the stretch run

The Leafs are now in the homestretch as they race toward the golf course and working on their handicaps. The boys came back from the Olympic break with a whimper (as expected) courtesy of a 5-1 drubbing by the Carolina Hurricanes at the ACC last night, allowing five straight goals before John Mitchell finally got one back for the Blue & White. Our record now stands at a sparkling 19-32-11, 49 points, which is good enough for last in the Eastern Conference and second-to-last in the NHL (the lowly Oilers have 44 points). Being a Leafs fan is excruciating.

Stay tuned for my post-trade deadline thoughts...

an ode to Harold Ballard

I am in the process of reading Al Strachan's Why The Leafs Suck And How They Can Be Fixed and this quote about Harold Ballard made me laugh pretty hard:

If we were to go through every mistake that Ballard made, every impropriety that he committed, every insult to the long-suffering fans that he inflicted, this book would make War and Peace look like a Post-It note.

Well said, Al, well said. More of my thoughts on this book to come...

getting Giggy with it!

Two games and two shutouts for Giguere! I'm not getting any false hope, but that is an encouraging sign for the Leafs--certainly a HUGE improvement on the lacklustre Finn that just exited in the trade that brought J.S.G. to Toronto! Let's see what happens tonight against the mighty Sharks...

Brutal!

On Tuesday night the Leafs shut out the Devils 3-0 in Giguere, Phaneuf, and Sjostrom's first game as Leafs--they were awarded the 3 Stars for the night. Then last night the Leafs gave up three goals in the last three minutes of the game to lose 4-3!! Geeeeeeezzzzz! This team makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes!

That is all.

weighing on the Phaneuf/Giguere trades

I have been asked enough times for my opinion on the latest blockbuster Leafs and so I thought I should take some time to enlighten my readers on what I think of Burke's Bombshell...

Firstly, anyone who thinks that Burke is a straight-up moron for making these trades doesn't know their arse from their face. At first I felt very neutral about these trades, not thinking they were brilliant, but not thinking they were poor either. However, the more I read about them and think about them as a long-time fan who both loves the team and understands their traditionally myopic decision-making, the more this deal looks extremely advantageous to the Leafs. True, Phaneuf is a gamble, but what did the Leafs really give up to get him? Not much. Stajan is too soft and totally inconsistent (though admittedly has decent hands around the net); Mayers is a journeyman and was nothing more than a gap-filling body; Hagman is gifted, but like Stajan, is inconsistent (and is a UFA at the end of this season); and White is a solid player, but not really improving enough and is never going to be winning a Norris. Phaneuf, on the other hand, has the potential to be an elite defenseman if he can...well, learn to play defence. He makes some horrific defensive mistakes, but with the right coaching, I think he could really come around. The question is: will he be able to adjust to playing in the fishbowl that is Toronto? And if the rumours of a bad attitude are true, can he put that behind him and learn to be a good teammate? Time will tell. But he does have the potential to be a building block for the future of the franchise. Fredrik Sjostrom is a decent player and a good penalty killer and Keith Aulie is a good defensive prospect who excelled at the World Juniors in 2009, bring a strong physical presence on the blueline--it doesn't hurt that the kid is 6'6" and over 200 lbs!!!

The Giguere trade is essentially genius as far as I'm concerned. Rumours are that Toskala was uncoachable and didn't listen to anyone, plus he is too small. His GAA and save percentage stats were pitiful--ANYTHING is going to be an improvement on him. Good riddance. Neither the franchise nor us fans have any real faith or confidence in him. Giguere is reunited with his old goaltending coach (whom he supposedly credits for his success in the NHL) as well as Burke, who was his GM in Anaheim. Our goaltending duo of Giguere and Gustavsson is far stronger than it was, thankfully. As for Blake, nicely done by Brian Burke to rid the Leafs of that large (totally useless) contract--Blake is not a Leafs player and can't handle the pressure of Toronto. He may have wheels and be gifted, but he's not gritty enough and, as one pundit pointed out, most of his best skating happens around the boards, not in the key places like IN FRONT OF THE NET!

