Yes Carlyle wasn't the only problem - in fact if also argue that poor managment post lockout has been the organization's biggest problem.
That still doesn't explain the numerous poor on ice decisions Carlyle made during his tenure - playing Mclemment 15 minutes a night on a regular basis, refusing to break up lines that were a defensive mess or even trying to change their usage. Driving players like Grabo and MacArthur out of town.
Unacceptable by any measure.
It takes many factors to be as bad as the Leafs have been for this long.
Basically imo I have Four Pillars which I look at to see if a team will be any good:
(in no order)
1. Elite Scorers
2. Depth Scoring
3. Goaltending
4. System/Coaching
In the Quinn years we had at 3-4 of those in most years. Since then we have never had more than 1-2 in place in any given season....until this year.
In the Maurice years we had solid #2 and #4, but absolutely nothing for #1 and #3.
In the Wilson years, we had inconsistent #1 and #4, and nonexistent #2 and #3. Burke's idea of a Bottom 6 (Tim Fing Brent, #3 centre!) and our hilarious goaltending killed us.
In the Carlyle years, it was inconsistent. We never had #4, but in that first year we had excellent #1 (Kessel line), 2 (Grabo line), and 3 (Reimtime) and that made us a good team. Unfortunately we got rid of #2, and #1 and #3 were always inconsistent, which left us pretty terrible in the remaining years.
This year, so far, we have good #2 and #4, inconsistent #3, and no #1.
The good news is that #2 and #4 will always be good when you have good coaching and good management. Those two have been our weakest elements in most of the seasons since Maurice, which just comes down to poor coaching and management.
#1 and #3 are more dependant on pure talent and we have to improve there.