Troubles Are All The Same

So, we're at the 3/4 mark for the season, with just 21 games to go, and the Leafs are dead last in the Eastern Conference, 29th in the NHL overall. Seemed like it might be a good time to take a break and hit the "reset" switch. Yet again. And then I found out that the Leafs don't play another game for 3 whole weeks due to something called the "Oplinkits" - according to my 2 and a half year old daughter - which I've never heard of until just now even though every four years it gets more media coverage then Christmas.

Speaking of Oplinkits, you might already know that I think that women that compete are magnificent. So I've had my eye on the Canadian Women's hockey team with some interest. In 3 games now they've outscored their opponents, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Sweden, 41-2. I especially like the line of Wickenheiser, Apps, and Piper, who've totalled 27 points between them so far in the tournament. Piper is from Toronto, and Apps of course is a granddaughter of Maple Leafs Hall of Fame legend, Syl Apps. Wickenheiser is in her 4th Olympics, as is sweet-skating Jennifer Botterill, and ultimate hockey-mom and stay-at-home defenceman (defencewoman?) Becky Kellar. Good luck, ladies!

More Oplinkits! Nice to see Matt Stajan's favourite teammate, Jerome Iginla, with the hat-trick last night. The Canadian defence moved the puck efficiently all game while the forwards looked dangerous and determined. About half-way through the game I realized that if I screwed with the tint-control on the TV I could kinda make their uniforms look sort of a pinky-purplish-blue, and with the Maple Leaf crest on their sweaters, I felt like I was watching a beautiful, psychedelic dream.

I still can't cheer for Danny Heatley. His second goal of the game to make the score 5-0 was just a rocket of a shot, but it didn't make me feel good. I don't admire the guy. I don't think I ever will. I don't care how good he is. Is that wrong, or is it right? Doesn't really matter much, it's just the way it is.

I'm looking forward to seeing Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina re-united tonight when the Czechs take on the Slovaks. Speaking of Kaberle, which apparently I often do, I think it's worth pointing out that on the last Leafs' goal, scored by Kessel on the powerplay in the 2nd period against the San Jose Sharks, Tomas earned his 40th assist of the season, and the 400th assist of his career - all in the Blue and White. Maybe not as glamorous or outstanding as 500 goals, but I think it's still worth recognizing.

The Leafs last game, an uninspiring 4-0 loss to Carlo Colaiacovo, Alex Steen and the rest of the Unstempniak'd Blues, was disturbingly familiar to many, if not most, of this season's performances. Made me feel nostalgic for the good old slightly less crappier days. The temporary glitz and sparkle of the new Leafs sadly faded in that game, revealing a team very much reminiscent of the old Leafs, with similar results but only half the personnel. It occurred to me that since Wilson came to town, Fletcher and Burke have combined to trade Antropov, Moore, Colaiacovo, Steen, White, Hagman, Stajan, Mayers, Blake, Toskala, and two 1st round draft picks, for Phaneuf, Kessel, Giguere, Sjostrom, Stempniak, and two 2nd round picks.

So with nostalgia in mind, and nothing else for me to say, I've decided to end this post with some favourite pictures of familiar faces from the recent past, starting with Alex Steen and his visit to the dentist!

"Yeth, a thorthanded goal. Weally cruffed thier thpiwit."

"A'splode for glory!"

"Hey, look at me! I'm worth a 2nd round pick AGAIN! I can't wait to play for my new team, the Buffalo Sabres Florida Panthers Montreal Canadians. I made Jason Blake's contract seem almost reasonable! I should be a billionaire!"

"Whoo! Antropov is Atlanta Thrashers leading scorer now! Ilya and I are unstoppa... wait, what?"

Dear Vesa; Please wash that blue and white out of your equipment. Signed, Finland.

Jamal Mayers: Motivation leads to success, or in this case, doing stuff."I am the God of Misfortune!"

