Have the Maple Leafs Ever Really Needed Mats Sundin?

Before anyone gets too upset, I'd like to say for the record that I am in no way arguing that Sundin isn't a great player.  I'm not trying to diminish his amazing accomplishments, or any of the contributions he's made to the Toronto team.

Now to the nitty gritty!

Does it seem at all familiar to you?  What's been happening over the last five games without Sundin?

Well it does to me!

Back in the 2001-02 playoffs we lost Sundin early in the first round and everyone was devastated.  To our great surprise, though, it turned out not to matter at all.  Gary Roberts and Alyn McCauley shouldered the load and played outstanding hockey to bring us to the third round.  

The city was brimming with confidence as we headed into the third round against Carolina.  Toronto faced a team that, if not for being their division leader, would have ended up seventh in the conference.

The Leafs were punch drunk with the obvious luck.  Carolina probably shouldn't even have made the playoffs.

We were even more confident when we heard Sundin would be back for the third round.  The prevailing prediction was a sweep to the finals. 

That was not the case, however!

Toronto lost in six games to the lowly Carolina squad, coached (ironically) by none other than Paul Maurice.

This coach has already brought an underdog to the finals.  Who knows—maybe a repeat performance?  

Toronto had fought hard through the previous two rounds against Peca's Islanders and the Ottawa Senators, only to lose to Ca-ro-li-na?!  

Sundin didn't make as big of an impact as we thought he would.  

To give Sundin and the Leafs some credit, they did lose three of those four games in OT, including the deciding game.  Never the less, Toronto screwed up by not sticking with what was working at the time.

Namely, Alyn McCauley—a promising young center who blossomed during that playoff run.

So what has happened to that promise?  It was traded away along with another player.  The now blossoming Brad Boyes was sent to San Jose in exchange for Owen Nolan. 

Will the Leafs repeat that misfortune in the likes of Stajan or Steen?  I hope not! 

Of course, since then we've changed the management twice and hopefully past mistakes won't be re-visited. Yet, it seems there is one thing that needs desperately to be learned.

When a team is playing well, leave it be lest you destroy the chemistry.  

Sundin is a great player, but he is a talent that is not entirely needed.

No team needs a superstar on their team to succeed (though it really helps, i.e. Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, etc.).

What's needed is a team that is strong in the locker room and that plays as one on the ice.  

Just look at what happened to the Sens with their disunited locker room.  They not only played poorly, they also dropped considerably down the standings.

Luckily for them, Murray appears to have united the locker room once more.

So maybe the fact that Sundin is out is not such bad a thing after all.  He's carried the load up to this point.

Let the rest of the team finish it off, and then he can come back once we've officially made/been eliminated from the playoffs.