Captain "AMERICA" ?

Gone are the days of Mats Sundin and his European reign as captain of the beloved Blue and White. Mats' run was not only the single most captivating run by a captain, but a captain who wasn't afraid to step outside of the box and see the light from a different perspective before pointing fingers at anyone. Mats time as captain should not be clouded in any way by the media because he doesn't owe us anything. Does he really know what he wants to do next or has he already made his mind up long ago? With out knowing the man personally I can't assume anything. But one thing I can assume is that he is either going to retire or he will be back with the Leafs. His heart kept him here instead of pulling a "Trade me to a contender" scenario last spring. That clearly didn't happen which means that his heart is here. Period. 

In saying that he was the best captain in the history with the Leafs is weighing all the things he did right instead of all the things he did wrong. His voice on line ups was obviously NOT heard so they didn't trust his judgement. Or was this due to his European background? You would never have seen a coach overrule Darryl Sittler on who HE wanted to play with would you??? Had he been able to put "His line" together we would have seen him playing between the likes of Gary Roberts and Alex Mogilny for a lot longer than when they needed that goal in the dying seconds of a third period.

Which brings me to this, Jason Blake as your Captain of the 2008/2009 Toronto Maple Leafs. Sounds interesting doesn't it. Jason was born in Moorhead MN. Since 2000/2001 season he has entered 492 NHL Games and has only missed 16 games. Here is another interesting statistic. In a regular season there are 82 games. 82 games multiplied by 3 periods = 246 periods of hockey. Guess how many of those periods Jason has missed in the past 2 season of hockey? 2...well, 62 mins to be exact. Not only is he a great skater but he is also a great leader. A captain need only worry about the composure of the teams players off and on the ice. The rest is up to the coaches. With Tucker out along with McCabe a close second, I can't really see there being any reason not to hand over the Golden "C" to a deserving man like Jason Blake. Hey, its all about heart. Next to Mats there is little heart left on this team. So why not give it to the sleeping giant who has been patiently waiting for an opportunity to become what he naturally deserves, a captain of a dying ship in desperate need for someone unbiased to say "HEY, MR.BETTMAN...I am the first American Captain to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs...and guess what, you still won't more TV Ratings in Atlanta or Tampa!!!"

To most, it would be expected that the torch be passed along to either Kaberle or McCabe. But the reality is this, the Leafs don't have a "Superstar" on thier team. There isn't a franchise player here that is considered the "Next Captain" of the Blue and White. So until then, I will settle for a little guy with a huge heart that will do what it takes to stay out of the penalty box so that he can spend more time on the ice leading by example.

My compliments to Cliff Fletcher and their team for not giving up too much this year at the draft and for getting someone that we may be able to consider as a franchise player in Schenn. Oh yeah, and here's to really looking forward to the 2010/2011 season !!!

Neil Doran