Bleacher Report - Articles by Mitch. Mitchell.

A Fan's Letter To All The Baseball Cheaters

Mitch. Mitchell. — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:16:17 -0500

Author's Note: The following is not a real letter, but is intended to dramatize what the young fans of baseball are thinking when they hear the reports of rampant steroid usage among their heroes. It is written from that point of view.

Dear Major League Baseball:

My name is Timmy and I am a disabled child. I have been in a wheelchair for a very long time.

I use to have lots of heroes in sports until they started cheating me and the fans, as well as their teammates, by taking drugs they were not supposed to take.

My grandpa was in a wheelchair the same as me and he took drugs the same as Bobby Clark, because they both had the same sugar disease.

It was OK to take those drugs because it helped to fix them, and the doctor said they had to.

They didn't take illegal drugs like the heroes I use to have in baseball. I don't know for sure about hockey, because I don't think they caught any yet.

But if they do catch them in hockey, they won't be my heroes anymore either.

I always dream at night when I go to bed about being one of my heroes, but I guess I can't because I am in a wheelchair.

Now I go to bed at night and think of all the cheaters in sports, the ones I thought I would like to be if I wasn't crippled.

My mother said "Timmy, they are not all cheaters, but a lot of them are!"

I don't want to be like them and cheat to make lots of money and to be better than my teammate and sign a big contract.

I am going now because I don't want to watch cheaters anymore, but I like sports so much!

Maybe someday the boss will fire all the players who cheat, just like they do with cheaters in other jobs.

I am sad and my friends are sad also.

Timmy

Hurricanes-Maple Leafs: Leafs Play Well, but Lose to Hot Goalie Cam Ward

Mitch. Mitchell. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:07:01 -0500

The Toronto Maple Leafs came up with probably their best team effort of the season in this 2-0 loss, but could not put the puck behind the Cane's goalie Cam Ward.

The Leafs controlled most of the play during the game and each line played very solid hockey. The M Line of May, Mitchell, and Mayers played very strong and kept pressure on the Cane's defence on each shift with their solid fore-checking.

Toskala came up with his best effort in quite some time and could not be faulted for the two goals that got behind him.

The delay of game call by the official on Kaberle was very marginal at best. His two minutes resulted in the first Hurricane goal—a shot from the blue line.

The Cane's second goal came with only seconds left in the second period, leaving the Leafs to try to overcome a 2-0 deficit going into the third period.

With the exception of two or three hiccups and a failed tripping call on Antropov by the officials, the Leafs could have won this one.

Ron Wilson should be happy with his team's effort, if not the outcome. I do believe Wilson's big problems are lack of break-out patterns as well as PP-PK.

Leafs-Thrashers: Vesa Toskala Makes Five Great Saves in Sad 4-3 Loss

Mitch. Mitchell. — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:31:09 -0500

For all the readers out there and all the Leaf fans, this will be the last Toskala-bashing piece that I will write.

Toskala made five great saves in the Thrasher's 3-0 come from behind win that is why they pay him the big bucks and that is why he is a NHL goalie because he is supposed to come up with the big saves.

But Toskala let in four easy goals that he gets paid to stop, no doubt about it.

When your team is leading three-nothing and you blow it on four shots that were stopable: Management has got to do something about it.

OK fine, on the tying goal someone should have had the man in front of the wide open net, but Toskala came out of the net and created the problem and could not get back in the net.

My son was a very good Junior Goalie and I told him many times, I am not interested in your big saves, I am only interested in the ones you should have stopped.

If I was Burke at this stage, I would be trading Toskala to a team on the way to the play-off's for a good hockey player.

I would bring up Pogge and let him and Joseph ride out the storm the rest of the way.

I hope the Leafs never draft another goalie as their first round pick, not if it is going to take five years for him to prove that he is ready for the big team.

If the Leafs cannot win with the lead and cannot come from behind I would say they have a good shot at first choice in the Junior Draft.

For Toskala's sake, as well as the Leafs' future, I hope I am wrong about all of this. Only time will be the judge in this case.

Maple Leafs-Hurricanes: Does Vesa Toskala Need Glasses?

Mitch. Mitchell. — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:56:57 -0500

Although Toskala played quite well in a 6-4 win over Carolina, the Leafs blew a 4-1 lead after two periods, allowing the Hurricanes to tie it at 4-4 late in the third.

