No One Disagrees Any More

There's a useful clarity to being awful. Awful as opposed to average.

And, after another woeful home-ice performance last night against the Buffalo Sabres, nobody would disagree any more that the Maple Leafs are a lousy hockey club this season, destined to finish in the lower rungs of the NHL.They are second worst in the league, with a four-point gap between themselves and the third worst outfit. If not for disastrous Carolina, the Leafs would be looking up at 29 other teams.

After 25 games, the hole is too big for Ron Wilson's group to be in contention for even the last playoff berth in the east, and maybe that's good.

After all, being close time after time during the past five years hasn't done much except add confusion to the picture. You know, whether this player actually might be better than he looks, or that player is just having an off-season, or whether breaking a Leaf record for wins or assists by a left winger really makes a player untouchable.

These Leafs are clearly what they are. No argument.

No one would seriously suggest any longer that Vesa Toskala has either the stamina or ability to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL, or that Matt Stajan or Alexei Ponikarovsky are bona fide top six forwards in the NHL. Luke Schenn is a prospect learning the game, not a player poised to be youngest captain in team history. Jason Blake just isn't in a slump — that's what he is. Lee Stempniak is just the residue of a bad trade, not a player set to re-discover his lost scoring touch. Mikhail Grabovski is speed and energy but not a No. 1 or No. 2 centre in the making.

There will, this being Toronto, always be exaggerations. You hear it these days with suggestions that now it's Ian White, not Schenn, who deserves to captain this team. C'mon people — wait for players to establish themselves, and that takes more than one or two seasons.

So the fact that awfulness brings clarity should actually assist GM Brian Burke when it comes to making moves this season to try and make the future better than the present.

Tomas Kaberle should be put on the trading block, and if he doesn't like it, too bad. A first round pick is the asking price and somebody will pay. The players set to be free agents — Stajan, Ponikarovsky, Stempniak, Toskala — shouldn't be re-signed, and so should be moved if anything of value can be retrieved.

Having so few players under contract after this season should open a world of possibilities for Burke, and he knows now more than ever he'll be spending money on college free agents next spring.

The only uncertainty in this picture is that of Wilson and his coaching staff. Burke will have a tough decision to make on his coaches if this turns out to be a 20-win season.

Otherwise, nobody's fooling anybody any longer. The state of the Leafs is crystal clear.

Comments

[Rick Baldesarra]

Thanks Damien for writing the absolute truth about the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs! This is it and anybody who even tries to justify otherwise hasn't a clue about the sport of hockey and the individual skills of a hockey player! Well said!
Rick

[B A McFarlane]

Well said.

[Tony]

Damien,

I have never written to or commented on a sports article and, unfortunately, I am old enough to remember watching the '67 cup-winning Leaf game.
Your article is totally bang on. the Leaf management have consistently and characteristically spent way too much time on the likes of Ponikarovsky and a number of others, waiting and hoping that something special will appear. You can add Stajan to that as well. In fairness, they did get rid of a few anchors last season, but they seem poised to do it all over again with a different cast of underachievers.

Young Kessel has shown more spark, hustle, and most importantly, puck sense and sniping ability in the last month than I have seen from any Leaf acquisition in far longer than I, as a Leaf fan, care to admit.

Does it take a rocket scientist to quickly recognize talent, or in the case of Leaf's management, the absence of talent?

[jb]

It's been clear for quite some time, I'd say. Given that, it's hard not to believe that Burke made a disastrous error, not so much in trading for Kessel, but in the evaluation of his team that premised the Kessel trade. And since assessing one's own team is pretty much the foundation of a GM's duties, what does that say about the Leaf's GM? This one has unmitigated disaster written all over it, with the potential to turn Burke into a nothing more than a cautionary tale, a scary story Leaf fans tell their children at night -- remember the time we finished last ad DIDN'T HAVE A FIRST ROUNDER

[Phillip Newsome]

This is as clear assessment of the situation as I have seen. Two other names that should be mentioned: One, Jonas Gustuvson still has much to learn. That has become clear. Yes he is acrobatic, but he more often than not takes himself out of position to handle the next shot. Last night's first goal was a good example. I think the teams in the rest of the league have figured him out. If you get him moving side to side he will slide right out of the net.

