Thursday Mail Bag
Well, that was appalling.
The ease with which the Maple Leafs are satisfied, it would seem, follows the team year after year, regardless of who is coaching the team, managing the team or playing for the team. Tuesday’s performance against Minnesota, the worst team in the west, was the latest example. The Wild did some good things, but after just two victories, it was as though the Leafs felt they simply needed to wear the correct jerseys and the Wild would be easily beaten. No franchise in the NHL, it seems, struggles more with maintaining a level of decent consistency than the Leafs. Is it because their fans are so easily satisfied? Is it because the media in Toronto praises the club too extravagantly after moderate achievements? Or is it because there simply isn’t enough urgency in the organization, from ownership on down, because there’s is no financial imperative to motivate icing a winning team?
It’s the No. 1 problem Brian Burke and Ron Wilson have to fix, and judging by Tuesday, it’s as bad as ever.
Now on to this week’s mail bag:
Q: I am having trouble seeing how the NHL ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes really changes anything. The current lease is still in effect between Glendale and the Coyotes because Judge Baum did everything in his power to avoid having to decide the lease status in the bankruptcy proceedings. If the NHL cannot renegotiate the lease, Glendale is still free to pursue the $750 million penalty for relocation of the franchise. What new owner would want to take on this battle?
Glen Wollenberg, Massanutten, Virginia
A: No owner wants this lease. The game plan for the NHL, after all its other contingency plans fell through, was always to re-negotiate the lease and, if unsuccessful, break it and move the team. Nobody takes seriously the City of Glendale’s stated intention to pursue penalties in the hundreds of millions of dollars if that lease isn’t honored. Multiple precedents suggest the city might, at best, be entitled to a penalty payment of $50 million. At any rate, the city has held previous negotations on the lease, most recently with the Jerry Reinsdorf group, and if the Coyotes are to remain in Phoenix, that lease will have to change.
Q: I've heard speculation that Eric Lindros has played a role, behind the scenes, in the events that transpired recently over at the NHLPA. Do you think this is true, and if so, what was the nature of his involvement? His recent resignation from the ombudsman position and all the clashes he's had with others throughout his career don't exactly paint a picture of innocence.
Michael Manno, North York
A: Lindros denies this, although he was remarkably up to speed on all the recent NHLPA events, including an insiders knowledge of the firing of Paul Kelly. Others say that he has been influential all along, or at least, individuals sympathetic to his sentiments about the NHLPA - Ian Penny, in particular - have played a significant role in what has happened at the union in recent months. There are all kinds of conspiracy theories out there, but the pertinent fact now seems to be that Lindros won’t have an influence or role in the union when the current process of finding a new executive director and rewriting the constitution are completed. His union days are done, and given that he resigned as ombudsman last winter, he may be happy with that.
Q: I wanted to hear your thoughts on the Whitby product James Neal. Having seen a few Dallas games (Thank God for Rogers free Centre Ice preview!) James has impressed me with his ability to gather attention from the defense and spreading the puck, and not to mention his left handed shot coming in from the right wing for this Dallas team. Any shot at Team Canada? Future prediction possibly?
Kevin Black, Whitby
A: No shot at Team Canada, at least not if you’re talking about the Vancouver Olympics. But he’s certainly a young player coming into his own after a 24-goal campaign a year ago and nine goals already this season. Moreover, he’s been in the Hockey Canada national team stream for a while, having played in the under-18 program and the national junior program. His time is yet to come as far as playing for his country in the big international events.
Q: Barring a miracle, if things continue as they are , how far do you think Burke will go in terms of compromising the future of this club in order to assure the Bruins are not getting a #1.
If on the other hand he does the right thing and stays the course, can he survive such an outcome?
Filip Gracz, Toronto
A: Well, at this point, Burke can survive pretty much anything. He’s not going to be fired after one full season even if the Leafs finish dead last by 20 points. As far as what he might do to make sure the Bruins don’t get the first overall pick, that’s partly out of his hands. Any of the teams with top five picks could get to No. 1 through the draft lottery. I don’t think you’ll see him moving much in the way of future assets for help now, but he might trade a younger player (Matt Stajan, Ian White, Nikolai Kulemin) for an older NHLer who can help his club more now.
Q: Interesting watching the Leafs promote all the new players that Burke has brought in. To see them sit Stajan, meanwhile Komisarek alone costs them the first three games. Beauchemin is a disaster yet does not miss a shift. Kessel is our best player by far says Wilson. Yet Kaberle is the NHL player of the week. How do you build a team with this type of alienation from the coach towards all the non Burke players?
