Showtime: Enter the warriors

This is it. Game 1. Leafs versus Habs. Showtime.

Hang on… what? They’re closing down parts of Yonge Street today? This new-look Leafs team is getting noticed down the 401?

Excellent.

Let the haters snicker and ridicule our devotion. Let the experts predict another season of no post-season play. Me, I haven't been this excited since Miroslav Frycer accidentally elbowed me in the back of the head outside the Eaton Centre.

I am drunk on hope and a blue-and-white pitcher full of this stuff. (Okay, and maybe a little bit of this.)

Five afternoon reads to get you through the next 6 hours:

1. Pension Plan Puppets offers a great look ahead at the 2010-2011 Toronto Maple Leafs.

2. Damien Cox says the Leafs are better, but may still not be playoff worthy. (If I were a bigger man, I would put this guy in a headlock. And then I'd run away really fast.)

3. ESPN interviews Kris Versteeg about life "in the hockey center of the universe."

4. Brian Burke gets high marks from Richard Peddie.

5. National Post asks 15 Burning Questions about the upcoming season.

 

If you are going to the game, expect travel delays, what with the aforementioned road closures and "Party In The Square." Festivities include a "free pregame tailgate party," a "Leafs Alumni Ball Hockey Game," free face painting and a live concert by the Arkells (scheduled 6 p.m. start).

No tickets to the game? You can try to get a seat inside Real Sports and watch all the action on the coolest indoor screen I’ve ever seen (I’m so excited, I’m now rhyming!). If not, there will also be an outdoor videoboard in Maple Leaf Square (15 York Street, outside Gate 5 of the ACC.)

Official start time for all of this is 4 p.m. and alumni on hand to include Gary Leeman, Pat Boutette, Jack Valiquette and Brad May.

I leave you with a live version of this song:

 

PHOTO: STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Let there be hockey

The day before a new season begins always feels like Christmas Eve: the excitement, the anticipation, the possibility, the inevitable return of Don Cherry's green and red suits.

When I was young, the day before was also a time to reflect and glance ahead to what may be. It was a day to dream big, a day to embrace unrealistic expectations.

Living in North York, surrounded by little kids from all walks of life, we were united in our devotion to the blue and white. And during a game of road hockey, which always broke out between the end of school and the (delayed) start of supper, we made our wacky predictions:

"Pass the ball… Greg Terrion is going to be the league’s MVP!"

"Nice save… Rick Vaive is going to score 100 goals!"

"Stop cherry-picking… Man, that Gaston Gingras is gonna be a star!"

So let's hear it.

With about 30 hours to go until the Leafs and Habs breathe life into 2010-11 season, what are your predictions? How many points will this revamped team earn over the next 82 games? Will it be enough to make the playoffs? What kind of leadership will Dion Phaneuf provide? Is our D one of the league's best or highly overrated? And, finally, where can a fellow buy a blue wig in this town?

Okay, some ALF B housekeeping to complete before The New Season Begins:

1. I mentioned guest posts at the start of this endeavour and have already heard from many citizens of Leafs Nation. I now have a better sense of logistics. So if you want to write a post, email me at: vmenon@thestar.ca. Your contribution should be about 300-400 words. I'll also need a two-line bio and a headshot (JPEG, please).

2. A few people have asked about The Leafs Memory Project. No, it wasn't a joke. Yes, I am going to start running those memories as promised. I just need to build a template and figure out a publishing schedule.

3. Does anyone know where I can purchase a copy of "The Passion Returns" on DVD? Long story. I need to double-check something.

4. Since starting this blog two week ago, I've really heard it from many so-called friends. "You're writing WHAT?" "But the Leafs SUCK!" Which brings me to an issue commenter Pyramid Power raised the other day. Namely, should the haters be silenced here? The answer: No. A spirited debate is always the goal. Just one caveat, based on something that started recently: Please don't use the comments to launch personal attacks on each other.

5. I'm hoping to start a regular round-table discussion this season. Your suggestions for topics and potential panelists are welcome.

In closing: Let there be hockey.

PHOTO: ANDY CLARK/REUTERS

The end of rivalry?

The Leafs invited the media out for drinks yesterday.

This "hospitality" event unfolded on the upper floor of Real Sports, the turbocharged and supersized bar and grill owned by MLSE, which was recently crowned "North America's Best Sports Bar."

Have you been to this place? It’s insane: a flat-screen TV in every dining booth, 112 beer taps, a swish deck lined with rows of leather recliners. And, oh yeah, the largest indoor HD screen on the continent.

It's always nice to see hockey people out of context. Whether it's Dave Nonis chatting about the 90 minutes it took him to reel in a 120-pound halibut or Ron Wilson waxing sweetly about his granddaughter, we sometimes forget these men lead lives beyond the rink.

Eventually, of course, the conversation returns to hockey.

After sitting at the bar with my colleague Damien Cox, and discovering he may in fact be addicted to this stuff, I wandered over to assistant coach Tim Hunter.