Second, Nichlas Hagman has been very impresive lately, which makes for one more tradeable commodity.

[LOCKSTOCK93]

I think that was the feeling most of us had after the first few games of the season. They just aren't an NHL caliber team, and that leaves them a long way from being an elite NHL club. Aside from Kessel, who's a real offensive player on this team? Hagman? That's about it. Okay. But lots of teams find themselves in a similar position and use a defensive system to stymie other teams.

I thought that Ron Wilson and his coaching staff might be able to accomplish the implementation of some sort of "better than the sum of the parts" type system, but his ideas haven't gotten this plane off the ground. Not good.

[James Jack]

Damien, what do you think of a possible Thomas Kaberle for Eric Staal trade? If I were Carolina I would not make this trade but they are pretty desperate especially with Corvo out. More pressure on them to do something than there is for the Leafs. Eric Staal would give Leafs their bona fide 1st line centre, Kaberle would give Canes what they need, puck moving defenceman. I don't know if Staal is considered a franchise player anymore. I think the two match up pretty well don't you. I for one think that Kaberle is worth more than one first rounder.

[BigSteve]

At this point I can't help but wonder how Wilson's results-to-date with the Leafs will weigh in the backs of the minds of Team USA players as far as credibility goes. I mean, when you have a cup-winning coach coming in to coach you, it gives you an added boost of confidence, right? So when the opposite happens, does it have a similar, but reverse effect? If so, that's a good thing for Team Canada.

[Andreas J]

Giving up hope is not easy for a devoted fan. But thanks for helping me move on.

[just a fan]

Thank you for giving everyone the reality check. This type of season is what we all expected anyway, before the pre-season gave us all some false hope. The team is actually playing hard and giving effort, but really just isn't talented enough on most nights. As true fans, we stick by our team through all the highs and lows. Otherwise, we wouldn't even bother to read these stories and comment on them. The future does look bright with the young prospects coming along, so hopefully we can see them all stay, play together, and build a competitive team in over the next few years.

[kenny]

I agree with you about the impulsiveness of many fans (the White-Schenn example). Along those lines, I would disagree with you about Poni not being a bona fide top-six forward. He's on pace for 30 goals, but even at 25 goals, he certainly has value. He's contributed with, then without Sundin; with, then without Antropov; he's a decent player. I find many fans are quick to dismiss him as baggage, and I don't know why. Maybe because he doesn't fight.

[other mark]

Agree with everything you said Damien. Time to dump the salary of the overpriced free agents and move Kaberle for a quality pick. I'd take it even one step further. Regardless of whether they are free agents or not, in February or so, get rid of Kulimen, Wallin, Rosehill, Meyers. These guys should either be sent to the Marlies or put on waivers, depending on whether they are on a 1 way deal or not. They can be easily replaced and I firmly believe that your 3rd/4th liners need to be hungry and smart to be effective. Bring up the kids and get them some NHL experience for the following year. See who's hungry and smart and who is not.

[Paintboylive Livigil]

How do you get Thomas Kaberle to like, or more to the point, allow a trade?
With the no trade clause (or does he have the even crazier no movement deal?), the last remnant of the muskoka 5 will probably just demand to stay in Toronto.

[Moe Green]

I clearly watched a different game
Or maybe as you suggest, I watch through the prism of obsessed fandom, but what I saw was a Leaf team that played with and better than the Sabres for much, if not most of the game. The Sabres and good and were able to shut the Leafs down once they got the lead. Miller is one ofthe very best minders in the game today. They've done that to a lot of better teams than the Leafs this year. While I agree that there will and should be players dumped at season's end, this Leaf team is not that bad. What if the Leafs had scored during the first period flurry? Would the game have been different? Would you be singing a slightly different tune in this column? Or, maybe I am just delusional. The rest of the season will tell the tale.

[jeff ahonen]

why wouldn't MLSE hire Gary Roberts as a mentor or consultant how would kids like Bozak, Hanson and Stalberg know how to eat and sleep properly? Weren't they a couple of university students? I'm sure they have the money. But what would I know, I'm only a Intermediate level 3 coach with 5 kids. My daughter has been to Europe and a couple played Junior, school was more important to me. Thanks I always enjoy your blog. I don't think it's the coaching.