He's a complicated man, But no one understands him but his woman...IAN WHITE!"Happily married? Well, yes. Why would you ask?""See ya next year, everybody!"

Maple Leafs In The Playoffs!

Well, not exactly.

I'm having a tough time this year getting behind any one team in the playoffs. I find this year's teams to be lacking a little in compelling characters and story lines, but maybe that'll change as we get into it a bit more. Always fascinating to me however is the possibility that a former Maple Leaf may win the Cup, so rather then follow one team or one series, instead I'm keeping an eye on these ex-Leafs in the post-season. Some I cheer for, some I don't, but all of them are interesting to one degree or another and it'll be exciting to see how close any of them get to having their hands on the Cup.

Obviously we're all cheering against the Habs. Mathieu Schneider is the only ex-Maple Leaf who creeps me out as much as Glenn Anderson. Maybe it's his rat-face, or his rat-like tendencies on the ice, or the fact that in his 3 seasons as a Leaf, they missed the playoffs twice and the one year they did make it, they lost in the first round to St. Louis and Schneider had twice as many penalty minutes(8) as points(4). I'll give him this - he's been in the league for a long, long time. Since 1989-90 he's played for 8 different teams and is back for his second go round with Montreal. He makes me want to puke. I hope they get demolished. In the opener against Boston, Schneider had zero points and was a minus 2.

I kinda liked Freddie Modin when he was here. He was good, but not great, like a Steen or a Stajan, and less annoying then a Stempniak. His numbers dramatically improved when he left Toronto and joined Tampa in 1999, eventually winning a Cup with the Lightning in 2004. Since going to Columbus in 2006, Modin has been in decline and missed quite a few games the last 2 years. It'll be interesting to see what he's got left in the tank and if he can use his experience to help Columbus upset the Wings. Not exactly known as a "playoff performer", Modin did have 19 playoff points in 23 games the year he won his Cup.
I like Mike Peca 'cause I like Mike Peca Hockey. I like the way he plays the game - fast, tenacious, feisty, and a killer instinct for the big goal. He's kinda somewhere in between Darcy Tucker and Dominic Moore, two former Leafs not in the playoffs. It's a shame that his only season as a Leaf was cut so short due to injury, and I never understood why he wasn't re-signed the next season. Now in his second year with the Blue Jackets, this will be Peca's 10th trip to the playoffs in 13 seasons.
Carlo Colaiacovo. What can you say about Mr. Give-Me-Some-Powerplay-Time-'Cause-My-Bones-Don't-Explode-As-Much-Anymore? I'm so happy to see Carlo having some real success, even if it's not with the Leafs. 19 assists on the powerplay in St. Louis for Carlo, yet remarkably Colaiacovo went the season without a powerplay goal. I'm betting he gets one in this series, and it's mostly because of this battered survivor that I'm temporarily putting aside my usual despise for St. Louis and hoping they knock out those lousy Canucks.
Alex Steen doesn't really possess Scott Stevens' or Mark Messier's Eye of the Tiger look. It's more like the Dopey Gaze of the Bank Teller. After a rough start in Toronto this year, Steen found his game in St. Louis. I'm afraid the Blues may be overmatched in the first round against Vancouver - after 2 games the Canucks have won both games, and St. Louis has scored just 1 goal on Luongo. Steen assisted on that goal, scored by another former Leaf prospect and 1st round pick, Brad Boyes.
Here's Kyle Wellwood eating his glove while dreaming about a huge cake the size of a swimming pool. So far in the playoffs he's barley made himself visible with a token shot on goal in each game and no points. Not a big surprise if he doesn't play a significant part in any Vancouver success, but it would be great to see him come through with a huge clutch goal when the Canucks need it most.
I tuned into tonight's Vancouver-St.Louis game specifically because it was suggested that Mats Sundin was so ineffective in Game 1 as to warrant being a possible healthy scratch. Well, in Game 2, it was Sundin with the opening goal, the eventual game-winner, as Luongo picked up the shutout. With a 2-0 series lead, I don't think Vancouver fans have anything to complain about, and I'm sure that Sundin is prepared for a long playoff run and has the experience to know how to contribute when it counts. Sundin now has 8 career game-winning goals in the playoffs, tied for 53rd all-time, and may climb up that list if Vancouver can win more then one round this spring.
Nik Antropov seems to be fitting in nicely with the Rangers and I'm happy for him. After scoring 7 goals for New York in the regular season since the trade deadline, Antro opened the playoffs by scoring a goal and adding an assist on the game-winner in Game 1 against the Capitals. As much as I like Ovechkin, which is less then I dislike Avery, I'm still cheering for Antropov and hope he hits the back of the net a few more times before the Rangers eventual exit from the first round.
Ugh. Paul Maurice has a way of turning playoff expectations into nightmares. Sometimes it works out for him, sometimes it doesn't. After surprising the Toronto media by ever finding work in the NHL again, Maurice had the Hurricanes rolling into the post-season as the hottest team in the NHL, going 13-3-2 down the stretch since March 1st. While Carolina lost the series-opener, they've now stolen home-ice advantage from New Jersey by winning Game 2 in overtime, on a goal by Tim Gleason. As the series heads south, Einstein's team could be poised to unleash disaster and disappointment on the Devils.

