The Biggest Areas of Concern for Toronto Maple Leafs the Rest of 2014-15 Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs' regular season is in shambles. At 23-30-5, the club is limping along with just one win in the last 10 games. Few players seem motivated to play anywhere near their best. 

The biggest issue seems to be just how far the team will fall in the standings. It is competitive in the race to the bottom given its uninspired play. That's just about all fans have to look forward to—how good a player might the Leafs get in the NHL draft?

There are no shortages of areas of concern. Let's take a look at the biggest ones for the rest of the season. 

Cultivating a Losing Culture to an Even Greater Extent

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Athletes and fans alike know how intoxicating winning can be. Riding a winning wave is often indescribably sublime.

Conversely, it doesn't take long for a lack of confidence and an inability to believe in oneself to take shape. The Leafs are there now.

Unless they can play the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres on a regular basis, the Maple Leafs seem doomed to lose to NHL teams for the rest of the season. With captain Dion Phaneuf out with injury, no one has seemed able to rally the troops.

The team traded its best defender this year, Cody Franson, to the Nashville Predators. Both Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have struggled to steal a game recently. On top of that, there has been little scoring consistency from anyone.

The danger here is that losing will become ingrained in some of the team's youngest and brightest skaters. That doesn't bode well for the future.

Ask the Edmonton Oilers how that has gone for them over the past decade.

Jonathan Bernier's Play Has Been Shaky

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Jonathan Bernier has displayed all of the skills of a top NHL goaltender since coming to Toronto. He moves laterally exceptionally well, he's great positionally, he's a battler and he's emotionally stable.

At his best, Bernier has been an elite goaltender. His current .914 save percentage is middling. The former Los Angeles King is capable of much more, which he has shown in flashes recently.

He's been wildly inconsistent with a .969 save percentage against the Montreal Canadiens a few nights ago and an .824 posting against the Florida Panthers in his most recent outing.

Goaltending seemed to be one area that the team had little if anything to worry about. This no longer seems to be the case, and that must be troubling for Leafs fans.

Salary-Cap Concerns

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The Leafs have a number of players signed to long-term contracts with Phil Kessel, David Clarkson and Dion Phaneuf eating up more than $20 million in salary for five more seasons unless they are traded.

The club is going to have to move veteran players if it wants to try to get younger and more competitive in the near future. Of course, that is easier said than done.

There's a good chance the team will have to retain some salary if it can even manage to deal some veteran players.

The immediate future is not rosy in the Queen City with the ongoing salary challenges.

Blue-Chip Prospects Are Not Plentiful

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Another big area of concern is that the Leafs cannot turn to great depth within the organization to help right the ship.

Outside of William Nylander, it is challenging to find another prospect who will have a positive impact on the team in the next season. Josh Leivo and Stuart Percy might be ready for regular NHL duty next season, but neither player is ready to set the league on fire.

Frederik Gauthier and Matt Finn are likely to be good NHLers as well, but the team must revamp its drafting and developing formula. 

Given the grave issues with the salary cap, the team's long-term future depends on it.

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