These Boys Will Need Help

So Mats Sundin thinks the Maple Leafs will be "exciting" this season.

So exciting he'd rather watch from Sweden. I know, I know, what else is the guy gonna say?

The Leafs, of course, can't even dare to try to be exciting. They don't have much horsepower at all up front, so the notion of playing free-flowing or wide-open hockey can't even enter their collective imagination for a nano-second. It's going to have to be check and check some more, flip it out and off the glass, relieve the pressure and get a change.

Strangely, some have argued that since the Leafs have depth and experience on defence, they may be well-suited to play this type of game.

Depth and experience? Really?

This is the same chatter we heard last fall when some suggested the Leafs had such depth on defence that they should trade some of it away to help in other areas.

Now we're hearing it again. Folks, it's about more than just having lots of names.

What I see is a defence with two proven blueliners - Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina - and a pile of question marks.

It might be the weakest defence corps in the entire league. Certainly one of the weakest five. To use Ron Wilson's methodology, figure out how many of Toronto's defencemen could crack the lineup of the elite teams in the league, and you have a measure of how strong the Leafs really are at that position.

Only Kaberle and Kubina would have a shot. Of the rest Carlo Colaiacovo is wonderfully talented, but it's gone beyond wondering if he can ever stay healthy enough to play for a long stretch. You still don't know what you're going to get.

Ian White is still learning, still an uncertain commodity. The Leafs brass thinks Jeff Finger is great, but he's had one full year in the NHL and was only qualified to play half of Colorado's playoff games last spring.

Mike Van Ryn was a player Florida was desperate to dump coming off a serious wrist injury. Anton Stralman is flashy but full of holes defensively. The Leafs have wanted Staffan Kronwall to make the team for two years and he hasn't been able to cut it or stay healthy. Jonas Frogren is a complete unknown, and Luke Schenn is going back to junior.

Maybe some of these fellows will jump up and surprise. But even if two or three do, or even if Colaiacovo plays 82 games, that doesn't not make this a deep defence corps.

Sundin may think the Leafs will be exciting, but they can't be, as much to protect their vulnerable group of blueliners as goalie Vesa Toskala.

Comments

[I. Dea]

I was so happy to read in that story about last night's game that Wilson had a "eureka" moment and yanked Ponikarovsky off the #1 line, something Maurice NEVER did! I have been on here before begging for the Leafs to stop giving this guy first-liner minutes. Totally undeserved of such ice time. Thankfully, the new coach with some ideas and vision made this move in training camp! The other thing he did that I begged for last year was to try Blake on the PK, and it worked well in the first Ex game the other night!

[general borschevsky]

The style of hockey they play may not be as "thrilling" as you'd like, but what will be exciting is seeing a team with zero expectations learn and grow and come together. Rather then the usual dissapointment and frustration of losing with under-achieving "superstars", Leaf fans will get to see a new coach with a new style, players whose jobs depend on their performances, unknown quantities like Kulemin and Frogren attempting to establish themselves, and working-class journeymen (Mayers, Stajan, Moore) emerging as leaders. Do the words "develope, blossom, mature" sound boring?
Finally, this season offers the hope, for the first time in a long time, that things can only get better and that the best is still yet to come. Of course, getting there will be half the fun.
If you live in Toronto, and you follow hockey, but you don't see this set of circumstances as being positive or exciting, well then you're just a sad, morose person who can't be encouraged about anything. Kinda like last year's team. See the difference? Excited yet?

[OddyOh]

Finish bottom five, That is the plan!

[R Coutts]

As usual, I suspect the real truth lies in between. When healthy, the Leafs have 4 solid NHL defensemen - Kaberle, Kubina, Colaiacovo, and Van Ryan. White is a small but talented defensemen who will improve, either as a Leaf or elsewhere. Finger and Frogren offer the promise of being solid stay at home defensemen, and Stralman is a very talented young player who will improve defensively. Schenn will be a cornerstone in the future. Question marks yes, but bottom 5, no. The cup is more than half full this year, a definite improvement over the past 3 years.

[Traitor]

I know its old news (i do mean really old) Toronto should have really kept Pecca. Imagine how he would fit in this new defense first era of Ron Wilson.