Lovingly referred to as the U.S.S. Hal Gill, this behemoth on the blue-line has not been forgotten here. If Pittsburgh is going to go deep in the playoffs again, I believe they're going to need this towering defenceman to eat up a lot of minutes for them and maybe a few opposing forwards as well. It would be interesting if Pittsburgh were to meet Boston in a later round so that we could see Gill and Chara match up head-to-head. Not that these two are likely to encounter each other directly in the game, but it would be awesome to see them go toe-to-toe at centre ice. I know that Chara would probably destroy Hal Gill, but he's the only player that I think even compares to Zdeno's size and strength. Really what I want to see is Chara in a steel-cage ladder match, but it doesn't have to be with Hal Gill, it could be with anybody.

Not A Sentimental Journey, Parts One And Two

This is a really long post that attempts to pin-point exactly where and why things went wrong for Nik Antropov and Ron Wilson. It's divided into 2 parts just to give you a break, but there's no intermission and there's nothing in the lobby anyways. As the title suggests, it is "not a sentimental journey, for sure".


Part One


Way back at the beginning of December, the Leafs went on a 3-game western road trip out to California and Arizona. The first game, against the L.A. Kings, began with (a common thread at the time) Toskala letting in the first shot on goal. The Vesa played well after that, however, stopping the next 32 shots, and the Leafs finally broke through with Stajan and Grabovski scoring 1:21 apart early in the 3rd. Finger added an empty netter and Toronto prevailed, 3-1. 24 games into the season, and the Leafs had a record of 9-9-6 and looked like they might be a team with some character.

The very next night, the Leafs went to San Jose to face a well rested, prepared, motivated Sharks team. The Leafs had the cards stacked against them to begin with. It was their second game in two nights on the road, in a different time zone, and they were playing one of the very best teams in the league. Even still, the Leafs seemed woefully and curiously unprepared for this game. The first period was a slaughter. Joe Thornton had a goal and three assists, leading the Sharks to an early 4-0 lead after just 20 minutes.

“If we somehow could have survived maybe the first 10 minutes of the game, we would have found an equilibrium, but it was over by then. That was one where you throw the white towel in the corner."

...said Wilson after his first game against his former team. While the Leafs were horribly outmatched in the first period, they kept the game respectable in the 2nd and 3rd, eventually losing 5-2. Of note, Hagman, Grabovski, and Schenn all finished the game plus 2. Still, the sensation of being thoroughly defeated was deeply felt. Antropov, Ponikarovsky, Stajan, and Kubina were all minus 3.

“Really, the game was over after the first 10 minutes" said Thornton, who obviously found the game extra meaningful and gave a performance to match.