Dave Nesbitt, Barrie
A: Well, Burke brought in Garnet Exelby and he’s having trouble staying in the lineup. Colton Orr doesn’t play much, and the college signings - Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson - are in the minors. That said, it’s pretty well established that the players that were here before Burke arrived weren’t very successful as a group, so its not surprising newer players would be seen in a different way. As far as Mike Komisarek supposedly costing the team the first three games, that’s so absurd it’s not even worth addressing.
Q: What are your thoughts on turning Tomas Kaberle into a centre? We all know he is a great skater and passer. Look at the career Red Kelly made for himself at centre after being an all star for years on defence. T.K. sure would look good centering Kessel and Blake.
Jim Gosleigh, Newcastle
A: Kaberle’s gifted enough as athlete to be effective to some degree at any position. But clearly when he’s on his game he’s one of the NHL’s better puck moving, playmaking rearguards. He wouldn’t possibly have that impact playing centre with no training or experience at that position.
Q: Hi Damien,
Am I alone in thinking the Leafs are heading down the wrong path again? For so many years the Leafs would "build" by trading draft picks for aging veterans as a quick-fix attempt to succeed. I still cannot get over what Burke gave to the Bruins for Kessell. Granted he's a young scorer, but he's no Crosby or Malkin. Why can't the Leafs just be patient building via the draft? Look at the Penguins or Hawks, set for the future with draft picks like Fleury, Malkin, Crosby, Toews, Kane etc. We're forced to be satisfied with other teams' mediocre cast-offs.
John Kovacs, Richmond Hill
A: I’m not the sure I’d call Kessel “other teams’ mediocre castoff,” but I get your point. To be honest, I’m not really sure why the Leafs refuse to go down the slow rebuild path. Burke has said you can’t do that in Toronto, but I just don’t buy it. After all, they’ve been selling mostly losing teams in the city for decades. That said, Burke has chosen a different path, drafting Nazem Kadri, signing college free agents and signing Jonas Gustavsson, who looks like he might be the equivalent of a first round draft pick. You can expect Burke will go after more college free agents next summer, and in the 22-year-old Kessel, he now has a player that was regarded as a franchise-type player in his draft year and has already scored 36 goals in a season. We’ll see how this progresses.
Q: Hello there Damien,
Long time reader, first time e-mailer. I'm wondering if you might be able to explain the logic of Brian Burke's mentality when it comes to the "belligerance and truculance" of his players. I understand that there is a physical element to hockey and that fighting will always be part of the game, but why is it that BB would pick up someone like Colton Orr when it is clearly a scoring touch that the Leafs need and not a physical touch? Granted the Leafs got pushed around a lot last season but turning the Leafs from wimps into bullies is not the way to make this a winning team. In all honesty, Toronto needs five more Phil Kessels and about 10 less Colton Orrs. So here's my real question, are there no players in the league that BB can get his hands on that have the physicality of a Colton Orr and the scoring touch of a Phil Kessel and if so, why hasn't he pulled his head out of the sand and traded for one of those types of players?
Shane Rieger, Richmond Hill
A: Well, if such a player were available, Burke would be the first in line making an offer. But such players are rare indeed - Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Ryan Getzlaf - and not available. So the answer is that the Leafs had many holes to fill, and still have holes to fill, and the addition of Orr, in Burke’s opinion, filled a role the Leafs needed to have filled at a very affordable price. Burke really believes that such players allow skill players to play their games better, and he really doesn’t care whether you or I agree. He has strong opinions on this - and most hockey matters - and right now the shine on his 2007 Stanley Cup ring means his opinions carry a great deal of weight.
Q: Regarding the Ben Fanelli hit, it is noticeable from the clip that his helmet popped off like a champagne cork. Another piece of the hockey culture at the NHL and junior levels is the "dangling chinstrap". Many players in the NHL have been injured because the helmet isn't firmly secured (see Donald Brashear after Marty McSorley clubbed him). I've played hockey for 40 years, and never found it to be a problem to have my chinstrap done up fairly close to my chin. Have you ever heard this issue discussed around the rinks?
Ron Stewart, Oakville
A: Its discussed all the time. But players think its cool to wear the chinstraps loose and the culture of hockey is about fitting in, not being different. It would be an easy rule for leagues to enforce, but they just don’t.