The Leafs did play quite well.

They were moving their feet, creating chances, and fore-checking well—except for about ten minutes beginning the third period, which allowed Carolina to tie the game.

Jason Blake probably played his best game as a Leaf, scoring three times—the third coming on a empty-netter.

We were talking about players moving their feet.

When Jason Blake is skating and controlling the puck there is no better player in the league who can be creative.

At the start of the third period I could see it all happening—at the drop of the puck, the Leafs were in the chasing mode.

It is sad to see coach Wilson have to take a time out just to get his point to Toskala that he should have had stopped a couple of shots that allowed Carolina to tie the game.

I would like to say—the last time I saw a 19-year-old D-man play the way Luke Schenn played against Carolina was a young guy named Bobby Orr.

Schenn is by all means on his way to being not only a great player, but a fine leader whom Toronto can build their team around.

2009 NHL Free Agents At A Glance

Mitch. Mitchell. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:42:29 -0500

The following are not all the available free agents for 2009 but some that may fit the Leafs' plans.

Buffalo has two players the Leafs may want: Spacek and Kotalik.

Calgary may want to get rid of Todd Bertuzzi for a price or Mike Cammalleri.

Carolina, I do not think will allow Chad LaRose to go.

Anaheim Ducks could help the Leafs with center Samuel Pahlsson.

Minnesota are not going to get rid of Nicklas Backstrom but they may want to deal Marian Gaborik.

Chicago Black Hawks will part ways, I think, with Martin Havlat: He would be a great catch for T.O.

Detroit will keep Franzen and Zetterberg but may want to deal for Marian Hossa.

Florida I do believe would want the farm for Jay Bouwmeester. Great player!

The rest of the free players what! Free agents are either too price-minded or they are staying with their team.

The rest who are free to tackle are over the hill or coming to the end of their careers.

I do believe Toronto has about $20 million laying around in the School Teachers' Fund which they should be using. The rainy day has arrived.

But before we go buying, selling, or trading, on the Leafs' part let's have a good look at what the Leafs have to offer and what they would lose in the rebuilding process.

Let's be honest here, Thomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, John Mitchell, Mikhail Grabovski, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Jason Blake, Dominic Moore and Vesa Toskala—if any were with another team, they would be stand-outs.

Here is my case: Toronto cannot trade players who are going to give them equal value and you cannot trade two or three of the above players to get a leading scorer.

The leading scorer you get is going to be a Daryle Sittler playing on a weak Toronto team, working your ass off every night with no team results.

Toronto must buy players with their $20 million, keep their best players and never trade their draft choices.

As I see it from this side of the table the Leafs may have about four players who may get them a pretty good return without trading the farm or tearing down the house.

I may also add if the troubled economy has the effect on hockey it is having on everything else, the greed players and their agents may be begging some of the big markets for contracts. We will see.

Maple Leafs-Predators: Toronto Suffers N.M.F. in 2-0 Loss to Nashville.

Mitch. Mitchell. — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:50:54 -0500

The Leafs suffered their fourth loss in a row at the hands of the Nashville Predators, mostly because of a season problem called "N.M.F."

In plain hockey language, this means they were not moving their feet—and this has been the case in most games this season.

As mentioned in a previous article of mine, if you as a player are going to stand around not moving your feet, you will begin to clutch and grab or whatever, ending in your team playing a man short.

The Leafs do not seem to be very creative in setting up plays or finishing off plays. Therefore, they give the puck away on most occasions and then end up chasing the opposition continually.

Toskala, I thought, played a much better game against a pretty good Nashville team—although from my point of view I thought the two pucks that went in were stoppable.

The Leafs have been having trouble all year making the big breakout plays—that is just not happening.

I did think that Luke Schenn played very well on the blue line and made some very good moves coming out of his own end. The penalty at the end of the game was a maybe by the ref.

The league cannot fine me or suspend me for commenting about the officiating. For the most part of this season the officiating has been terrible at best.

We do have to admit the Leaf injury list is hurting at this time, but this game was not too bad. One goal by the Leafs early in the third would have been big.

I do honestly believe that the Leaf players are playing scared at this time, not knowing what is in the future for them.