“Guys were definitely motivated to play against the old coaching staff,” said Setoguchi. “I definitely felt a little jump out there." The Sharks were clearly geared up to go against their old coach, but did Wilson have any special enthusiasm to succeed against his old mates? Added Setoguchi, "You don’t want Ronnie bragging". Oh, really.

"It's not any different than any other game... I've got a team that I have to prepare. I'm not on a sentimental journey here, that's for sure."


...said Wilson the day before, downplaying any suggestions that he might have had high hopes for his return to San Jose. Still, it must have been disappointing, especially so since it was Wilson's best players who failed him the most, right from the beginning of the game. For a coach returning to face the franchise that fired him, this was in no way similar to (the Number One 1993 regular season moment) when Pat Burns returned to Montreal. It wasn't going to be that kind of a season either.

The next game was in Phoenix. While Wilson gave no prior indication publicly that he was extremely frustrated with the loss to the Sharks, nor with any one specific player, his response for the next game was to start Tomas Kaberle on the bench and to keep him there for the entire first period. Kaberle then went on to play the worst two-thirds of a hockey game I've ever seen him play. Registering a minus 3, Kaberle was on the ice for all 4 of Phoenix's goals in the 2nd and 3rd and looked just terrible, as a 2-2 first period tie became a 6-3 blowout.

When the road trip ended, the magic and sparkle of Wilson's presence was a little dimmer, the rebuild took a step back, and the Leafs resumed their campaign of deconstruction. Key players, specifically Stajan and Antropov, suffered blows to their confidence that they've never fully recovered from. Perhaps they were riding an overconfident wave to begin with, believing themselves to be World-Class first-line forwards (due mostly to Stajan's unexpected early success) but the grim reality of the San Jose thrashing seemed to have drained their Mojo considerably. Antropov especially seemed effected, scoring just 4 goals in the next 24 games while his once respectable plus/minus began to plummet.

Part Two

Antropov is one of only 4 players who has appeared in all 60 games for the Leafs so far this year. I've gone through every game, one by one, and checked the box scores for his totals, then looked at each 12-game span and compared them. The first 24 games and the last 12 are decent and consistent numbers. Games 25 through 48 however, beginning with the game in San Jose, are underwhelming and even worrisome, reflecting a player who's playing well below his capabilities.

The first 12 games: 4G, 5A, 9P, +5, 32 Shots

Not a bad start to the season. On pace for 60-70 points and most remarkable is the plus 5. He was held without a shot for 2 games in this stretch.

Games 13-24: 5G, 4A, 9P, -3, 41 Shots

Again, not bad, and though the plus/minus has fallen, it's still respectable enough. Not once in these 12 games did Antro fail to register at least one shot, and he's averaging well over 3 a game.

Games 25(San Jose)-36: 4G, 7A, 11P, -9, 25 Shots

This is actually Antropov's most productive stretch for points, but a closer look shows that 9 of those 11 points were picked up in 4 consecutive games in which the Leafs as a team scored an amazing 21 goals (3-2 NJ, 5-8 Bos, 7-3 Pit, 6-2 Atl). In the other 8 games in this set, Antropov has just 2 points. His shots per game has dropped below 2.1, and his plus/minus for these 12 games is a scary minus 9. He is held without a single shot 3 times.

Games 36-48: 0G, 6A, 6P, -5, 29 Shots

Zero goals. Zero. The plus/minus is still on the wrong side, and the shots continue to be under 3-a-game.

Games 49-60: 7G, 2A, 9P, -1, 37 Shots

Antropov ends a 16-game scoring drought by collecting 3 goals in 3 consecutive games. His point total is exactly the same as the first two 12-game sets, and his plus/minus is back to a very respectable level. Maybe most importantly, the shots for these last 12 games is back to an average above 3 per game. Since Burke's suggestion that the timing for Antopov might be right for a "change of scenery", the Lanky Kazakh has produced 4 goals, 2 assists, for 6 points in 7 games, is a plus 1, and has averaged 3.7 shots per game.

