to start testing that.

Jake Gardiner has been a shell of his former self, posting a rating of minus-21 compared to minus-three all of last season. He must be given ice time to see whether or not he has what it takes to be a top-four NHL defenceman. There are question marks surrounding the young blueliner. 

The same applies to Peter Holland and Josh Leivo. They certainly look like top-nine forwards. The club can use the final two months of the regular season to see if that is the case.

Be Competitive, but Don't Win Too Often

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Quite simply, wins are not going to do the organization a lot of good at this stage of the campaign. The Leafs will get at least a chance to draft Connor McDavid in the 2015 NHL draft, but some very good players will be available after McDavid.

Jack Eichel, Noel Hanifin, Dylan Strome and others could be impact players for the Leafs for years to come.

The key is for the Leafs to play hard and compete, but lose a whole lot of one- and two-goal games. A top-five pick will be far superior to picking from outside the elite group.

With the number of pending deals that are likely to happen, the management team should help in this regard as they get rid of some of the Leafs' better veteran players who aren't signed beyond this season to open up draft possibilities.

Find Some Leaders

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The Leafs are a club with no real identity. While it looked they were an offensive juggernaut for stretches this season, that does not appear to be the case.

The Leafs have lost 13 of their last 15 games through Feb. 12; their 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 6 marked a franchise-record 11th straight defeat.

They've been less than average defensively for several seasons now. They rarely make things difficult or uncomfortable for the opposition, and the team seems incapable of physically intimidating any opponent.

Compounding these issues is the fact that it is challenging to know who leads this club. Dion Phaneuf is the captain, but he hasn't seemed able to inspire his teammates. Phil Kessel is the team's most talented player, but he doesn't seem interested in being a leader.

The final two months should serve as a testing ground for who will form the leadership core when the 2015-16 season gets going next fall.

Maintain the Current Goaltending Duo

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The Maple Leafs have one of the stronger goaltending duos in the NHL. The team's starting goaltender, Jonathan Bernier, has often been the best Maple Leaf. 

James Reimer has been a great professional in supporting Bernier in what has had to be a difficult situation. Bernier was parachuted in from Los Angeles and was handed the starting role; Reimer has taken this in stride.

Reimer has a save percentage of .905 and Bernier sits at .914. With how porous the Leafs' team defence has been on so many nights this season, those numbers are pretty respectable.

Top goaltenders are difficult to snare from other teams, although the Buds did so in acquiring Bernier. The Leafs need to continue to ride these two for the rest of this year and for the foreseeable future.

Test Nazem Kadri as a No. 1 Centre

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Tyler Bozak is not a No. 1 NHL centre. The jury is still out on Nazem Kadri. He has 30 points in 54 games, but he has not had the luxury of playing with the most talented Leafs wingers.

The Leafs need to determine just how good Kadri is. He's shown signs of a maturing game as he's been more effective in the defensive zone, and he's been stronger in all three zones.

Kadri is still a few years away from his prime years. The team needs to know if those prime years are going to be spent in a support role, or if he should be looked to as a top-tier NHL centre. Now is a great time to test what the future is likely to hold.

All stats can be found on NHL.com unless noted otherwise.