They are fighting the puck and running around a little—a sure sign of nervousness.

For Leafs Management: "A Plan"

Mitch. Mitchell. — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:33:10 -0500

Another embarrassment to the Maple Leafs as a team—a 6-2 embarrassment at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.

I am not quite sure what type of hockey I was watching—Leaf players out of position, giving the puck away, five players playing defensive zone coverage: in the slot area.

Vesa Toskala out of position on about three goals, defence not holding the line, shots not getting to the net (and when they do, nobody screening). What in hell kind of garbage hockey is that!

I cannot believe these players are professional hockey players getting paid big bucks to play in the NHL. When Canada's Junior Team could probably kick their asses.

The only half decent part of the game Leafs played was that they did well in the fisticuffs.

I understand,you the fans and writers understand,it is not the coach's fault: it is the team and players he has been given to coach.

But there is sure as hell something that management can do-you can buy, sell, trade, and demote.

The Leaf management has had ample time to see just what is happening with their rebuilding. The playoffs are slipping away, and fast because the Leafs are not up for the games that they should be winning! Simple as that.

Now that you as management have had a good look at what kind of team you have then why don't you ship the whole team down the highway and bring up the whole Marlie Team? At least you would have some idea then just what the future holds on the farm.

I watched a perfectly played game of hockey a couple of nights ago between Boston and the Wild, and I was thinking—I hope the whole Leaf organization is watching this.

So, coach Ron Wilson, please get the clip of the mentioned game and show it to your Leafs. The Wild played a game of hockey exactly how a game of hockey should be played.

When the Wild lost possession of the puck, it was like magnet—they all took a Boston player. How simple is that?

Maple Leafs: The Trade That Made Me a Fan Forever

Mitch. Mitchell. — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:34:41 -0500

The time was 1945 and World War II was just coming to an end. It was Christmas time on Canada's eastern coast. Times, of course, were very hard at that time. For me, having a big family meant my folks did not have very much money.

It was very cold in December, which led to many outdoor skating rinks, ponds, rivers, streams, and lakes being turned into hockey rinks. All the boys would get together and we would pick two hockey teams.

Each team would have a big argument about the name of their team. At that time, it was hard to choose, with only six teams in the National Hockey League.

It seemed that everyone but myself was wearing an NHL sweater. With my parents under financial hardship they could not afford much, certainly not a hockey sweater and matching socks.

But in any case, Christmas came along and my dear mother would save every penny she could during the year just to buy all the children in our family a gift. I had absolutely no idea what my gift would be, but I knew it was under the tree in a huge box.

On Christmas morning, gift opening time came. Suddenly, everyone dove right in and began throwing paper in all directions.

I opened my gift after a struggle and there it was, something I always prayed for: a Palm-Beach Guitar. My dear mother had saved for a whole year to buy me a $12 guitar.

The next morning, it was Boxing Day. We all hit the rinks, with everyone showing off the new skates, sweaters, and sticks that they got for Christmas.

My cousin, who would never be a hockey player and had no interest in hockey, always did his best and showed up at the rink on most days. This Boxing Day, he came to the rink with a new hockey sweater and socks. What were they? You guessed it! "The Blue And White."

Luckily, I knew that my cousin was very interested in music, so I was on a mission. But first I had to talk to my dear mother about a possible trade: my guitar for cousin Les' Toronto Maple Leafs sweater and socks. A very brazen thought, indeed!

Thankfully, my mother knew how much I loved hockey and what it would mean if I could have a uniform that was all my own. She finally gave into my wish.

The trade was made—my guitar for a Leafs uniform.

So because of one person, my darling mother, to this day I am a Leafs fan and always will be. To me it was the greatest trade ever made.

May God bless you, Mother.

Go-Leafs-Go!

Dear Vesa Toskala: Do You Want To Play for the Maple Leafs or Not?

Mitch. Mitchell. — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:37:40 -0500

It is unbelievable how a good goalie can end up being the worst goalie I have ever seen in the Blue and White.

Absolutely terrible to say the least; either Vesa Toskala does not give a shit, or he wants out of Toronto.

Either way, I would make his wish come true as soon as possible.

I have never seen a goaltender let in so many shots that he should have stopped without a doubt.

