The perennially disappointing Toronto Maple Leafs, those of 40 straight years of Stanley Cup futility, are entering the 2007-08 campaign with a new goaltender, first-line winger and aspirations to contend in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
The return of captain Mats Sundin, free-agent signees Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala and the Leafs’ desperation to make the playoffs after falling short by a single point last year will ensure they do indeed make the post-season in 2007-08.
With general manager John Ferguson Jr.’s future resting firmly on the Leafs’ ability to secure a playoff berth, the time to win is surely now. Ferguson knows it, head coach Paul Maurice knows it and so does the aging Sundin.
Maurice echoed that sentiment during training camp when he boldly predicted the Leafs will “make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup.”
Toronto enjoys the luxury of two number-one goaltenders in Andrew Raycroft and Toskala, two all-star forwards in Sundin and Blake and three defencemen who are consistently selected to play for their respective national teams in Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina.
The continued development of young players like Alex Steen, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Carlo Colaiacovo will also have a significant impact on the team’s fortunes. All three will log more ice time this season.
Given how close they were last year—missing on the final day of the season, because of a shootout, no less—and considering how much the rest of the Eastern Conference has regressed, the Leafs may even find themselves competing for home-ice advantage in the first round.
Injuries were mostly to blame for the Leafs’ failure to qualify for the post-season. Forwards Darcy Tucker and Kyle Wellwood both missed significant time and will be counted on to spark the Leafs’ attack this year. Wellwood will begin the season in the press box, but should be a real boost to the lineup when he returns. If they can remain above .500 until he and the suspended Mark Bell re the squad, then a top-four seed will not be out of the question.
The team that edged the Leafs for the eighth seed last year, the New York Islanders, were also the former employers of Blake—a 40-goal scorer last year and the Leafs’ marquee acquisition this offseason. That alone should push Toronto well past the Islanders, and several of their other rivals, in the Eastern Conference standings.
Although I don’t think the Leafs will win the Cup this year, I’m certain their streak of two consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs won’t reach a third.
–Scott Smith
It’s that time of year again.
It’s the time of year when ers of the beloved blue-and-white team sound off to anyone who will listen that this year will be different.
This year, it seems the blind confidence that so often permeates Leaf nation has extended to more people than just the fans.
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice started training camp with a bang when he guaranteed that the Leafs would make the playoffs.
It was foolish for Maurice to cast such a shadow over a team that’s already under almost insurmountable pressure as it is. The players were already aware of their goal for the season; more pressure won’t help their cause.
Toronto’s failed summertime search for a “senior advisor” to oversee general manager John Ferguson Jr., and the organization’s refusal to give Ferguson the contract extension that he was promised last season make him a lame duck general manager. This hardly creates a winning atmosphere.
The team brought in goaltender Vesa Toskala to compete with incumbent Andrew Raycroft for playing time. Toskala has never started more than 31 NHL games in a season, and played on much better teams in San Jose. How he handles the pressure of Toronto, where goaltenders are heavily scrutinized, remains to be seen.
Jason Blake, a recent 40-goal scorer whose previous career high was 28, is the latest in the merry-go-round on Mats Sundin’s right wing. Was Blake’s 2006-07 season an anomaly? The Leafs hope not.
The success of the Leafs’ forwards will be based on whether Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky can finally fulfill their potential, whether Matt Stajan and Alex Steen can bounce back after dismal seasons and whether Kyle Wellwood can stay healthy.
Like the past few years, the Leafs’ defence will likely be their undoing. Tomas Kaberle stands alone as the only well-rounded D-man. Bryan McCabe makes $5.5 million for his slapshot, while Pavel Kubina is past his prime. Undersized Ian White, oft-injured Carlo Colaiacovo and pylon-like Hal Gill round out the top six. Toskala and Raycroft will have a busy year.
Toronto missed the playoffs by one point last year, and this year the conference looks even tougher. Philadelphia has improved and will challenge for a playoff spot, and Carolina is looking to bounce back from an off year.
With the same defensive problems that have dogged them since 2004, the Leafs will give their fans false hopes as usual, but come April they will undoubtedly be shining those all-too-familiar golf clubs, ready for another long summer.
–Mike Woods
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