from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,

The first clue this Maple Leafs season was going to be a disaster might have been when coach Randy Carlyle was retained after a disastrous 2013-14 season.

He was even given an extension, but had little input into hiring his assistants.

Then one of his assistants — Steve Spott, hired to be a players’ coach, a trusted ear — got caught telling tales about how Phil Kessel nixed Spott’s ideas about new breakouts. Spott went to Carlyle, who told him to do it Kessel’s way, since Kessel would be around longer.

Kessel showed up at training camp out of shape, almost bragging that he barely skated in the off-season. Think about that — the team’s star $64 million player taking things lightly.

It is about as dysfunctional a billion-dollar organization as there is on the planet, one that lurches from one crisis to the next.

The assistants weren’t hired by the coach. The coach wasn’t hired by the GM. The GM wasn’t hired by the president. The president was hired by the chief executive, but he’s leaving. And the owners hate each other with a passion.

read on

added 5:24pm, from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,