Florida did a scouting report on Toskala before the game and it fit to a tee how they were going to beat Toskala—he is down on every shot.

Never mind blaming the not-so-steady defence; I am talking about goaltending.

My son was a goalie and drafted by the Kingston Canadians way back when, and if he ever let in shots that Toskala is letting in, he would not have been drafted.

Toskala has been given every opportunity to show what he can do as a starting goalie, but he has let the team down more than once.

I said it before: If you are going to play one good game and five so-so games as a goalie, you will not last very long in the NHL.

Ron Wilson or Brian Burke will have to make a move sooner or later, because the confidence level of the team is diminishing quickly.

Yes, I understand the old rebuilding issue. But this has got nothing to do with rebuilding.

This problem is in fact a goalie problem in return it is a major concern for the Leafs.

The Leafs must either bench Toskala until he wants to play or send him to the Marlies and bring in Justin Pogge, ready or not.

If this is not the way to go with your starting goalie, then the next best thing for the Leafs is to trade him for some player who at least wants to put his heart in the team every game.

I can assure you if I was Wilson it would be my way with Toskala or the highway.

Leafs-Thrashers: Breath Of Fresh Air as Justin Pogge Wins NHL Debut

Mitch. Mitchell. — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:27:53 -0500

The Leafs may have just received what the doctor ordered—their young goalie prospect Justin Pogge came up with a big win and a solid effort in his NHL Debut.

Butterflies and all, Pogge stood tall in the Leafs net, thumping the Thrashers on their home ice to the tune of 6-2.

Pogge finally got his chance—and he made very sure he was going to take advantage of it.

I for one have been waiting a long time to see if the Leafs were ever going to give this kid a chance after picking Pogge first in the draft in 2004-05.

The Leafs played another solid game on hostile ice, and it seemed very clear they were not going to let their young goalie down.

If I was Ron Wilson, Pogge would be getting the nod for next game also.

If Pogge continues to play well, it will also force Toskala to sharpen up.

The Leafs seem to be coming together as a team at the right time of year.

Moore, Blake, and Williams are playing very well, with Moore being very good on the faceoffs. They are also one of the fastest lines in the league.

Regardless of what some hockey buffs think,the Leafs may not be too far away from being in the sixth or seventh spot.

I do believe that come 2009, a lot of teams in the league would sooner play another team than the Leafs.

Remember—my prediction at the beginning of the season was that the Leafs would hold down eighth place by Christmas. Are we there yet?

Penguins-Maple Leafs: PIttsburgh Shows Very Little Discipline

Mitch. Mitchell. — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:37:01 -0500

Toronto Maple Leafs played by far their best game of the year handing the Penguins one of their worst defeats of the 2008/2009 season to a 7-3 beating.

In my own humble opinion I think the Penguins are a two player team.

If you can hold Malkin and Crosby in check, your chances of beating the Pens are good.

The Leafs showed great discipline and played the basic fundamentals of hockey, keeping the game very simple and not making things difficult.

The couple of mistakes the Leafs did make resulted in two goals of course.

However, Crosby and his gang playing in their own shed showed very little, if any discipline, especially when they saw how well Toronto was playing.

The Penguins tried very hard to intimidate the Leafs, but Ron Wilson would have none of that and informed his players as such.

I must say the Penguins may not have been coached all that well.

Now that the players and Ron Wilson know how well they can play I am sure when things go bad Wilson will go back to the video of this game.

The Leaf players will be reminded from time to time how well they played in Penguin Town, the simple things.

I believe Wilson may have coached his best game as a Leaf Coach.

Now that Ron has the players playing well, at least for now, Burke will have to be very careful in his rebuilding process of who's to stay and who's to go.

I also think that Burke may want to keep in mind the wheeling and dealing that took place before his arrival.

Quite often in this particular case the player who is sent packing is the player who will come back to haunt you.

As I have mentioned before: It may be a good idea at this stage for Burke to go shopping with the cash for a couple of snipers.

If Burke was successful with the cash, he could then evaluate the players a little better.

The Leafs have some spare cash at this time and if they could get those two good players, who knows what could happen in 2008/2009.

All I can say for the Sh.....t kicking the Leafs put on the Pens:

"That Is A Building Block For Sure."

Joseph and RayCroft Are Proof: Hind-Sight Is 20/20

Mitch. Mitchell. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:47:21 -0500

I am by no means comparing Andrew RayCroft to Curtis Joseph.

Curtis Joseph is probably one of the greatest goalies to ever wear the pads.

The point that I will make here is this: We all know the reason the Leafs got Raycroft in the first place. He had a stand-out year the prior year with Boston.

So the Leafs signed RayCroft to a big contract and expected him to be as good playing for the Leafs as he was playing for Boston. And rightly so!

RayCroft never panned out for the Leafs and never showed any of his previous greatness that he displayed with the Bruins.

I did notice a few times that there could have been a personality clash between himself and Leaf coaching staff. When personality becomes an issue, then of course, so does attitude.

In any case, RayCroft, for whatever reason, had worked his way to a back-up roll for the Leafs. And of course the rest is history.

I saw RayCroft playing in his last game with Colorado and he was playing as if he was with Boston.

So it brings us to a mind-boggling thought: What happened to RayCroft in Toronto?

RayCroft is 28 years old and has played seven games this season with five wins and a loss.

RayCroft's stats for 2008/2009 are: GA-17, SV-894, GAA-2.79.

I am not going to bad-mouth the 41-year-old Joseph for his O and four record and GAA -4.33.

We all know that a goalie on most nights is only as good as the team in front of him.

Toskala, at 31 years old and being paid about $4 million more than Joseph, has played 28 games for he Leafs and has a 12-9-5 record.

Toskala, for his mediocre record, has a GAA of 3.11 and a SA percentage of .887. Not good enough in this league and for the bucks he is being paid.

Toskala's play at the moment and the big contract is the same reason RayCroft is no longer a Leaf.

So this brings me to the question: With different people running the show in Toronto this season and RayCroft happy and playing the way he is, five more wins would look very nice for Toronto.

In this case: "Hind Sight" is 20/20.

Maple Leafs-Bruins: Total Disgrace for Toronto

Mitch. Mitchell. — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:31:25 -0500

What in hell kind of hockey is that? A disgrace at its best.

Would you not think that five goals would be enough to win a hockey game?

Yes, but only when you have a five-goal lead in Toronto's case.

From what I see, there are a few things that the Leafs can do:

Get rid of Kaberle while the going is good. It is quite obvious that No. 15 does not want to play the way the coaches want him to play, or he has no more interest in playing for Toronto.

Kubina is not playing defence whatsoever. So the coach can do whatever with this guy—he can shoot a puck, that is about it.

The Leafs have options with goaltending. Send Curtis Joseph someplace,anyplace, please! He was good in his prime, but now he needs to go!

Bring up Pogge and play him until he is blue in the face, no matter what happens. Set Toskala on his ass riding the pines until such time that he understands—he is not the only goalie who is on display.

One good game out of six is not what you want out of a goalie who is making the kind of bucks he is making.

I said it before this season started for the Leafs: .500 hockey will not put you in the playoffs.

The Leafs will come up with a good defensive game now and again. But that is only because they are playing another defensive-coached team.

One more thing I will say before I leave my keyboard in frustration—the Leafs must stay away from the stupid cheap penalties. Take a man with you if you are going to the box.

It is quite obvious to me and I am sure to millions more that if the Leafs are having the full of their butts to win hockey games with five players on the ice then they sure as hell are not going to win any games when shorthanded, five on four or five on three.

Ron Wilson will have to get these bunch of guys to stop running around in their defensive zone.

Here is the picture in the defending Leaf end of the ice:

One player between the two D, and four Leaf players in the high slot.

Two Bruin players behind the D screening Toskala, two other Bruin players skating around with the puck on the outside, making all the plays.

How in hell would a team expect to win hockey games with that type of zone coverage? Come on, Ron!

How I Met "Harold" & "The King"

Mitch. Mitchell. — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:40:34 -0500

It was a cold Friday winter night in the mining town of Copper Cliff Ontario Canada,1967.

In those day's of course in Northern Ontario hockey fans would travel far and wide and through any kind of storm to see a hockey game,especially an N.H.L.game.

I knew the wonderful "Pappin" family, especially Jimmy Pappin's dad, Gus who was a fine gentleman.

I met Mr. Pappin on a Friday night at The Royal Canadian Legion in Copper Cliff.

At this time of course young Jimmy was playing for The Leafs,the last time as we know they won it all.

As we were sitting having a cool one "Gus" said Mitch would you care to go to a Leaf game tomorrow night in Toronto? Needless to say I just about choked on my beer.

I said:I would dearly love to,ok Gus says we will pick you up at 7:00 a.m. in the morning,a cold minus 20 Saturday morning.

So off we went to see "Jimmy Pappin" and The Toronto Maple Leafs,a dream come true.

We get to Toronto early afternoon, check into a hotel, have early dinner then off to The Gardens, a sight I could only dream about.

Down under the seating area,where the refreshments were being sold were all of the players of past years,the goosies came out big-time just seeing those lovely pictures.

Back to our seats the game line-up was being announced and everybody was getting into the game mood.

When the P/A announcer announced Jimmy's name I looked at Jimmy's dad and I have never seen a father being so proud of his son in all of my life,just a wonderful thing to see.

Just coming to the end of the first period Mr.Pappin pointed out to me:Over in that corner of The Gardens is where Harold Ballard and "King" Clancy have their little box in the wall (seat).

I said Gus: I have got to get over there some how and get their autographs on my programme,his answer was:"You will have a hard time doing that".

Now I am on a mission,armed with my programme I started through the crowd,over the seats, spilling drinks, people screaming at me, security after me, and finally at my destination.

Face to face with Harold & The King, "Now what?" I mused.

Mr.Ballard spoke first in his deep rough voice:What can I do for you lad? I said I would like to have your autograph as well as Mr. Clancy's on my programme.

Harold said, "Well to start off with you should not be over here this is private, by the way, what is your name, where are ya from, and who are ya with?"

So I gave him all of my personal information that he requested and when I told him I was with Jimmy Pappin's dad,he said holy Jesus,you are with Jimmy's dad!

No problem he said, lad: "Where do you want us to sign this thing?" Grabbing my programme they both signed on Mr. Ballard's forehead:A picture of Harold that was in the programme.

After thanking both of those two fine hockey gentleman,I made my way back to the seat and enjoyed the rest of the game.Mission accomplished, thanks to Mr. Pappin.

To this very day I have that programme of 1967 and the signatures: A Toronto Star newspaper and on the sports page a picture of Dave Keon washing his face in The Stanley Cup.

We may all get old and grey: But nobody can take your memories of 1967.

Brian Burke Needs to Buy a Leader

Mitch. Mitchell. — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:20:16 -0500

The Leafs seem to be showing some progress—they are skating quite well, and taking the man when they have to.

We all understand that most of the players come from different teams, who had required the players to play different roles.

The players all understand how Ron Wilson and Brian Burke want them to play.

The players and coaching staff also know very well—if a team is going to be successful, they must have a team leader.

Ron Wilson is slowly getting his team to play his defensive style of hockey—a must to make the playoff's.

So the issue is—Brian Burke has got to do everything possible to get that Leader who will be a big part of solving the problem.

We all know the economic problems is going to have a large impact on a lot of teams as well as player's salaries.

Brian Burke knows very well how the system works, and I am sure after Christmas you will see a leader in the Leafs' dressing room.

Toronto Maple Leafs Facing the Same Problems Every Game

Mitch. Mitchell. — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:24:23 -0500

You may have noticed that I have not been writing anything on the Leafs for quite some time.

I am writing this editorial as a coach, a player, and a fan for years of the Leafs.

Let's cut out the bullsh*t of the Leafs rebuilding—everyone with a hockey brain understands quite well what is, and what has been taking place in Leaf Land.

I have never ever seen a hockey team that was not rebuilding.

Every hockey team I have played for or coached has always been looking to better their team.

It is now coming up to the half-way point of the 2008-09 season. In the last eight to 10 games that I have seen, the Leafs displayed and unforgivable lack of basic knowledge of hockey.

I am talking about defense.

I am sure that Ron Wilson, being the good coach that he is, surely must be wondering what the hell is happening.

Wilson's players are not even displaying the defensive part of the game that is drilled into your head in pee-wee hockey. Why?

The D-men are being continually beaten on the outside, never on the inside.

