There is no need to start planning a Stanley Cup parade through the streets of Toronto, don’t get me wrong. But for the first time in many years, there’s at least a reason to have a sense of genuine optimism when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That statement comes from a Leaf basher for many years – me! But for what it’s worth, I like the direction the Toronto Maple Leafs are headed in and I like the way they compete most nights – two things I haven’t liked about the Leafs since Cliff Fletcher and Pat Burns first came to town.
This team clearly has a long, long way to go before it is a Stanley Cup contender mind you. The talent on this current roster is very thin, there are a lot of question marks and few “sure things” with the organization right now, and I don’t even think the Leafs are a playoff team this season - and frankly, maybe not even next season either.
But there is at least reason to be optimistic and to be hopeful that the Leafs can in time become a contending team. First off, they have a general manager in Brian Burke and a coach in Ron Wilson who are both experienced, and that a lot of NHL teams would like as their GM and coach, whether they’d admit that or not.
They are not Messiahs – there are no Messiahs in hockey, just experienced managers and coaches who do the best they can. But Burke is a good GM and Wilson is a good coach, so they have a shot at doing something good here in the long-term, without any guarantees.
Ownership is apparently leaving them alone to do their work too, and if that trend continues, then they have a real shot at some success. All good owners should do is approve the budget and let their hockey people go to work – we’ll see if they continue to do that but so far, so good.
There are some pieces in place here. Phil Kessel is a very good player – I wouldn’t have traded two first round picks and a second for him – but they did and he’s a valuable asset.
Tomas Kaberle is a very high quality defenceman and can either be a part of the puzzle moving forward, or be moved to bring in some pretty nice pieces. He’s only 31 after all – not too old to be a part of a lengthy rebuilding program if that’s what it takes. And here’s a stat not mentioned much – at this writing he’s tied with Mike Green as the top scoring defenceman in the NHL.
Jonas Gustavsson looks to be a very good young goalie. There’s health concerns for sure, but he’s the best young goalie prospect the Leafs have had since Felix Potvin. Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek have had some tough moments, but they are good NHL quality defenders too.
It’s not much, but it’s a start. And the best thing about it all is, the hockey management knows they have a lot of work to do and appear capable of accepting that enormous challenge in this market.
Remember the last two seasons when teams always seemed to start their back-up goalies against the Leafs because they were perceived as a soft touch? That doesn’t happen nearly as often any more. Ryan Miller recently played both games against the Leafs while sitting out against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
I also like the fact that this team didn’t quit after an 0-7-1 start, when everyone seemed ready to write off the entire season immediately. Previous Leaf teams would have waited until February to crawl back up the standings, too late to really mount a playoff charge and just early enough to screw themselves out of a high draft pick.
There’s a long way to go, I think there will be another year of missing the playoffs at least for the Leafs, and the next few major moves this team makes are crucial…they can’t afford any serious mistakes.
But you know at least there appears to be a plan now and at least some parts are in place. And after the last four miserable seasons, that is saying something new.
I guess that’s still not much for some long suffering Leaf fans, but it’s at least a start. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in the next few months and more importantly, the next few years.
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There’s a lot of things to like about the Christmas holidays, and the world junior hockey championships are one of them.
The event is one of the most watched TV programs on TSN every year, attracting tremendous numbers. No wonder – it’s the best junior hockey you will ever watch, and it comes at a time of year when people generally speaking have more time to watch a little TV.
Canada’s success at this event has been amazing. Five straight gold medals, and 11 straight years of at least a medal of some kind – that is a great accomplishment. But as anyone who really watches the tournament closely knows, it’s never easy.
Outside of the lock-out year tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota (by the way, that is the most amazing hockey arena in the world, trust me!), when Canada had a truly unbeatable team, the Canadians have had to survive some real scares.
Last year it took a huge comeback to beat the US on New Year’s Eve, and the semi-final game against the Russians required overtime. Expect the same sort of challenges for Canada again this year.
But win or not, Canada will turn in a strong showing I’m sure. Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence has developed into the world’s best and despite increased challenges from the rest of the world, Canadian hockey is still the best.
That’s due largely to our junior programs…starting several years before even the junior A level.
Everybody loves the holidays – and if you’re a hockey fan how can you not love the world junior hockey championships? They do go hand in hand after all.