Silencing the Cynics
It seems that I am the only Blue and White fan that actually enjoyed the presser this afternoon. Over the past week I have been listening to what Leaf fans wanted Burke to say, versus what they expected him to say. I full out believe that it didn’t matter what was said by the Leaf’s GM and that the failure of the season was enough to simply cast aside anything meaningful he could have or did address.
So what is it that Leaf fan’s were expecting from this presser? Did they want Burkie to blow the team up? Did they want him to try and dump some salaries? Were they looking for him to try and trade up to get a near guaranteed future star?
Fortunately, all of these questions were asked of Burke, and in my opinion, he responded admirably.
Finding out & fixing what occured between Feb 6th/ 7th.
In early Feb the Leafs were riding high, They swept the Isles, they took 3 out of 4 points from the Cup contending Pens. The whipped Ottawa’s butt, than won a home game vs Edmonon on Feb 6. The Leafs were slated to fly to Winn for a game next night. The Leafs were VERY flat against the Jets, they lost a winnable game 2-1. From than on, occurred the worst collapse in Leaf history.
The question is, what happened within the Leaf organization from that flight from Toronto to Winnipeg that would cause this? Burke needs to address this. Was it the rumoured rift between Phanuef & a star young Leaf player that caused this? Before the Leafs can put this unfortunate season behind them & move forward, this potential problem needs to be figured out. Whatever the problem is, , Burke needs to fix this ASAP. If it’s a case that two players can’t co-exsist, than one of them has to go regardless of who they are.
Sweeping this under the carpet & pretending a problem doesn’t exsist has the potential to cause more heartache for the Leafs & their fans. Wilson was the scapegoat, but was he the problem? If so, than why when Carlyle was hired, why did the team keep on losing? They won like one out of eight when RC took over. The Leafs started to only play better when they were elimnated. When RC took over, they certainly had plenty of games left to make a serious push for the playoffs, but the losses kept mounting.
I don’t believe the theory that the Leafs collapse was due to a lack of talent catching up to them. This team proved that they when on their game, they can compete with anyone. They are certainly amongst the speediest teams. Burke better find out what caused the season to blow up. Obviously the problem wasn’t addressed with a coaching change. Or else as soon as Wilson’s butt went out the door, the Leafs would have caught lightning in a bottle which they didn’t.
Let’s see what goes on with the Leafs this off season. Let’s hope Burke brings the hammer down on the WHAT or the WHO that caused the Leafs to falter so badly in such a short time.
Roster Evolution Under Burke
The following table was assembled by hoolihan.
It shows the level of change in the roster since Burke took over the GM reigns on November 29, 2008. There is very little of the old regime left, only Matt Frattin, Nikolai Kulemin, Carl Gunnarsson and James Reimer remain from the John Ferguson Jr. era. Mikhail Grabovski and Luke Schenn are all that is left from Cliff Fletcher’s 11 month, interim GM period.
The questions for Leaf fans are this:
- Is the current roster better than the roster of four years ago?
- Is there a player that Burke moved out that could really help the team today?
I think we can all agree that mistakes have happened, some of them are in the lineup on a nightly basis, but overall, are the Leafs on the right track?
Leafs Top 10 Prospect Update 2012
This is who I believe are the top ten Leaf prospects, which do not include ready to graduate soon to the NHL, Joe Colborne, Carter Ashton, Nazem Kadri & Korbinian Holzer
Here is my top 10 Maple Leaf Prospects list not including the above listed.
1. Brad Ross – Forward, Portland Winterhawks WHL – 2nd round pick #43 2010
Brad has learned & developed an all-around game this year; he has picked his spots but is still a hard nose pain in the ass agitator to play against. His point totals are way up this year and still has the penalty minutes. He is still unsigned at this time, must be signed before the 2012 draft or they risk losing him. At this time he has, 39g, 39a, 78pts with 156 penalty minutes in 65 games.
2. Greg Mckegg – Forward, London OHL – 3rd round pick #62 overall 2010
Once he got traded from an absolute terrible team in Erie to London, he has been on fire. It will be interesting to see if he can keep this pace as he leads London into the playoffs. He will be with Marlies come next year. At this time he has, 31g, 44a, 75pts in 61 games with both the Knights and Otters.
The Resurgence of Jonas Gustavsson
I can already imagine the comments I will get on this piece, but regardless what I am told, I need to document my stance on this (as well as put this on record for when the prediction comes true ).
Jonas Gustavsson has been under some serious heat from the moment he was signed by the Blue and White. Thought of as the soon-to-be goaltending saviour of the franchise, when he was first signed by Burke, the bar was set from the get go. Having lost his mother shortly before signing with Toronto (his father passing away 4 years prior), it is easy to say that the Swedish goaltender had a lot more on his mind than just hockey. Not to mention the fact that on his first day of training camp Gus was diagnosed with a heart condition that required surgery. In addition to all of this, some forget the fact that he had just made the switch to the North American ice surface, as well as the vast changes in life-style between Europe to North America. Nevertheless, he played admirably during the first year in a Leaf uniform, posting a .900+ save percentage, with a 16-15-9 record, on a pretty horrendous team. These are by no means stellar numbers for an NHL goalie, but considering the conditions under which it was done, most Leaf fans were willing to give him a pass for the year.
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