There's only a week left before the NHL Trade Deadline, yet the Leafs still have 4 more games to play until then, so I'm surprised that a team hasn't already snapped up Antropov to save him some of his workload before they get him. For that reason, I don't think the Leafs are going to get their asking price for Antro, but I'd still be very surprised if he completed the year in Toronto and isn't, a week from now, on a team bound for the playoffs. Not a sentimental journey, for sure, but if it gets you to the Cup Final and a 4-year deal from somewhere...

How Bad Is "Suck"?

The Leafs have been crap lately. There's no other way to say it. They are in the midst of an awful run and it shows no signs of getting better. It's hard being a fan these days. The best summation of how I feel is from DownGoesBrown, in what might be the most important post of the year, - denial, anger, depression - eventually leading to the path of acceptance.

This sucks. This really sucks. For real.

The Leafs are in complete free-fall mode now. In their last 10 games they have 2 wins and 8 losses.

2-8 loss vs. Dallas

1-4 loss vs. NY Islanders

1-4 loss vs. Washington

4-3 win-ot vs. Atlanta

1-4 loss vs. Buffalo

3-1 win vs. Ottawa

2-4 loss vs. Florida

2-6 loss vs. Montreal

1-4 loss vs. Philadelphia

0-2 loss vs. Nashville

GF 17

GA 40

Over their last ten games the Leafs have given up an average of exactly 4 goals per game while scoring one....point....seven. ONE-Point-Seven. Ugh. That's not entertaining.

They have only one regulation win in their last ten, and that came against Ottawa. The win over Atlanta was in overtime.

Not a single loss over that period was by shoot-out or in overtime. In fact, every loss was by 2 goals or more. Eight losses, and not a single point to show for it.

The Leafs have given up the first goal of the game 9 times in their last 10 games. 4 times they've allowed the first goal within the first five minutes.

For the rest of this post I'm going to look at Leaf forwards (with the exception of Mats Stajan who missed half the games), and see how the main point-producers have, or rather, haven't performed in the last 10 games.

Blake; 4G, 1A, 5P, -4.

Moore; 1G, 4A, 5P, -6

It's a sad state of affairs when Dominic Moore and Jason Blake are your team's leading point getters, but over the last ten, they've produced the most. Blake's 4 goals would actually put him on pace for a pretty decent season.

Ponikarovsky; 3G, 1A, 4P, -5

Antropov; 0G, 4A, 4P, -5

Antro and Poni have really struggled without Stajan, but that's only half the story. Poni has been playing well seemingly, and his 3 goals puts him in the team lead for goal scoring, but that, and his single assist, are more an indication of Antro's continuing slump. The Lanky Kazakh has zero goals over this ten game span, and for a player that should be the team's best forward, this is a disaster. The Leafs cannot win on a nightly basis without a consistent contribution from Antropov.

Stempniak; 2G, 1A, 3P, Even

Grabovski; 1G, 2A, 3P, -1

Mitchell; 1G, 2A, 3P, -3

I'm not too worried about Mitchell. If he's keeping pace with Grabovski and keeping his plus/minus down, he's not doing too bad. Grabbo seems to maybe miss Kulemin a little, and even though his numbers are down compared to the hot streak he was on earlier in the season, he still seems like one of the few spark-plugs out there for the Leafs. Meanwhile, Lee "Nowhere-Near-As-Good-As-Steen-So-Why-Did-We-Need-To-Give-Up-Colaiacovo-Too?" Stempniak has 2 goals in his last 10 games and one assist, but remarkably has kept his plus/minus at Even. Maybe he's not on the ice when the Leafs are scored against because he's sitting in the penalty box, like he was tonight against Nashville. Or maybe plus/minus just isn't a very good indication of a player's performance. Then again, his plus/minus would indicate that nothing happens one way or the other when Stempniak's on the ice, and I can't actually disagree with that either.