We exchanged pleasantries. In advance of Thursday's home opener against Montreal, we also talked about NHL rivalries.

Hunter was a foot soldier with the Calgary Flames throughout the 80s. During this period, the Battle of Alberta thundered with a nerve-fraying intensity that's hard to replicate in the league today. When Calgary and Edmonton faced off, there always seemed to be a grudge, a looming threat, a bitter backstory.

The games were bloody battles and these bloody battles became epic wars that spanned seasons.

"We hated those guys," says Hunter. "Hated."

Don't be fooled by the past tense. To this day, given what happened on the ice many moons ago, Hunter refuses to shake a human hand if it is connected to the body of Dave Semenko or Marty McSorely.

"It seems like those days are no more," I said.

"Yeah, it's different now," he said.

Expansion, free agency and the cap system have conspired to create a fluid NHL. Players move around from team to team with a frequency that was once unfathomable. Enemy opponents of today are teammates of tomorrow. Friendships cut across dressing rooms.

In a story this week on NHL.com titled "Top rivalries highlight upcoming NHL schedule," it's sad to note that not a single Canadian team is even mentioned. So the questions become: What is the biggest rivalry in the NHL today? And is "rivalry" an endangered concept? Will future rivalries, such as they are, be short-lived and easily forgotten? 

PHOTO: R.OLSEN/TORONTO STAR

Tick Tock: The Final Countdown

It's D-day for the "bubble boys."

After player meetings today, in which the last round of cuts will be announced, the opening roster should be cemented in advance of Thursday's home opener against Montreal.

And as the Star's Mark Zwolinski writes: "If there's a dark horse to survive the Maple Leafs' final cuts, Mike Zigomanis fits the bill... It's believed Zigomanis may have outperformed the Leafs' other bubble boys and could seriously challenge (Christian) Hanson for the job as fourth-line centre."

Selecting the right mix of "Bottom Six" forwards is one of the most difficult tasks coaches and management face. Players such as Zigomanis, Jay Rosehill, Luca Caputi and John Mitchell – all fighting for spots with the big club – must thrive in very specific roles.

In short: Forwards in the "Top 6" classification are expected to score. Period. Delegates with the "Bottom 6," meanwhile, are expected to kill penalties, win critical face-offs, shut down opposition stars, create havoc on the forecheck and provide muscle.

Brian Burke explained the team's Bottom 6 philosophy with an analogy.

"The job site analogy is the best one," he told me one afternoon. "You walk by a job site and there's a guy digging a ditch. There's a guy pounding nails. There's a guy stringing wires. There's a guy welding pipe. They are all different scales of pay, all different skill levels, but you need them all to build a building."

So what does this team need to build (rebuild?) its building?

By the way, I shot the above photo last week while watching the Leafs practice at the MCC. It's a watch Burke received after his Stanley Cup victory in Anaheim. The picture itself is ridiculously staged and framed. But I kind of like the image: A championship timepiece perched on a ledge in the GM's office, two floors above the ice surface where his team is stretching and preparing for a new season of hockey.

UPDATE (12:32 p.m.): Here are the final cuts. And here's the press release.

PHOTO: VINAY MENON/TORONTO STAR

 

Pre-Season Postmortem: Bring It

 
The exhibition grind ended last night with convincing victory. Yes, Detroit did not dress an A-list squad. And, yes, the pre-season is never a reliable gauge of what may unfold in the weeks and months ahead.

But if you're a Leaf fan, it's hard not to feel upbeat this morning.

Last year, the team actually ended the pre-season with a 6-3 record, slightly better than this year's 5-3-1 finish. The 2009 edition scored 31 goals and 50 assists for 81 points. Totals this year fell slightly to 26 goals and 48 assists for 74 points.

So why the upbeat feelings?

Well, for starters, the Leafs' top two scorers during the 2009 pre-season were Viktor Stalberg (6 goals, 3 assists) and John Mitchell (2 goals, 4 assists). Exactly. The No. 1 goalie was Vesa Toskala. Double exactly. The nucleus included Matt Stajan, Jason Blake, Niklas Hagman and Lee Stempniak.

There was no sense of purpose and no desire.

Fast-forward to the present:

1. Phil Kessel is not injured. He is healthy. He is on fire. During the pre-season, he became the first NHL player to reach double-digits in scoring with 6 goals and 4 assists. He had 4 power play goals, 2 game winning goals and a 28.6 shooting percentage. He craves the puck and...

2. ...Tyler Bozak and Kris Versteeg can feed it to him with lethal consistency. Versteeg, who arrived from Chicago this summer after hoisting the Cup, ended the pre-season with a 1.5 points-per-game average. Pound-for-pound, his playmaking, creativity, intensity, two-way play, scoring touch and off-ice leadership can't be matched by any player who was on the 2009 pre-season roster. That team didn't even have a captain but now...

3. ...Dion Phaneuf wears the 'C' and is the undisputed heart and soul of this revamped team. Phaneuf was a +2 during the pre-season. He put up six points in six games, stirring hope that his offensive numbers will return to form. After a shaky first game, he has looked very strong in both ends of the rink, especially when on the ice with forwards... 