Burke got the better of Sutter on this trade (much like Cliff Fletcher over Doug Risebrough all those years ago, which brought Dougie Gilmour to the Leafs and made us respectable for awhile!) and though he gave away some of our primary scoring, what this does is free up more room for Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson, and other prospects (Nazem Kadri!!!!) to make the big club. If these guys pan out and management doesn't fall into the trap of making typically stupid 'Leafs deals', the future may actually look bright for Toronto. I think we can kiss the playoffs goodbye for this year, but let's keep looking forward and building toward the future. However, I don't think Burke is done yet...

the perfect graphic

Is that not perfect or what???

so hot...then dead cold

I don't know how you go from shutting out a team that's on a roll lately on Thursday night (i.e the Flyers) and then get humiliated 6-1 the next night (i.e. the Capitals). And that is with the same goaltender in the net!! I really don't get this team, but I have to agree with a recent comment I heard: they're just not very good. Nothing surprises me about this year's Leafs team anymore--I've grown used to the pathetic displays and then the (very) rare moments of brilliance. However, they are far more 'crap' than they are 'awesome', and that's the sad truth.


This is a highly appropriate expression for you to be making, Vesa, based on your overall performance as a Leaf...

frustrations

I may have to cut off all contact with MapleLeafs.com because I'm getting pretty tired of the crap they peddle non-stop. I am enough of a realist to understand that it's their job to make the Leafs look good, but if I have to hear them sugarcoat one more loss, I'm going to scream. It seems every game is a 'valiant comeback' whether they lose 6-2 or a 3-2 nail biter. It doesn't change the fact that they lost, very likely gave up the first goal (and likely went down 2-0, their magic deficit!), and were defensively sloppy. Why this team feels the need to dig itself into a hole in order to play its best hockey is beyond me!

End of rant.

P.S. I am no closer to wearing any of my Leafs gear. I have not put on any of my t-shirts, jerseys, or hats for a considerable amount of time now...

P.P.S. What the HECK is with that penalty kill?? What crap!

what 2010 will bring

I have no idea what to expect from the Leafs this year as they are the most Jekyll and Hyde team in the NHL, as far as I'm concerned. The one commitment I have made and from which I will not stray is that I will not don any of my Leafs gear and until they are a .500 hockey team--as it stands this second they are four games off of that pace if I am generous and do not count overtime losses. If that were the case, they are presently 13 games off of .500, yet only five points out of a playoff spot! Crazy!

The Leafs have racked up a few impressive wins lately, including knocking off the Penguins a few days back, yet they come into Edmonton and look disinterested. Right now, I would love to know the answers to the following questions: Will the Leafs ever score the first goal in a game?? Will Colton Orr ever not be a penalty-taking knob? What will happen to Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky (both are UFAs at the end of this season)? Will Toskala play well enough to be decent trade bait (yes, we should trade him)? So much yet to be determined...

This new decade begins with a bit of promise, though it's hard not to be skeptical when you have had to endure what Leafs fans have had to swallow for so many years. Only time will tell if the Kessel trade turns out to be a winner, whether Nazem Kadri fulfills his potential, and whether The Monster really does turn out to be the goaltender of the future given time to develop and adjust to the NHL (there have been glimmers of brilliance, yes?)

Let's hope they play well enough in the next while for me to pull my jerseys out of the closet and be somewhat to be a Leafs fan.

Burke after one year

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the beginning of 'the Burke era' in Toronto and it's been a mixed bag so far, in my opinion. I must take off my hat to Matt Burt of TSN.ca for this balanced assessment of the past year and what the future potentially holds.

