As most of the sports world is well aware of by now, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be on the outside looking in for the NHL playoffs for the third consecutive year.
This is the first time in more than 80 years that this has occurred, way back when the franchise was still the St. Pats for the first of the three losing seasons.
For Toronto fans, the late-season push, while impressive, should not have been looked upon with great enthusiasm.
There were too many nights earlier in the season where the team threw away points that could have been used to make the margin for error in the final 12 games a little easier.
Just to name a few of the horror stories for the '07-'08 Toronto Maple Leafs:
Oct. 15 @ Buffalo: The Leafs blow two third-period leads of two goals, and Bryan McCabe ends it in overtime by putting the puck in his own goal.
Oct. 20 vs. Chicago: The Leafs again blow a two-goal lead as they go from leading 3-1 at the start of the third period, to losing 6-4 at home on Hockey Night in Canada.
Dec. 18 @ Carolina: Leading 2-0, the Leafs allow two goals in the final 1:31 after Alexei Ponikarovsky has the puck stolen at the Hurricane blueline with nothing but a gaping open net in front of him.
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The Hurricanes tie the game and then win in overtime. Two nights later in Tampa Bay, a Pavel Kubina broken stick allows the Lightning to streak down the ice and Vinny Lecavalier to beat Vesa Toskala with less than a minute to play as the Leafs gain only one out of a possible four points, when three of four had seemed very much attainable.
Jan. 10 @ Los Angeles: Having been shut out 5-0 by the Anaheim Ducks the night before, the Maple Leafs played arguably their worst game of the season as they were embarassed by the worst team in the NHL 5-2, while Jason LaBarbara stopped over 40 shots and looked like George Vezina.
Jan. 12 @ San Jose: Leading 2-0 after two periods, a number of questionable calls result in San Jose powerplays, and by result, powerplay goals, as the low point of the Leafs' season ends with a 3-2 loss in Silicon Valley.
This is just a sample of what was wrong with the Maple Leafs this season. Other lowlights included losses by five or more goals on home ice at least four times.
Moving forward, Leaf fans need to pray that the GM who is hired over the summer will implement the proper strategy to turn this team around.
It remains to be seen whether the likes of Jason Blake, Darcy Tucker, and Kyle Wellwood will be given another shot to prove themselves or if they will be bought out or shipped out.
Defenseman Kubina can be traded during a month-and-a-half window this summer since the Leafs missed the playoffs, and that may be the route taken if the club can't convince McCabe to waive his no-trade clause.
Given the play down the stretch, Kubina responded to his increased minutes and responsibilities and finally started to play like the man John Ferguson signed in summer 2006.
But there is only room for one $5-million man on this blueline, and Kubina may be the better option.
Either way, the new Leafs' management needs to explore any and all possibilities of re-moulding the hockey club into something that resembles what this once-proud hockey franchise looked like so many years ago.
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5 months ago
Matt when the priest came to deliver the last rites to the Leafs this week, he shoulda brought along a younger priest to perform an exorcism. The mess that Fergusson left behind will take even the most skilled CSI squad some time to clean up. For the fans sake and the youth movement, I hope next year's team will outshine today's lineup..... the top brass owes it to Leaf nation.
from 5 months ago
The mess isn't as big as people are amking it out to be. A few good drafts this summer should be all it takes. As far as I'm concerned the McCabe contract and the Tucker contract, equating to about 8 million combined is really the only issue in terms of duds taking up salary space. Tuckers performance has been lacking, and although McCabe brings some invaluable assets to the team he isnt worth 6+ million. The team does have some talent locked down for very reasonable prices. Antropov for example costs just under 2 million, while Karberle is worth every penny of his 4 million dollar contract. Kubina has proven his worth and his NTC, and although McCabe as previously mentioned is a burden with his salary, his intangibles make up for his NTC, that was proved by how hard the team slumped after the dirty Andrei Kostitsyn broke his wrist and put him out for 2 months. Jason Blake I feel will perform better next year, the man had cancer for God sake, and a 50 point season isn't all that bad. As for a youth movement, I'm pretty sure it was the youth that put the Habs out last night. As I said before a few good drafts, maybe a trade or two and a new mentality in the Front Office should be all it takes to change this team for next season.
5 months ago
Problem #1: the pension fund
5 months ago
the pension fund isn't the problem. It's tennenbaum and peddie. The fund needs to step in and get rid of them, yes, but those two jokers duped everyone for years. The fund looked for experts to run the Leafs, and T&P maneuvered their way in there. No one in MLSE knows anything about basketball and they admit it...so they go out, get Colangello by giving him free hand. Holland, Bowman, Burke, et al, (ie. the people that could turn the leafs around) will not touch them with a 10 foot pole simply because they will not be able to do what they need to do. MLSE management directly below the fund will get involved and muddle things up.
This article is dead on though. That playoff run should be sneered at. Wasting away the first 60 games of the year to mount charge down the run is laughable. Poor Paul Maurice, I think he's very capable, but did he ever step into it.
As for Leafs Nation, whatever. They were the people that cheered when McCabe got his contract, they cheer for Tucker, they didn't want Sundin traded over the past couple of years. They loved it when Domi got his golden handshake contract. The Sun, the Star, Damien Cox, Don Cherry, the Q, everyone cheered for the past 15 years as the team drove itself into the dirt. ugh.
5 months ago
First time since what, 1926-28 that they missed out on the playoffs three years in a row...
5 months ago
Perhaps it's time to clean house. From top to bottom, the ownership to the players. Even the fans.
Okay, no perhaps about it. The playoff "run" was laughable from the get-go. Why do we keep supporting them? If the team is to succeed, blood must flow.
Painful as a few years of rebuilding might be, they can't be any more painful than the last 40 years.
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