He really was one of the best defensive forwards in blue and white I've seen.

[Brian]

No one is saying the Leafs defence is the best but there not that bad as Mr.Cox feels. Jeff Finger played in a better conference faster more skilled and still was plus in the plus minus. Van Ryan will give even more experince. The secret of defence is getting the puck out of your own end it is not rocket science.
The main thing for the Leafs is just to compete work hard everynight that is all the fans want. Ron Wilson is the perfect coach for this young team,strangely enough Cliff hired Pat Burns another defensive minded coach to change the Leafs around. Granted the Leafs back then had star power but again good defense will always win games.

[KRaZykeV]

As usual, Damien Cox calls it as it is, and Leafs fans are up in arms about it. I always enjoy his columns as they are insightful and unbiased, even though I think Damien is a Leafs fan. He is one of the few in the Toronto media to speak the truth and lately that hurts because the Leafs are not a very good team right now. I think they are perhaps on the path to being a good team. That starts by finishing low in the standings and getting a good pick. But this will take several years of it, and I wouldn't trust the Leafs brain trust to do the things that "good" teams do... that is 1. Making good draft selections, 2. Developing their drafted talent well and 3. Bringing these players into the NHL with the help they need to succeed. Toronto is terrible at all three of these, and a team like Detroit is adept at it. It will take a long, long time for the Leafs to become an elite team, so don't believe anyone who thinks it can happen overnight. The Flyers turnaround was based on them having a huge load of talent in the wings that the Leafs simply do not have. The Flyers bad season was also a result of a truckload of injuries so their finish was not nearly as bad as it appeared. The Leafs result last season was a real depiction of their actual level and I don't see how it will be any better this season. Keep up the good work Damien!

[Shawn]

What a joke Cox is. One of the stronger defences in the East, it's offence that will struggle. Does this guy even know anything about hockey?

[CJL]

You summed it up well. The Leafs have had terrible D for years. At best it's the same which puts it in the bottom 1/3 of the league. With a worse O the losses will pile up. Definately need a lot of players to overachieve to crack the top 20 teams this year.

[Dave Singh]

I am getting so tired of Mr Damian Cox picking on the Leafs and talking a bunch of negative bull... Come on man you ride McCabe out of town.... When hes gone you complain they made the move...You really dont care what you say or probably even remember, but now your gonna start messin with the younger corp so they get all messed up like McCabe...Please ....Why not give it a month or 2 with a new coach and a pretty new defence corp BEFORE YOU START WITH THE CRAP.

[napdawg]

General Bor is going to have a good long time to enjoy the Leafs playing bottom-feeder hockey before he starts seeing the "exciting" phase that he's talking about. Maybe next year, again.

[Pat Vaughan]

Kaberle, Kubina, Finger and Van Ryn will be the go to guys. Will be interesting to see whether the GM has the jewels to send Strahlman to the Marlies this year. Anton needs a good year or two in the AHL to learn how to play the North American game and whether he can dominate at that level; but as it is he will probably walk off the team and go back to his home country to play in one of those elite leagues the likes of Jonas Hoglund and Aki Berg are starring in. The defence should look good if the Coach's system is learned and executed by intelligent players.

[Sparky]

In response to your question about "what else is [Mats] gonna say" other than that the Leafs will be exciting...well, he could have said something like "I look forward to having a great season with the [Habs/Canucks/Rangers/etc]." I personally think it's very interesting that he did not go down that route.

[Spence]

I wonder if in Larry Tannenbaum's world, planning for the future and not going for the short quick fix to try to win a Cup now, includes the decision to sign Jeff Finger to such a fat contract. Must be.

I'll thoroughly enjoy watching this team suck and suck hard all year long.

[Alex Brown]

I disagree with your glass half-empty view of this years defense core. I would argue it's more top 5 than bottom 5. Kubina and Kaberle are proven top 2-4 players. Colaiacovo and White nicely round out the top 4. They have 5 NHL caliber depth defenseman fighting for the remaining 1-2 spots. Lets hope Fletcher can trade some of these names for some picks like he did with Hal Gill. I think he picked up Finger for deadline purposes. Plus we have Toskala not Raycroft all year which will make the defense not play terrified like they did during Raycofts brutal performances.