Obviously, the Leafs have been complete crap this year so far and though I was not expecting them to be amazing, I definitely expected more than a 6-11-7 record, leaving them 29th in the NHL. My biggest disappointments so far have been the play of Komisarek (a.k.a. the man who's residential address should be changed to 'The Penalty Box') and Beauchemin, both of whom have been atrocious more often than not. I'm also in disbelief at how often the Leafs have given up the first goal in a game and how that first goal often occurs before the game is five minutes old. Goaltending has been spotty at best, though The Monster has shown flashes of outright brilliance. Toskala has looked pretty shaky and has given up some incredibly soft goals, however he has not been helped out by the porous defence--of all areas of the team, I was expecting the D to be the strongest, but it has often been a disaster as well. And who is putting pucks in the net? Phil Kessel has been excellent since he came back from injury (11 points in 12 games) although I'm still not convinced he's worth what the Buds game up for him, though some fans and pundits would disagree with me. Nikolas Hagman has been another surprise and has played very well, one of the few bright spots for the Leafs--this kid has some real skill. However, these two can't do it all on their own! Do we have a Jason Blake in the house or does he have a severe case of Invisible Man Syndrome?

I realize I get pretty grouchy when I talk about the Leafs but I do figure Leafs Nation deserved a bit more than we have received from this team thus far this season. However, let's evaluate again come March and see whether things have improved at all. I sure hope so because it has been even more embarrassing than it usually is to be a Leafs fan lately and the jokes are getting old!

nothing to say

I literally do not have the words to talk about the Leafs these days. We're last in the NHL, have played eight games and lost them all, and have one point. One point. Florida, who is directly above us in the standings, has five. I am shutting this blog down until there is something that is actually worth writing about because this team is pathetic.

the worst in 90 years...

Worst start to a season, that is. With our dismal 7-2 loss to the Rangers tonight the Leafs are off to a 0-4-1 start, are 30th in the NHL standings, are last in goals against, and are frankly just completely sucking. I actually thought this season I'd be able to hold my head up proudly and say that I supported a team with some guts, but instead I want to bury my head in the sand and pretend that I'd never fallen in love with the Blue & White. Our goaltending is shambles, our defense is poor, and there isn't a damn player who can score a bloody goal!!!! We were utterly walked on by the Rangers tonight and it was 100% deserved! Something has to change and fast! My first suggestion would be to bench Toskala and find a goalie who can stand up to some shots (Jonas Gustavsson, I'm looking at you!) and then perhaps look to the Marlies for some inspiration (Bozak, Christian Hanson, anybody?).

This team has been an embarrassment so far...


We'll see what happens tomorrow when they face the Avs at the ACC...

0-2-1

Well, so far it has been a less than auspicious beginning to the Leafs' season. We've lost all three games and have given up 12 goals--only the mighty Vancouver Canucks have given up more with 13. Opening night was easily the best we've played, losing in overtime to the Habs. In the second game, the Caps had us down 6-1 until we pulled it together enough in the third period to score three more and make it a far more respectable 6-4. And last night in the Battle of Ontario we played some sloppy defense and lost 2-1, though admittedly we pressed well in the third period and Komisarek would have had a goal, but his blistering slapshot caromed off both posts behind Pascal Leclaire. I must applaud Jonas "The Monster" Gustavasson because he looked very strong in the net and I really can't blame him too much for how he was beat by Daniel Alfredsson on the penalty shot (oh, thanks for that Luke Schenn!).

Wilson called out his team in the media after the game, saying that "they stunk" and that he is going to be skating them hard on Wednesday morning.

I hope to see some improvement boys...