[Leaf fan in Van]

Hey DC, good call on all fronts. Quick question though - where is Chris DiDomenico at as far as his rehab?

[Travis]

Can we start looking forward to the 2010 offseason?

We'll have roughly 13 open spots, nearly 20 mill in cap space and some promising youth ready to make the jump.

How about the "Special K" line of Kovalchuk - Kadri - Kessel as a top unit?

Jokinen is also out there as a possibility if a centre hasn't emerged from our farm.

Alex Frolov no longer has ties to the Kings after this year.

Madden and Kariya could hop aboard for 1M or 2M/year each.

The future of the Maple Leafs isn't nearly as bleak as some folks will let you believe.

[John Mitchell]

I do not always agree with you, Damien, but I think your assessment here is totally accurate. More than a decade of trading away draft picks and young players stripped the team of youthful talent to replace its aging core of veteran players. There is some young talent, but it needs to be augmented and given time to develop. I believe that Brian Burke will do precisely what you suggest in terms of trades, college free agents and not re-signing certain players. The eternal optimist in me says that the Leafs will be a different and better collection of players next year; however, it is going to take 2 to 3 years for Brian Burke to build a truly competitive team.

[Lew McClain]

You are right on this time Damian. I am disappointed, and i guess in a state of denial. But this team is just not as good as is needed to win at this level. After the Buffalo game it became clear what we have. Let us hope the future is better..

[uhaveachoice]

damien, i RARELY agree with you but this article was well stated and entirely accurate ... I hope leaf management actually reads this and understands that this version of the team is really bad ... i don't mind their defence, and i still have faith in toskala although i am running out of patience but the biggest problem is the lack of top 6 forwards ... way too many 3rd liners on this team and not a credible center in sight.

[Ross]

Kaberle should be taken aside and asked quietly if he would like to go to a contender at the trade deadline. He should be promised that if he does, he will be re-signed next year if he so wishes at a salary that could be negotiated before he decides.

What the Leafs need is a LEADER, a CAPTAIN. If Kaberle decides to go and then re-sign, he should get the nod to be CAPTAIN.

The Leafs have enuf there now to be good, they are just not getting it into the net. It's like the world is against them. How can a team shoot so much and score so little. It seems that every team they play, the goal tender has a stellar performance.

We do not want Toronto to throw the season away because that would just make Boston look that much better next year. Send Wilson and Burke to the team they are helping build, the Bruins, and bring Cherry in for some color, if nothing else. Even try to woo Sundin back to provide some leadership for a bit with a promise of a job in the organization later.

The Leafs players are NOT as bad as the standings suggest, they just need a leader to take charge and guide them.

[Allen Ford]

You're right, obviously the Leafs are awful.

But here's my question, if the Leafs are awful, why then criticize them for being who they are?

As Dennis Green would say, "They are who we thought they were." And yet the media will continue to report on how the Leafs are underperforming.

I would suggest that given what they have, the Leafs are doing just fine.

[Barts]

kaberle for eric staal?

go get getzlaf for finger while you are at it. LOL.

are folks that delusional? did you just see what the bruins got for kessel? staal is an elite player on a crappy team. an overall better player than kessel hands down and you want to grab him for a 30 something soft d who struggles in his own end? amazing!

[Johnnyk]

Looks like they ran into a hot goalie last night.... again.
Most teams they play seem to have a hot goalie. The Leafs are the only team without one.
They have no high draft picks and they have no one anyone else wants in trade. All that's left is to dump salaries. You can pay AHL money and still be crummy, the MLSE suits must know this. Burke is gonna need every hour of his contract to re-build these klowns.

[Gary]

Well the facts are the facts.Our record is what we are. This is a bad hockey team. Could they pass Florida ? Yes. A bunch of other teams above them will probably play at the same level for the balance of the season but they are so far in front now we won't catch them.

So I actually agree with Cox for a change. The players he mentioned have to go, and the sooner the better. May as well make this a full scale youth movement led by Kessel, Gustavvson, Schenn, Kadri , etc.

Time to move on.