4. ...Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski. That duo combined for 12 points in 7 exhibition games. Now…

5. …throw in J.S. Giguere, Colby Armstrong and Mike Brown. Add a retooled and bruising defensive unit that promises to haunt the dreams of opposing players. And then mix in one very significant intangible: A newfound sense of purpose and desire throughout the organization.

Am I crazy? Possibly. Should I be going to Home Depot this afternoon in my old Kordic jersey? Probably not. But...

6. ...I haven't been this excited about a Leafs team in a long time.

PHOTO: DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR

 

Saturday links, odds and music videos

Not a great night in Detroit. Put it this way: If a drunken Red Wing fan had tossed an octopus on the ice, it would have beat Jussi Rynnas on the blocker side. But, hey, if you're going to lose 7-3, it may as well be in the pre-season, which comes to a merciful end tonight when the Leafs and Wings play at the ACC.

A few Saturday afternoon reads and diversions:

BREAKING: Jason Kay, editor-in-chief of The Hockey News, has joined Leafs Nation! Or at least publicly announced that he is quietly pulling for the team this season. Welcome, Jason.

FEATURE: The Globe and Mail takes a contextual look at MLSE and asks: "Does operating in a conventional corporate environment negate the opportunity for its teams to become exceptional by following riskier, entrepreneurial strategies?"

NUMBERS: Greg Wyshynski (aka Puck Daddy) has the official betting odds for the upcoming season. Only one Leaf appears in the trophy categories. Dion Phaneuf is at 9/1 to win the Norris. (I need to borrow some money, please and thank you.)

HYPE: Okay. Isn't it time to temporarily shut-down this tracker?

ANECDOTE: Mike Boon (aka Toronto Mike) writes about Darcy Tucker's retirement and the "jersey jinx."

WEIRD: In the wake of false reports that Alex Ovechkin was teaming up with Eminem to record a hip hop track, Sports Illustrated has a slide show dedicated to moments "when music and hockey have collided to great effect."

Wait a minute. How on earth did they forget about this?

 

PHOTO: PAUL HUNTER/TORONTO STAR

So long, Darcy Tucker

As reported this afternoon by The Star’s Mark Zwolinski, Darcy Tucker is retiring.

Here now, a few sides of the Darcy Tucker that Leaf fans came to know and love during his eight seasons with the team:

 

Darcy Tucker, The Junkyard Dog

 

 

Darcy Tucker, The Sharpshooter

 

 

Darcy Tucker, The Destroyer

 

 

Darcy Tucker, The Pugilist

 

 

Darcy Tucker, The Beloved Enemy

 

Darcy Tucker, The Memories

 

PHOTO: TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR

There's something about Kaberle

The Leafs are in Motown this evening for their penultimate pre-season game. Jeff Finger is expected to be in the line-up as a replacement for Luke Schenn, who is resting a troubling sore back.

But never mind all that. Let's talk about Tomas Kaberle.

Why do I want to talk about Tomas Kaberle? Because there is absolutely no reason to talk about Tomas Kaberle, which seems odd since the only thing anyone was talking about this summer was Tomas Kaberle.

The truth is, I am worried about the guy.

Last season, he finished with 7 goals and 42 assists in 82 games, which placed him second in scoring behind Phil Kessel. In four games this pre-season, he has managed only two assists, which ranks him 10th. Furthermore, two other defencemen – Dion Phaneuf and Francois Beauchemin – are ahead of him.

So right now, at this precise moment, Kaberle is not the Leafs top scoring rearguard and that also seems strange.

I know, I know.

Pre-season play doesn't mean squat. But beyond the points, possibly beyond even the ice, it's hard not to wonder about how Kaberle is feeling these days.

The official line from the team is everything is fine. There is no rift between Kaberle and coach Ron Wilson! That was all a big (bleep) misunderstanding caused by his father! Tomas is an important part of our team!

Fine. Good to know.

But if you're Kaberle, and you know the Leafs wanted to unload you the way a used car salesman wants to unload a 1970 AMC Gremlin, what long-term impact does that have on your play? At some point, don't you start to feel like the guy getting dressed for a party while staring at an invite that has another name scratched out?

There's no question Kaberle can help this team offensively.

When he takes the puck from behind his net, gracefully swoops toward the blue line like a swan on amphetamines and head-mans the puck to a rushing forward, he creates scoring chances. (Over at Pension Plan Puppets, Chemmy has a splendid frame-by-frame analysis of what I'm talking about. You can also see the video he's dissecting over here, starting at the 4:35 mark.)

Kaberle should benefit this season from playing on a team that is bigger and nastier and not inclined to let stuff like this pass without a riot. He should benefit from getting more room. He should benefit from playing on the power play with Phaneuf. And the young guys around him should benefit from Kaberle's experience in this fish bowl of a hockey town.

So the question becomes: How does Tomas Kaberle fit into this revamped team? And more important, does he spend too much time worrying about this?

PHOTO: CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR