Toronto Hockey: What's Wrong In Leaf Land?

Not much was to be expected this season in Toronto. The Maple Leafs have missed the playoffs for three years now and were without their longtime captain Mats Sundin. Many figured the Maple Leafs were a sure bet for the lottery at the end of the season. The team is in rebuilding mode but have done much better than they could have even imagined.

Still though, it's not hard to be a better team than the one that suited up last year. Additionally, the team is still struggling and something seems to be missing.

Forwards:

Scoring  a lot more goals than many could have predicted. Without Sundin leading the way the team has scored 121 goals in total. Two players having breakout seasons are Matt Stajan and Dominic Moore. Aside from those two and Antropov and Ponikarovsky though, someone else needs to step up. A common thing for this team is to score goals later in the game when it may already be over.

Solution: Find that veteran presence needed to ensure that the team plays a full game. Possibly acquire a young forward with some upside.

Defense:

Luke Schenn has been a rock on the blue line, Van Ryn has been a nice addition and Jonas Frogren seems to be making fans everywhere he goes. Sadly, they have allowed 142 goals which doesn't exactly read "good job." Kubina and Kaberle have been making far too many errors for two veteran players. Injuries have taken their toll as well but the overall play on defense has been poor.

Solution: Trade Kaberle and or Kubina for prospects and picks, allow younger defense to play at high level. Clear cap space for signing other defenders or use it in other areas.

Goaltending:

Toskala hasn't been the number one goalie many were used to seeing and Joseph hasn't looked like a reliable back-up so far this season. The problem with Toskala may lie with Raycroft, last year Raycroft was there and both were trying to be the number one guy. This year, Raycroft is gone and Joseph comes in already aware of the role he has on the team. Throw in friends being traded from the team and perhaps Toskala doesn't find Toronto too cozy anymore. In any case his game needs to pick up, whether he knows it or not. As for Joseph his time in the NHL appears to be over, allow him to be part of the organization in another form.

Solution: Call up Pogge and allow Joseph to retire. A young goalie looking to prove himself may be the kick Toskala needs. Or get rid of Toskala all together as the return for him later in the season could be good.

Coaching:

Nothing seems to be too bad here, Ron Wilson appears to be fitting into his role quite nicely. However he seems to be unsure of what the problem with his team is. He seems to blame the older players but doesn't give the younger guys enough chances in key situations.

Solution: Keep him around for sure, but tell him to be harder on the veterans and give younger players more ice time.

General Manager:

It's hard to really judge Brian Burke at this point as he has yet to do anything really worthwhile to this team. Cliff Fletcher built the team we have now and most of his moves have been good. He rid the team of older overpaid guys and brought in guys like Grabovski and Hagman. He had deals in place for Sundin (Higgins, first and second round picks) and Kaberle (Carter and first round pick) but both refused to waive their no trade clauses. Even his move before he handed the team over to Burke, which saw them give up Steen and Coliacovo for Stempniak seemed alright at the time and has been the real big deal for them this season.

Burke recently acquired Brad May as his first move, but what message does this convey? He is older and won't do much more for the team aside from adding some leadership and toughness. Burke is sure to do something more soon but he should be stocking up on prospects and picks and avoid the older players completely. His trading pieces appear to be Kaberle, Kubina and Antropov, all of which would get a great return if the time came. Stajan too could get a decent return, especially since his stock won't rise much more than the point it is this season.

Solution: Start testing the waters, look to see what picks and prospects teams would part with for the Leafs better players. Avoid older and overpaid players entirely.

Overall the Maple Leafs are not in rough shape, teams like the Senators are in a much worse spot at the moment. Things aren't perfect in Toronto though, as a few key areas need to be addressed. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the rest of the season and more importantly what happens at the deadline.