Toronto Maple Leafs: Thin Up Front and Tempting Disaster

With so many Toronto Maple Leaf fans sidetracked with general manager Brian Burke adding that coveted top-six forward, few have taken the time to notice that, in the event of a lengthy injury to one of the Leafs top forwards, the Leafs may be doomed.

With a top-six that currently features the likes of Kris Versteeg, Phil Kessel (who has only played a full 82 games once in four seasons), Tyler Bozak, Nikolai Kulemin, Michail Grabovski and Colby Armstrong the Leafs are already thin on top-end talent, a loss of one or more of those players for any significant time frame and the Leafs will be in big trouble.

Sitting in the bottom six are Nazem Kadri (who could play second line centre if asked, *but he has to make the team first), Luca Caputi (who is still regarded as a bit of a project), Fredrik Sjostrom (who is more comfortable in a checking role than as a scorer), Mike Brown (checker), Christian Hanson (Checker), John Mitchell (who has already proven he is not a top-six talent and Colton Orr (who, offensively, couldn’t hit the back of the net if there was no goalie in there).

Marcel Mueller, Brayden Irwin, Dale Mitchell, Jay Rosehill, Tim Brent and Kenny Ryan represent the Leafs next in line players, with prospects Brad Ross, Jerry D’amigo and Gregg Mckegg, while talented, are all expected to play junior or with the Marlies this season.

In Kessel, the Leafs have a player who has a reputation for poor fitness. Kessel stated publicly that he intends to show up for training camp in much better shape this year.

Leaf fans had better hope that Kessel and the rest of the top-six crew shows up in the best shape of their lives, as performance and durability will be of the utmost importance this season.

Of the top-six forwards already mentioned, Kessel would be the one player that, if lost to injury, would likely spell the end of any hopes the Leafs have of making and/or competing for a playoff spot.

Kessel scored 30 goals in 70 games last season and the Leafs are expecting him to hit the 40 mark this season. If the Leafs were to lose his scoring abilities, well, let’s just say it could get pretty ugly.

Given the way that Versteeg, Armstrong and Bozak play the game, their physical nature invites injury, so there is also risk that one or more of them will spend some time on the Injured List.

To be fair, every NHL club’s top-six forwards are all but irreplaceable, but with the Leafs top-six already thin on talent, any player loss would be magnified for the Leafs.

With all this in mind, it appears as if, regardless of how the whole Tomas Kaberle saga ends, that Brian Burke must make a depth move or two if the Leafs are to be successful in 2010-11.

Raffi Torres is a reasonable talent that is still available via free agency that, in a pinch, could bolster your top lines.

Outside of Torres, the pickings are slim, with elder statesmen Bill Guerin, Paul Kariya and others emerging as the Leafs other options, which Burke will likely pass on.

Might a player of Bill Guerin’s ilk, a player with a veteran presence, decent hands, Stanley Cup experience and a strong work ethic fit the mold as Burke’s answer to his depth problems?

Only time will tell, but it says here, for the right price, Burke should entertain the idea of bringing Guerin into the fold..

Guerin, 40, made $2 million playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Through 78 games with the Pens, Guerin scored 21 goals (11 of which came on the power play and four game winners) and added 24 assists for a total of 45 points.

Through 11 playoff contests, Guerin scored four goals (one power play marker) and added five assists for a total of nine points.

Guerin also has the reputation of being easy going, which would endear him well to his teammates, especially in the locker room where things can often get hectic in the media shark tank that is the Toronto Market.

At $1-1.5 million a season, Guerin would be a deal. If Burke could add him to the Leafs for that kind of money, I say it’s worth the risk.

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Until next time,

Peace!

Until next time,

Peace!