That tells me the D-man is not doing the first part of the job by keeping the opposing forward between himself and the boards.

But...

The defence is either caught flat-footed, or they fail to ride the oncoming forward into the boards.

Result? The D-man is continually beaten on the outside.

In the defensive-zone coverage, you will never see a Leaf forward playing his point man—never.

There is always too much air between the Leaf player and the player he should be checking in defensive zone coverage.

We see as many as two opposition forwards standing between Toskala and the Leaf defence on a power play, tipping in shots from the points or deflections.

The Leafs, on the power play are quite content to run out the two minute power play by passing it from point to point, to the man down low for the one timer. Why?

When you have players the size of Antropov and Ponikarovsky who could be standing in front of the net screening shots from the point, goals should be coming a lot easier. Which is where I find myself asking, why is this not happening?

Every game I watch, I hear the announcer saying, "Toskala never even saw that shot from the point, through a maze of players standing in front of the net, the puck must have changed directions three or four times."

There is no need for fancy stuff—the Leafs just need to pass the puck around, or look for a way to get a goal by playing plain old basic hockey.

The garbage goals count and the Leafs are going to have to learn that sooner, rather than later, or eighth spot will by Christmas only be another dream for me.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone that is involved with Bleacher Report a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Montreal Springs The Leafs Trap

Mitch. Mitchell. — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:12:04 -0400

I had mentioned in one of my write-ups that if Ron Wilson was going to play the defensive style of hockey, goals would be hard to come by.

I also mentioned one of the most difficult things to accomplish in hockey is going from offence to defence.

Toronto Maple Leafs as a young team, will have to work very hard to accomplish Ron Wilson's way of coaching. It will come.

Montreal has a very good hockey team and they are expected to go all the way this year.

Let us all understand just how nervous The Rookies were, up against Montreal, trying to win a game as a new team in front of your hometown fans and your second game in the NHL.

The Leafs were in the box all night and the reason for most of that is very simple—they were fighting the puck all night because of nerves and trying too hard to make things happen.

The results for this type of play is also very simple—your feet are not moving, you are not skating, you are standing still, causing you to grab, trip, hook or interfere, ending up with stupid penalties

A 6-1 loss is not very nice,of course not,but neither is a 2-1 Montreal loss to Buffalo the night before, or Detroit's 3-2 loss to the Leafs.

It could have been,two losses for the Leafs, but we are equal with the Red, White, and Blue after two games.

I also must say, the rookies for Toronto must be wondering—"When are the hold- over players from last year going to show up.

The new-comers for The Leafs have now been introduced to The N.H.L.

Red Wings Fans Making Excuses After Opener? Give Leafs Some Credit

Mitch. Mitchell. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:21:16 -0400

I just read an article on the Toronto Maple Leafs' season-opening 3-2 victory over defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit, the game I picked Toronto to win, 4-3.

The crying that I read was incredible:

"Detroit had a long wait during the (pregame) celebration."

"The emotions were this, the emotions were that."

All of the celebrations taking place while the lowly Leafs just stood back waiting for the game to get underway.

One would think if it bothered one team's play, it would have the same effect on the opposition.

Maybe Detroit should have had the flag-raising after they got snuffed.

I will still stand by my prediction of a month ago—"Leafs will finnish in eighth."

P.S.: Is Nik Antropov (he of zero shots Thursday) still playing for the Leafs?

Did Cliff Fletcher Really Imply His Maple Leafs Lack "Skill and Talent"?

Mitch. Mitchell. — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:14:52 -0400

A few days ago, Maple Leafs 2008 fifth-overall draft choice Luke Schenn was shopping around for some good rookie advice from some players he knew or he had contact with. Players who would not lead him astray.

Schenn had been talking to a player by the name of Boyce, an ex-Leaf. Boyce did give the young rookie a valuable pointer: "Since you are trying to make it in Toronto—do not read the papers."

I could not agree more after the statement made by none other than Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher: "We are going to have some trouble with our offence—goals come from 'skill and talent.'"

Well, well, well, you understand that, do you, Cliff?

What kind of a "moral confidence-building remark" is that? Garbage, to say the least.

Every hockey player in that dressing room knows as well as the fans that it takes skill and talent to be a goal scorer.

But Fletcher thought he would let everyone know, just in case it was exactly what the Toronto media wanted to hear.

