Recipe for Leaf Success in the Burke Era

(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

The only exception to this rule would be if they were damn sure this was the Cup run year and the only way to get that final piece of the puzzle was to give up an early round pick. But other than that this is not a grey area,one that should be continually re-evaluated, it is black and white, and simplyis the best way to keep the pipeline full of young talented players, year after year.

Developing and Retaining Young Players

The Leaf organization is littered with the corpses of young players who never were allowed to develop to their full potential with the Leafs. These players were traded for a variety of reasons.

Some were developing too slowly for management's taste. Some were clearly becoming stars, but the rationale was that somehow getting a veteran or a more established player would bring the team closer to the Cup. And some simply got on the wrong side of management for a variety reasons—salary request, attitude, etc. (not a  hard thing to do in Toronto). This aspect of the Leaf culture must change for the team to be successful. We must retain and develop our young players.

Here is a partial list of players( in no particular chronological order) who were in their mid 20's or younger when somehow the Leafs could not or would not, hold on to them.

Some of them became legitimate stars, others journeymen, but all performed  reasonably well elsewhere: Gary Unger, Randy Carlyle, Frederick Modin, Vinnie Damphouse, Steve Sullivan, Mike Johnson, Luke Richardson, Jason Smith, Steve Thomas, Alyn McCauley, Kenny Johnson, Bernie Parent, Danny Markov,  Russ Courtnall, Rick Kehoe, Al Iafrate, Laurie Boschman, Yannic Perrault, and Mike Walton.

And though it happened pre Burke, the pattern continues today, with the release of Welwood, and the trading of Steen and Coliacovo. All young players with tons of upside, and in Welwood's case especially there was plenty of evidence he could perform . But somehow, he became an overweight out of shape bad boy and was run out of town....in my opinion  that was a definite error in judgement by then GM Fletcher.

Goaltending

Goaltending is the foundation of great teams( not sure I get the Chris Osgood thing, but it works for Detroit!), the teams that follow this maxim religiously (New Jersey) usually succeed and those that don't (Philadelphia) always finish out of the money.

You will notice I say usually succeed, because as we all know, a goaltender alone cannot win you the cup or even get you near the playoffs—witness Luongo's years in Florida. That being said, the Leafs must be vigilant in net—if Toskala plays like he did for most of last year, he must sit much earlier in the season.

Look at the Caps with Theodore, and the Ducks with Giguere. Both high-priced, supposedly star goalies are on the bench while the rookie back ups are carrying the team. Leaf fans will argue that there was and still is no one that can possibly carry team if Toskala fails. That is not the point...trades can be made, free agents can be signed.

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