Kessel, Kadri, and the start of the season

Well, I've had a number of people pestering me to weigh in on the Kessel trade since I've been pretty mum about it (on the blog at least) and so here goes. I think Kessel is a very good player and there is a part of me that is excited for him to be a Leaf. However, I don't think that he's "two firsts and a second" good and I admit that I'm a bit choked with Burke over this trade. What Burke is banking on is that the Leafs are going to do far better this year and next year (which they very well may) and thus those two first rounders will be late draft choices. However, as much as I think the Leafs will be a better team this year (and if the pre-season is any indication, they will!), will they be a top ten team? I highly doubt it. Thus, I think Burke has traded away a big chunk of the future in order to get an injury-prone forward who won't play until November and who has been known to disappear when the pressure is on. And in the NHL, the Toronto hockey market is the definition of pressure. This move screams "we're going to make the playoffs come hell or high water" and, to me, contradicts all of his talk about the slow building of the team and thinking long-term rather than short-term. However, I hope Kessel proves me wrong and I'll be pulling for him, even if I am not a big fan of the trade.


On the opposite side of the coin, I think it was wise of Burke/Wilson to send Nazem Kadri back to junior for more experience, ice time, and strengthening. He had a great camp and his future in Toronto looks bright (provided they don't trade him away). He's wily, quick, has great hands, is a fantastic skater, and has some pretty sweet moves (based on his shootout goal against Pittsburgh). I look forward to seeing him up with the big club in the next couple of years!

As for what this season holds, it's tough to tell. The Leafs had a great pre-season, The Monster and Toskala both looked good, and even thinking about the defensive corps gives me bruises! The question mark is going to be whether we're going to be able to fill the net or not. The addition of Kessel should help that, but is there any guarantee that he's going to stay healthy?

Some predictions: Will the Leafs make the playoffs? Yes. Will they be the eighth seed? No. Will Phil Kessel stay healthy? No. Will the Leafs spend a lot of time in the penalty box? Heck yes.

I'm looking forward to the season opener against the Habs tonight...

pre-season thoughts thus far

I don't have a lot to say about the pre-season thus far other than that I am impressed with how the team has looked/played. The Buds have won the majority of their games and, in many cases, have looked pretty convincing doing it. Nazim Kadri looks like he has the makings of a very good NHL player, but I think he should be sent back to junior to develop more before they bring him up to the pressure-filled fishbowl that is the Toronto hockey market.

being a Leafs fan

I take a lot of stick for a number of different things (including my profession), but not for anything as much as being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Admittedly, because the Leafs are the biggest punchline in the NHL (and don't think I won't admit it, because I often do) this is deserved. However, I know that if I were to suddenly switch allegiances after all these years as a result of how badly they stink, I'd hear about it even more. I have a number of friends who are Canuck fans and who always tell me that the Canucks are a "real" team (see note below). The thing is, my body would really pay the price if I switched allegiances and became a hard-core Vancouver fan--Canucks supporters have really really bad knee and leg problems from jumping on and off the bandwagon so many times...

My connection to the Leafs is pretty much down to one person. His real first name is Norman, but he goes by a shortened form of his middle name (William): Bill. He is also known as my father. My dad has always loved the Leafs and he passed on that love to me, a love that grew in my teens to what it is now at age 30. Because I didn't live with my father, the Leafs are a real bonding thing for us and thus a team on which I am still not willing to fully give up. My dad and I are real Leafs fans, not the pie-in-the-sky, uncritical type that a lot of so-called fans are. As Dave Feschuk and Michael Grange point out in their brilliant new book Leafs AbomiNation, the problem is that Leafs fans don't love their team too much, they love them too little. They are willing to settle for whatever mediocre crap is thrown on the ice season after season and treat the players like heroes just because they wear the Blue & White. My father and I do not really fit that mold and we would be the first people to lambast the Leafs' torturously poor decision making in the post-1967 era. Many a phone call have we shared where my father and I have derided the team and there have been times where they've been so bad (pretty constantly) that we've essentially ignored them and focused on other sporting loves (I am a passionate Liverpool FC supporter and thus have another club to focus on that is far more successful while my father loves the CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Toronto Blue Jays). My dad remembers 1967, remembers when the Leafs were great. I know the stories and have studied the history: from Barilko to Baun, Keon to Sittler, from the agony of "the Ballard Years" to the corporate B.S. of the MLSE era, I know all about it. Which brings us to the concept of loyalty...

