2009/2010 Toronto Maple Leafs II: Black October

A vortex of broken goaltenders and misplaced blame imploded spectacularly Monday night, equalizing the black hole that was the Toronto Maple Leafs' win column and sending palpable shockwaves through the hockey universe. Having increased their point total 200 percent, a veritable scramble for group identification swept across the continent, either to voice their undying support for their beloved franchise or to scathingly remind the masses that other NHL teams win all the time. But already the collective breath had been exhaled, as Leafs fans looked at each other or within themselves as though Brian Burke had spoken directly to their hearts: “It's over, now forget it already.”

It will never be debated that, although statistically not the most terrible stretch in team history, MLSE is unlikely to commemorate a plaque to the Toronto Maple Leafs of October 2009. Even should the Maple Leafs win their remaining three games this month, the resulting four-game winning streak hardly compares to the gravity of their as-of-now-infamous 0-7-1 opening.

Perhaps the sheer size of the October Hole will be enough to drag the rest of the season in with it, and 2009-2010 will truly be the most forgettable post-lockout season. Despite the importance fans will attach to the late-season push to at least deprive Boston of a lottery pick, the unlikelihood of a turnaround drastic enough to bring the team into playoff contention is clear to those still partially unblinded by the sheer joy of winning.

In all probability—considering Toronto's past—the Leafs will lose spectacularly to Dallas in their upcoming game and the press lobby will noisily revert back from sensationalist positivity to sensationalist pessimism. The Maple Leafs are statistically handicapped regardless of which sort of journalism they are bombarded with, and should the handicap grow amidst such apparent indirection and incompetence, the cynical will abandon hope and the wolves will continue to feed.

Regardless of the literal outcome of the 2009-2010 season, the way in which the players and management cope with the gravity of the October Hole will ensure the Leafs will continue to be followed with the usual reverence as the organization gradually begins its long journey to define itself positively. The inevitable physical and psychological reactions to as polarizing a force as that felt by the entire MLSE organization during October 2009 will define the foundation upon which this team builds into the near future. The reaction could be so minimal that cracks appear instantly, the team founders, and Ron Wilson has to worry about his job security regardless of any promises Brian Burke could ever make. Or, the team may tear itself away from the destructive gravity of the October Hole and reconstitute itself entirely, building on the lessons and punishment inflicted mercilessly upon them as they stood their turn as the NHL's laughingstock.

For a rebuilding franchise, such a momentous period so early in development poses the danger of undermining both franchise integrity and individual confidence, and psychological viruses spread easily and quickly under the stresses of life on a winless Toronto Maple Leafs team.

If trends and probabilities are embraced, then 2009-2010 for the Leafs will mean very little statistically. They have no high draft pick to hope for, and have a momentous climb from the depths of the NHL cellar in order to salvage face for many observers. But those who have followed Toronto in the win-loss column will continue to be disappointed, as this campaign has, dating back to the draft, always been about identity and definition. So far the Leafs have been consistent in neither, content to display all manner of ideologies as their motley crew shuffles from town to town waiting for the effects of Black October to dissipate.

Although it is easy to distill a lack of cohesive identity to the uncertainties in goal, the truth is every single player has played to the standards of an 0-7-1 record at some occasion this season, unambitious in their mediocrity. But Brian Burke, above anything else, knows what he wants, and he is clever enough to see that the product he has presented is highly unacceptable.

By this time next season, the Leafs' roster will likely be as unfamiliar as from last year's to today, but unlike this past offseason Burke will not be flying in the dark. He will have an offseason with the franchise under his belt, he will be far more familiar with the capabilities of the players throughout the organization, and he will have a clearer understanding of the identity the franchise creates for itself instead of the one he imposes upon it. It is easy for him to stand at a podium and regurgitate synonyms for “tough,” but the transformation of individual player identities into a collective team consciousness has always been the biggest challenge the Toronto Maple Leafs have faced since Mats Sundin bowed out of the city.

For all Brian Burke has done to create the illusion that the evolution of identity would be instantaneous, most knew that it would be a painful process, and one that is likely not over yet. Perhaps the worst has indeed passed, yet there are still levels and levels of mediocrity upon which to potentially settle, and fans may yet yearn for the quick sting of an eight-game losing streak instead of the mind-numbing monotony of more years of .500 hockey.

It may be that the decade-long trend of unpredictability will continue in the foreseeable future, the roulette wheel spinning over and over as fans tear out their hair trying to predict which version of the Maple Leafs will appear on any given night. This season's edition has already demonstrated several varieties, each with a choice of goaltender, and although the Leafs have not yet iced a team that has proven they can win at even strength, they have displayed spectacular imagination in regards to losing.

The important though unambitious truth is that the Leafs will spend the majority of 2009-2010 in the kitchen, fiddling with recipes and combinations at random and hopefully remembering the ones that work. Eighty-two games will come and go, and positive and negative contributions will continue to assert themselves. Competency will develop if allowed patience and practice, and the terrible offerings the Leafs will serve in the future will stink far more of individual negations than group unfamiliarity. It is still far to early to be able to differentiate between collective incompetence and subtractive individual forces, but as trust builds and identity coalesces it will become easier to prune the less constructive elements, which will build more trust and identity in a self-perpetuating cycle until the franchise is the well-oiled machine Brian Burke so passionately envisions.

As the Leafs cobble themselves together from the wreckage of last month, it is the hope of all of Leafs Nation that the pruning begins immediately. Fortunately, the first and most important step is clear: the complete and utter excision of the cognitive recollection of Games No. 1-8 of the NHL's 92nd Season.

Forget the Black October. Hope for a Silver June.