The Maple Leafs

Well being a Habs fan I am not sure I should write a blog about the disasterous leafs but what the hell I am safely located in Montreal. I lived in Toronto for four years during another sad era when even John Brophy coached the leafs. They were sad then and they are sad now. Not that I really care. The leafs in the very recent past had been on course to become another thuggish Bruins-like team with Brian Burke at the helm. They beat the hell out of Josh Gorges and Rene Bourque ( good things) and more or less ended George Parros's career. A few years back they took the Bruins to game 7 and were ahead 4-1 in game 7 before they crumbled. It has been downhill ever since.

The leafs have never been the same since they traded away Frank Mahovlich. Superstars like Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Wendell Clark, Doug Gilmour, Borje Salming, Eddie Belfour and Mats Sundin have come and gone but they were just not good enough.

The leafs are about to go through another rebuilding phase and will let go of their superstars during the offseason including Kessel, Phaneuf, and Lupul. Being a Habs fan I think they are making a big mistake. I would go so far to say that there is really one big difference between the Habs and Leafs. That is goaltending. If the leafs had Carey Price and the Habs had Jonathan Bernier and Jeff Reimer I think we could probably be seeing the likes of Plekanec and Markov on their way out and the leafs would be competing for a Stanley Cup. It is that simple. Going back to that game 7 against the Bruins Jeff Reimer could not hold the fort even though the leafs had outplayed the Bruins. Jonathan Bernier has proved nothing in his stint as a number one goalie. The leafs have lived through another season ending losing streak which has eliminated them from the playoffs. If they had a semi-decent goalie he would have been able to stop the streak. Witness Carey Price last night.

As we remember from the Habs disasterous season of a few years back when things start going wrong it seems to never end. I am sure the likes of Kessel and Phaneuf have not quit playing but I am also sure that hockey being an adrenaline sport little is left for these players when all these losses compile. Let it end is all they are hoping for. 

The leafs do have good players. Kessel is a great sniper and game breaker. Phaneuf has many positives and just two years ago he had an outstanding season. He is not a Pk Subban but neither is Zdeno Chara. JVR and Kadri have many offensive talents. Reilly and Gardiner have bright futures on defence. Did I say their goaltending sucked?

The main problem besides the goaltending I think is leafs management. They have run the team like buffoons on meth. They bring in big names with little experience at managing. They have a complex organizational scheme and unlike the Habs where everyone knows that Bergevin is the leader, it is uncertain who makes the personnel decisions with the leafs. This managerial quagmire has been going on for ages since the days of Harold Ballard. The media jungle in Toronto does not help. Every loss is magnified, every losing streak is breaking news, every coach firing is a soap opera, every contract signing requires a public commission. Even though I enjoy laughing at the leafs, all I gotta say I guess in the end is keep up the good work.