We all know by now that Fletcher was brought in to do a nasty job of cleaning house and starting all over again, again, again (no, I don't have a speech problem).

Remarks as such will cut deep into the minds of all the young Luke Schenns and will not help in any way an already fragile situation.

Fletcher was given the keys to the kingdom when he took over, but he was not given the keys to the vault.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the richest hockey teams in the world, if not the richest.

If all the brains at the top were serious about rebuilding, along with the "Teachers Union of Ontario" and their bank account, Fletcher would have been allowed to get rid of every last player from 2007-08.

By doing so, he could fill the dressing room with "skill and talent" and he would not be making such irresponsible remarks to the media mongrels, and he would not have to depend on a 18-year-old rookie to bail them out.

Fletcher brought in Ron Wilson, a defensive coach, but in the same token he is telling the media his team's main concern is it lacks offence.

In all of their preseason games, the Leafs scored three and four goals and were in all of them with the exception of one blowout.

If you are going to play the Wilson Style, then goals are going to be hard to come by, and three or four goals are going to be welcomed on most nights.

Your goaltender is the last guy back who is in the defensive mode, and his job is to stop the first shot—not "the first three."

Regardless, your goalie is as good as the defence; the defence only as good as the forwards that are coming back.

By the way, Cliff, let Wilson do the media. He knows who he is coaching, and he will not add insult to the fragile situation.

Could Ian White Be a Good Forward for the Maple Leafs?

Mitch. Mitchell. — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:35:45 -0400

A couple of days ago I wrote a comment about the three players that Toronto had on the market—Ian White being among them.

I gave my opinion on the idea of trading these three players—Carlo Colaiacovo, Mark Bell, and White—and I suggested it may be a good idea to try White up-front.

White has some good moves, a good shot, and skates very well with quick feet.

If White proved to be an OK forward, it would be a great bonus for the Leafs. Now you have a forward as well as a "D"-man.

No, it will not be great, as far as his overall play is concerned, but who, as a coach, is looking for things to be great at this stage?

Let's not forget, Wendel Clark was drafted out of the WHL as a defenseman and the only time he played "D," was on the power play (sometimes).

Another "Star of the Past," Red Kelly, was a very fine blueliner in Detroit; he came to the Leafs and become a great forward.

So: Ian White as a forward great? No! Toronto with depth? Yes!

I did notice White played right wing against Detroit, another close one.

Dave Keon: The Little Big Man

Mitch. Mitchell. — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:21:36 -0400

He was up there with the all-time best. One of the game's fastest skaters—from dead start to full speed, as quick as any player that ever laced on the blades.

Born in Noranda, Quebec, on March 22, 1940, Dave Keon was a Centreman. At 5'9", and 165 lbs, he had a left hand shot that was lethal on 396 occasions in the N.H.L.—and if he could not light the red lamp, he would help light it with 590 assists—for 986 total points.

Dave Keon was never a dirty player or a cheap-shot artist. He was always in flight, gliding, as if it took very little effort to stay with his man.

He was the recipient of the Calder, Lady Byng, J.P.Bickell, and Conn Smythe Trophies, as well four Stanley Cups

Dave came out of St. Michael's College, as did many of the Leafs Players. He was made captain of Toronto from 1969 to 1975.

I have a 1967 Toronto newspaper showing Dave Keon washing his face in the Stanley Cup.

I would imagine that any true Leafs fan is wondering from day one, why, just why, is Davey Keon's Jersey not hanging on the rafter's in honor of such a great hockey legend.

Yes, I know the Ballard story. And yes, I know the little thing with Dave's son and the Leafs. I also know that we as people have a tendancey to hold grudges because of hurt within.

But I have never read, or never heard anything to the effect, that Dave Keon never wanted his jersey hanging in his honor.

Has any person got proof that states the reason why the Leafs or Dave Keon do not want No. 14 hanging from the beams"?

Whatever the reason, it is strange to me that such a Great Leaf is not being recognized. It is such a pity, and makes one wonder whatever happened to "Respect and Discipline."

I watched a replay two days ago of the 1967 "Stanley Cup"—Game Six, the Cup winner for the Leafs. Yes, hockey fans, Dave Keon was the "Little Big Man."