Toronto Maple Leafs: Thoughts On Ron Wilson

Throughout the last week or so, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ron Wilson have been negotiating a deal that would see Wilson become the newest head coach of the hockey club.

Like most things in Toronto, it quickly became public knowledge. 

Which is why, earlier today we were informed that the Maple Leafs and Wilson had agreed on a deal in principle.  It is a verbal agreement, and will likely not be signed until Tuesday.

Even being from Ontario, Canada, I still managed to see quite a bit of Ron Wilson coaching the Sharks this year, despite the three-hour time difference.

Ron Wilson is a winner.  He coached Team USA to the inaugural World Cup of Hockey, he also took the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997.  He has done some great things in San Jose, and is the NHL's highest winning coach over the last five years.

His playoff track record in San Jose wasn't that great, but think of the things he has done with some of the younger players on the Sharks, all of which played some big roles on the Sharks during Wilson's tenure.

According to many in the inner circle, he is also a great guy to be around, a real player's coach.  He can be a hard-ass, making it known he expects the very best from his players.  His motivational speeches are said to be among the best.

He can also be fun, sarcastic, and is great with younger players, which is a group that stands to make up a good portion of the Maple Leafs roster next season.

Ron Wilson has a good playoff record, however, the fact he didn't take a very talented San Jose team further, sends red flags out to some people.

However, if you look back at most of the playoff runs, it was usually a key player that let him down: Thornton, or Marleau, or any of the other Sharks players.

Whether it is the players fault, or Wilson's for not being able to get the most out of the player, well, you could argue that for days.

Let's throw all the Brian Burke speculation aside for just one second.  Forget the fact that Ron Wilson and Brian Burke are very good friends.

Ron Wilson is a highly decorated, very talented head coach.  One of the best in the NHL.  His record speaks for itself. 

Even if he does not have a Stanley Cup ring, he does have Finals appearance under his belt, and his regular-season division records have been very good since the turn of the millennium.

Bottom line is that Ron Wilson is a good coach, and, as tough as it is for me to say against a good guy like Paul Maurice, Ron Wilson is an upgrade at the head coaching position.

The Maple Leafs could have done a lot worse than Wilson.  And in fact, if you are the optimist, you will argue this may be the first step in the right direction of the troubled franchise.

After all, as the richest team in the NHL, the salary cap curbed their spending on players. 

However, there is no such thing as a cap on staff, something the Maple Leafs have finally come to realize. 

Or at least they will sometime this week, when Ron Wilson is named the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.