[torontosportsmedia.com]

The only folks who are "suggesting" the things that Damien is talking about get paid to express their opinions either on TV, print or radio. Not one fan with a brain in their head is as delusional as he suggests, he should check the meals at the ACC press room.

[Matt]

Last years team was 27th in defense.

This year they will be much better: I think the Leafs improved themselves with Frogan, Finger and Van Ryn. The lost d-men are Gill and McCabe (and hopefully White). I'd take the new guys any day, and suspect Finger will surprise many. And now that Kubina will be cast into McCabe's old role, we'll be seeing an improved player and a return to his 13 goal season with Tampa.

[Pension Plan Puppets]

Strangely, some have argued that since the Leafs have depth and experience in the media covering the team, they may be well-suited to intelligently cover the team.

Depth and experience? Really?

This is the same chatter we heard last fall when some suggested that the Leafs had such depth in media coverage that they were able to get an accurate portrayal of their chances.

Now we're hearing it again. Folks, it's about more than just having lots of names, bald heads, and arrogant columnists.

The Maple Leafs might have the weakest media corps in the entire league.

[A. Parr]

Hey Mr.Cox before you bash them why dont you give them a chance, Ron wilson needs more than 4-5 practices and 2 games to make this work. This may not be Detroit but the Leafs are trying for the first time in years to build a winner, give them break. Where was your last coaching/gm job !!!!. So give it a rest.

[smokey]

You are such a negative writer without anything ever positive to say. The season has not even began and here you go again. Clearly, this is how you earn your dough...how pathetic.

They are rebuilding, something you and others advocated so stop the crap fora change and let's see what progress the Leafs are able to make.

[The Nuge]

Two points:

Anyone who disagrees with what Damien says about the team defence is short on hockey knowledge. I think bottom 5 was being generous. Only Leafs fans would disagree, since they notoriously over value the roster.

Secondly, Sundin isn't playing for one reason and one reason only. The only place he wants to play is "in Toronto". The problem? He doesn't want to play "for Toronto".

[The Nuge]

SEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some Leaf fan posted on here that Finger was picked up as later bait at the trade deadline. WITH THAT CONTRACT? Too much smog in Toronto.

[nzk]

For the most part, I agree with Cox. However, depth and experience aren't the be all and end all behind a sound defensive system that, when adhered to, will win games. If you consider what Lemaire has done (post-lockout) with the Wild, perhaps the outlook for Wilson's Leafs is not so bleak?

[Kevin]

I can't believe that anyone but a die-hard Leaf fan would call White one of the Leaf's top four defenders. I agree that K&K are the top two, and that Carlo can be #3 if he stays healthy. But White as #4? This guy reminds me of a combination of Todd Gill and Jim Benning, with a dash of Fred Boimstruck thrown in for good measure. He has some (not lots) of offensive flair, and might be useful as a 4th line winger. But I wouldn't even consider him as anything more than the seventh defender (and remember, you keep the 7th in the press box most nights). The first 6? K&K, Carlo, Finger, Van Ryn, and either Kronwall or Frogren.

[sirslud]

Shawn - one of the strongest defenses in the east? You're wrong. Very very very wrong.

smokey - they're rebuilding, as you say. What's wrong with having bad defense when you're rebuilding? That's pretty much the point of it. You have unknowns, and hopefully they turn into reliable or even good talents, but for awhile, you deal with the fact that you're not as competitive as other teams. I don't understand why people say, "We'll, they're rebuilding," and take issue with somebody who points out how they will do this season.

I love the leafs, but they don't lose because people complain about them. You don't need to protect these guys - they can protect themselves. They lose because losing sometimes is a part of life, and you learn and you grow and you win. Its sports, man, if you can't take somebody making a critique, you're a softy. Unlike any professional, who all learn to deal with criticism because its part of the job for a very good reason. When what you do is important, you should be receptive to criticism, or at least be okay with other people voicing their perceptions on your limitations.

Maybe most importantly, your comments on here are moderated, and Cox will be happy to put up with your insults to him, so I would imagine NHL players are quite capable of doing the same. It's not being negative when you're calling it like it is.