I love you Dave Keon:


There is something to be said for loyalty, though I consider my/our loyalty to be "loyalty with discernment". I am willing to admit to being a Leafs fan, will sport my jersey or t-shirt, but I refuse to make excuses to others for a team that has missed the playoffs for the last four years, has made incredibly bad trade decisions (you readers don't have three hours to hear the post-67 list--it would make you cry), rewarded mediocrity with ridiculous contracts (Brian McCabe??? Lord helps us, he had a good one-timer and that's IT), drafted like Helen Keller, and generally put profits ahead of winning (are you listening, Richard Peddie!?), just to mention a few symptoms of general malaise. Garbage management (i.e. John Ferguson Jr.???), poor scouting, bad ownership, blind fans, and a number of other factors have contributed to making the team the laughingstock it is today; I, for one, would love to see it end because it's tiring. However, there is a glimmer of hope...

Say what you will about Brian Burke, but love him or hate him, he knows how to get results and he has a long-term vision for the team, something the organization has lacked for....well, a hell of a long time. The Leafs are starting to scout far better, draft better, and not trade away picks under the Burke regime. Is he perfect? No, not at all and he will probably make mistakes in the fishbowl that is the Toronto hockey market. However, he knows the symptoms of what Feschuk and Grange call 'Blue & White Disease', as does his hardass coach Ron Wilson, and I don't see this malady continuing--in fact, the vaccine is being continually developed. I am so pleased they picked up Jonas Gustavsson ("The Monster") to challenge Vesa Toskala ("The Tepid Finn") for the top goaltending job, hopefully shoring up what Burke calls 'hockey's most important position'. Nazim Kadri looks like he could be a very good NHLer if he continues to develop, and Burke's other additions make him look very smart and savvy, including the scouting and signing of college players such as Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson. Add Francois Beauchemin, Colton Orr, and Mike Komisarek (to name but a few) and no other team is going to want play the Leafs this season for fear of being steamrolled! I hope the message Burke is sending is "Enough of the no-trade clauses and cushy treatment. If you want a spot on this team, you earn it through your play!" We'll see what the 2009-10 season brings...

I love the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club and the reason I am still a fan is because of a yearning to see respectability and glory returned to what was once a proud franchise with a tradition of winning. Conn Smythe would roll over in his grave if he knew what the Buds had become since their last Cup in 1967 (FYI, the Blackhawks have been waiting even longer for a Cup, their last win being 1961 when Mikita and Hull were their big guns!). For me and my father, it's about seeing some dignity and a winning tradition restored to a franchise that he remembers and I dream about. My father and I don't care about profit margins, corporate sponsorship, good branding or any of that crap. Like the real fans we want to see winning, a team that has guts, passion, and a never-say-die attitude rather than the whiny, spoiled, Muskoka Five-type attitude prevalent of late, where you love being a Leaf because of the social perks and treatment by myopic fans who do not care enough about seeing the Cup return to the Leafs. And if it happens in my lifetime, a Cup win for the Leafs will make it all that much sweeter because I will have stuck it out rather than giving up. I hope my dad gets to see it too!


* To my friends who are Canucks fans: Your team is by far my favourite team in the league outside of the Leafs; I always sincerely hope for their best and love to see them succeed. However, please stop comparing the Leafs and Canucks based on playoff performance (the most common comparison you bring up): if you examine the stats, the Canucks have really had little better playoff success than the Leafs in the the last 20 years or so, not withstanding the miracle run in 1994. In the last two decades the Leafs have made it to the Conference Finals four times and Vancouver has made it...once, where they beat the Leafs in five games. Yes, in general, the Canuckleheads have had more success in the regular season, but what counts is how you do when you're not playing for a salary anymore. And based on that measure we've shown more stones than you have in the last couple of decades, in my humble opinion. We've missed the playoffs for four straight years now, a fact you never stop reminding me of, but funnily, so did YOU between 1996 and 2000 (not to mention 2005-06 and 2007-08). Have your teams been better than the Leafs in general? Absolutely. Do you have some of the most hot and cold fans in professional sports? Heck, yes. Have you wilted like violets in the playoffs? Yup. Is the Luongo-Sedins axis getting it done for you? Not in a million years and it's not looking likely in the future either, despite Luongo's long-term deal. So, please cut the mockery, because when it comes to playoff performance comparisons, you don't have a leg to stand on. End of rant. Bing Man out.

what you've been waiting for: weighing in on the draft and more

I've been chastised for not posting my thoughts on the Leafs' first round draft pick, Nazem Kadri, as well as the team's other pre-season moves and so I am taking the time to quickly do so now.

The first think I'd like to say is that I like Kadri and what he can bring to the team the more I read about him. He's quick, offensively-minded, has great hands, is a wickedly fast skater and is especially impressive in his ability to find the net shorthanded. As a London Knight, he finished second in team scoring behind John Tavares with 78 points--not too shabby. If I wished one thing about Kadri, it's that he was a bit bigger (at 6'0, 167 pounds, he's not that physically imposing), however he is still just a kid and will beef up as he gets older. Interestingly, he was ranked 11th at midterm by NHL Central Scouting and his final rank was 15th, however he ended up going 7th overall. Kadri turns 19 in October and I'm curious as to whether he will be able to crack the Leafs lineup this coming season or whether he'll be back with the Knights.

Burke has definitely toughened the team up with his signings in the off-season (Komisarek, Beauchemin, Orr, Exelby, etc.), but I am not seeing much offensive power in the lineup outside of Jason Blake (who isn't getting any younger!), though new acquisition Rickard Wallin may help with that. I am also hoping that John Mitchell will step up even more this year after a good season with the Buds last season--he has potential to be a good second or third line forward with the team, much like he was last year.

Goaltending is going to be interesting for the team--Vesa Toskala has a more-than-ample challenger in Jonas "the Monster" Gustavsson and I am curious to see whether the Finn is displaced from the number one position! At least, no matter what happens, we should have a highly competent backup 'tender, which has been lacking for a good long time.

Our GM has done a good job this off-season and our team is not going to be one that is easily intimidated. Heck, I think that they are going to be a difficult team to play and more difficult still to push around, which is encouraging. That being said, however, who is going to put the pucks in the net? This is my main concern as the 2009-10 seaspm approaches. Does Burkie have a few more tricks up his sleeve?

We shall see...

coming soon...

My thoughts on the draft as well as some other Leafs-related issues are being formulated and will be on their way soon! Watch this space...

Who should we draft? Ulmer has the goods...

My favourite Leafs blogger, the venerable Mike Ulmer, believes that he has the inside track on who the Leafs should draft provided that Burke can't trade up to get Tavares or Hedman. I did a bit of digging about this kid and I must admit, Ulmer is right: he looks pretty dang good!

Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson has the look of an future star already and with any luck the Leafs could potentially score him in the draft, depending on whether than can trade up or, if they cannot, what the needs are of the teams ahead of them in the draft order. And he's only 17!! Scouts say he is NHL-ready or pretty close to it already!

Canada's best hope for the future

As much as my Leaf-hating friends might hate it, Eric Duhatschek stated in today's Globe & Mail that recent events leave "the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs with potentially the best chance of any Canadian team to get back in the winner's circle within a reasonable time frame." Based on his reasoning, I find it hard to disagree with this statement. It all depends on what Burkie is able to do over the summer, but if you give him and Nonis time and resources, Toronto is going to have a very good team on the ice, provided MLSE (read: Richard Peddie) does not get in the way!

I feel bad for the Canucks and their fans, but that was a Class A meltdown versus the Blackhawks in the second round and Luongo was roundly outplayed by Khabibulin, to most people's surprise/chagrin. And Canada continues to wait for their Cup--16 years and counting...