Every Thursday, Damien Cox answers your questions in The Spin, only at thestar.com. Click here to submit a question. **Note: please follow the link above to send a question to Damien. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**
Just a comment on the 'slow re-build' philosophy. Pittsburgh won a Stanley Cup last year 7 years after drafting Ryan Whitney as the first piece of their re-building process. You could argue that the process started earlier with Orpik and Malone but I digress. I actually DO buy that Toronto fans won't accept a slow re-build. The way people jump on and off the bandwagon as well as the apparent lack of patience for developing any of the youth the Leafs currently have tell me that the fans don't want a slow re-build. Already people are panicking about the Kessel deal because Kulemin, Tlusty, Stalberg, Bozak, Hanson, Gustavson and Kadri haven't turned into immediate superstars. There is this feeling that somehow the picks Burke traded would have turned into immediate stars which is pure fantasy and is statistically very unlikely to happen. If Leaf fans can't wait more than a month to believe that Kessel, Schenn, Grabovski, Kulemin, Bozak, Stalberg, Hanson, Kadri and Gustavson could be big pieces of the Leafs future, what makes you think they'd wait the 4 years it will likely take to develop this year's picks? The Leafs have only had a 'losing team' for decades in hindsight. They weren't seen that way at the time. For most of the years between '93 and 2004 they were considered contenders and the city was on fire with hope. Finally, for anybody who thinks a slow re-build is a sure-fire way to a cup I invite you to go to www.hockeydb.com and check out Atlanta's draft history and playoff record. Now do the same with Detroit. Also, as great as Chicago are if they don't win a Cup this year they will lose a lot of that youth next year and take a big step backwards. Building slowly through the draft isn't guaranteed because once your youth develops you have a limited window to win after which you can't afford to give your good young players new contracts and have to lose them or trade them for more project players. There is more than one way to build a contender and with a bit of patience, many of the young pieces the Leafs already have (Kulemin, Grabovski, Mitchell, Kadri, Kessel, Gustavson, Schenn, Stalberg) could develop into the core of that contender. This isn't a video game. Players don't go from being prospects to being superstars in a matter of months. It normally takes a few seasons and notable exceptions like Crosby are rare.
Posted by: Chris | November 11, 2009 at 09:23 PM
I also have a question: How do people exactly see a slow re-build working in Toronto? Do you expect that the Leafs will tank for 2 years and then BAM the team will become the Pittsburgh Penguins? That NEVER happens. What happens if the Leafs had their 1st rounders, drafted Hall and whoever was the big deal next year and then didn't make the playoffs for two more years after the 2011 draft? Because that's what happened with Pittsburgh. In 2006 the Pens missed the playoffs with a roster that included Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Sergei Gonchar, Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Ryan Malone, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney, Rob Scuderi and Marc Andre Fleury. The next year they added Malkin, Staal and Talbot and managed a whopping 5 playoff games before being ousted. If you honestly believe that Leaf fans would sit there and patiently wait for 4 more years while their draft picks learned how to play the game consistently at the NHL level you are delusional. Leaf fans would call them all busts, call for the heads of the coaches and General Manager, blame MLSE for not caring about winning and make empty threats of boycotting etc. Phil Kessel and Luke Schenn are 2006 and 2008 top 5 picks respectively. Kadri is a 7th overall. Tlusty is a 13th overall and Gustavson is playing like a draft pick that has worked out; certainly better than the goalie chosen 5th overall in 2005...Carey Price. Stalberg, Hanson and Tlusty are better than a point per game right now in the AHL. Kadri and Kenny Ryan (Leafs 2nd rounder last year) are better than a point per game in the OHL right now. Are you going to be patient and accept that even players like Malkin, Staal and Fleury need to learn how to be NHL superstars so it's reasonable that Kadri, Stalberg, and Bozak might need the same kind of patience? People forget that Kessel was projected to go 1st overall in 2006 and has more goals than anybody else in that draft so far. I'd rather have a guy who is 22 and a proven NHL scorer than a draft pick that the Toronto public will have zero patience for. I'd like the draft picks to still be ours but I see Leaf fans proving Burke's point every day with their bandwagon hopping, impatience and unreasonable expectations of young players.
Posted by: Chris | November 11, 2009 at 09:58 PM
Damien, please ask Burke how this set of forwards in any way fits the definition of "a Brian Burke team"?
The only forwards we have that are 'tough' can only be counted to play 5 minutes per game: Rosehill and Orr. The rest are prone to falling down (Grabs, Stajan) and taking more hits than they give. Or if blessed with physical gifts like Poni, show absolutely no drive.
The Leafs can't roll any aggressive forwards on their top 3 lines.
On the forward lines: where is the truculence? aggression? where?!
(To say nothing of accountability lacking throughout the lineup.)
Giving the fans a staged fight every 2 games screams another year of mediocrity.
Aside from Kessel and Hagman, our forwards are a shoddy bunch that would be hard pressed to make the third line of most teams. And yet, with 3 wins in 16 games Burke focuses his efforts on trying to land an outdoor game at a soccer stadium. Good grief. Great use of your time, sir!
Posted by: BurkeEpicFail | November 12, 2009 at 12:03 AM
Thank you, Chris. The only thing I can add is, when I've heard him speak on the topic, Burke himself can't stomach the idea of managing a team that's not winning. Nevermind whether the public can or can't deal with a slow rebuild through continual losing; Burke wouldn't stand for it, and he's running the show. End of story.
Posted by: kenny | November 12, 2009 at 12:15 PM
I love the question "why can't the Leafs trade for a player that is tough and can score...?" I mean, really, get real. Given the rarity of those kinds of players (Damien mentioned 3) and the difficulties imposed by the salary cap, the question is unbelievably stupid and naive. Damien, either you were looking for a puff ball question because you had a low energy day or you just wanted to show readers your compasionate side by not tellin the guy outright: duh!
Posted by: other mark | November 12, 2009 at 01:06 PM
buddy, if you think hagman is our second best forward, or would possinly make the top six on even half of the teams, you are incapable of scouting the abilities of hockey players. I dont know what to tell you, aside froma lethal wrist shot from the top of the circle on the powerplay, Hagman is a horrible, and horribly overpaid dud.
Posted by: jimmy | November 13, 2009 at 02:40 AM
I'd like to see Burke make a run for Nathan Horton. Might be a good 'change of scenery' candidate, he's still young and he's got the size/scoring combo that sometimes takes a few years to develop in the NHL.
Posted by: Michael | November 13, 2009 at 02:13 PM
Jimmy:
While I agree that Hagman would most likely be a 3rd liner on most teams, who else on this team right now is better besides Kessel? They are all 3rd and 4th liners. Somebody like Mitchell shows some potential to maybe one day be more, but not yet.
Posted by: Garmo | November 13, 2009 at 02:44 PM
Much as I am overjoyed to receive scouting advice from some obviously buzzed man-child named Jimmy - I will decline.
Who would you nominate as second best forward on the Leafs? Stajan - giveaway queen, terrible decision maker and ice tumbler extraordinaire? Poni - who played the Lion in The Wiz for his lack of courage? Grabs - who looks like Berezin's demented step-brother, and is basically all energy without an ounce of finish? Mitchell - who's playing on the top line because Stajan can't cut it and because the Leafs foolishly turned down Dom Moore? Wallin - a little ice nymph who is slightly more dangerous than a box of quick-strike matches submerged in a small lake? Blake who is on pace to earn $2 million per goal? Or little Lee Stempy who can't hit the side of a barn?
Face facts: this group of forwards is GRIM, little Jim!
Like it or not - by process of of elimination, Nik Hagman IS the Leafs' second most talented offensive forward.
Is he fantastic? No. Is he decent? Yes. But the fact that he IS our second best offensive forward says a lot about the neglect of the Leaf forward lines by the loathsome GM BB.
Posted by: BurkeEpicFail | November 14, 2009 at 04:29 PM
Hey Damien. Gotta love those leafs hey. They have had a lot of practice losing but they lose in style. Last night those same leafs didn't look like they were mentally prepared for the flames for most of the 1st period. Leaf fans have given rubbish for the last 5 years and yet they still come to watch .Booo on the those silly fans.Brian Burke has probably figured that as long as he makes a big splash in the media his job will never be in doubt. Toronto since winning the cup in the 60's have never been able to understand the busines of what it takes to be a winner today although they did come close with Wendel and Gilmor. I am looking for a canadian team to win the cup one day in the near future. do you like my chances????????
Posted by: Pete Johnson | November 15, 2009 at 12:21 PM
@ Chris
Those dumb Leaf fans, they'll show up now matter how bad the team is, but they'll be damned if they'll show up for a rebuilding team. Wait a tic, that doesn't make a lick of sense does it? Rebuilding teams = garbage. Recent Leaf teams = garbage. Cleary you can get one with the other, no?
Posted by: Belligerent Burkie | November 15, 2009 at 11:49 PM