Everyone I talk to about Jason Blake says that he was a big bust for the Maple Leafs and that he didn't do much for them, but let's be honest for a second. Jason Blake had a good season. He had 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points. That's nothing to gawk at, but no one seems to realize that.
Everybody just says that "He didn't score any goals so he didn't contribute anything to the team." Well guess what? He did.
If nobody noticed, Nik Antropov more than made up for Blake's lack of goals with about 15 more goals than anybody thought he'd get. Also, Blake had 37 assists, which means he was setting up goals for everybody else—nothing wrong with that by any means.
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Plus his gritty and good defensive zone play made him a more than worthy Masterson award winner (even though he was minus four, but in all fairness Kaberle was minus two).
So what's the problem with Blake then in the eyes of Toronto fans and media?
Simple. He was signed to score goals.
But the thing that seems to be the problem with Toronto fans is that they never look at the positives of a player—they always look at the negatives.
The sad thing is, even though he got 15 goals, he still played solidly throughout the whole year. Always consistent, always moving the puck, always hustling to make a play.
Now haven't fans been complaining about a lack of that?
After all of that let's ask the question again. What should the Leafs do with Jason Blake?
Well, they should keep him! He will get more goals, I guarantee it. He will make the second line great. You just watch.
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5 months ago
"But the thing that seems to be the problem with Toronto fans is that they never look at the positives of a player, they always look at the negatives."
Toronto fans are different from Toronto Media, and Blake had no reference to Antropov, Sundin made antropov shine this season. I'm not looking at just the negatives but, the leafs are I think one of the most unskilled teams, having Antrpov on our first line. That's laughable. Sundin is and was the only great thing about Toronto, after he's gone its a bunch of high paid scrubs with legal complications, family complications or skill complications. Turn the leafs into a WWE team I say, unless we can draft a solid player and get the 1st pick next year.
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