Hagman; 1G, 0A, 1P, -6

This is the real mystery to me. What has happened to Niklas Hagman? One goal and no assists in ten games is not the kind of production I was expecting, and if there's a reason why the Leafs production has fallen off so sharply, this must be it. Seems to me like Hagman is not the same player as he was the first 20 games of the season, and since coming back from injury he has not been himself. He scored 2 quick goals in his first 2 games back, but since then his production has totally dried up. The last 3 or 4 games, he has seemed a shadow of himself - reluctant, hesitant, shaky and fragile. Totally the opposite of the kind of player he was early on in the year. Perhaps he's not quite over the injury and came back too soon, or maybe it's a deeper psychological effect that he needs to battle through. Or maybe it's been the lack of consistency with linemates the last ten games that's thrown him out of his groove. I'd like to think that's the case, but whatever it is, Hagman needs to turn it around, fast, or the Leafs' free-fall will continue.

If the best players on the Leafs are playing their best, there's hope that they can win maybe half their games. But on the other hand, if the Leafs' best players are not playing their best, there's no hope at all of success,  and no way that they'll be able to compete with the teams in the league that are more talented then they are - and that seems to be just about all of them.

Antro-Positive

At the beginning of the month, the Leafs stood tied for 10th, 4 points out of a playoff spot and 4 points out of dead last. 10 days into December, after Wedneday's games, the Leafs' situation is even murkier; sole possession of 11th, 5 points out of the playoffs, and 6 points out of dead last. As playoff hopes and quality draft positions slowly, and simultaneously, drift out of reach, the Leafs, meanwhile, in the centre of their own expanding universe,  seem to be going nowhere.

For this upcoming game against the Sabres, there's a few things I'll be watching for: 1)Williams. How well will he play in his second game? I'd like to see him paired up with Mitchell because I think they might find some chemistry there with Blake - but who knows. 2)Van Ryn. Can't get back to the line-up fast enough as far as I'm concerned. Not a knock on Jamie Sifers, who played admirably in the win against the NYIslanders (17:26, +1, 3 shots), but with Luke Schenn gone from the line-up, the Leafs need a defenceman who was above Frogren, Stralman, and Colaiacovo on the depth chart when the season began. Hopefully Van Ryn is in the line-up Friday and continues his level of point production and solid play from where he left off. 3)Antropov. (Here comes the "body" of this post.) Really needs to pick up his game. The Lanky Kazakh has not had a good month so far, and if he doesn't turn it around soon, it will be a disaster. Since December began, in 5 games, Antropov has 1 goal, 1 assist, with 11 shots on goal, and is a minus 6.

It's the minus that really bothers me. At the end of November, Antro, our team's second leading scorer, was a plus 3. In just 5 games this month, he's seen that number become a negative 3. Monday's victory over the Islanders was the only game so far in December where Antropov was not a minus, coming out even, while leading all forwards in ice-time. That's better, but still not enough.

It's interesting that Ponikarovsky, who also was a minus 3 against San Jose and got demoted off the top line, has rebounded with a couple of plus games and is just minus 2 for the month now, and still a plus 3 overall for the year. You may think the list of Leafs on the plus side is getting short, but actually it just got a little longer: Ian White(+3), Hagman(+3), Van Ryn(+1), Stralman(+1), and now Williams(+2), and Sifers(+1). Antropov was once at the top of the list, back on Nov. 14th, as a plus 7.

There are players on the Leafs that have worse plus/minus then Antropov: Stajan is a minus 4. Frogren was a minus 5 after just 10 games. Schenn is minus 6. Hollweg(-7), Kubina(-8), and Kaberle(-9) are all much worse, and Mitchell and Mayers(-10 each) have struggled with plus/minus the most. But Antropov's dramatic swing from the positive to the negative bothers me a lot. As our only heralded top-six forward, he needs to be a leader, and not a liability.

The Leafs also need Antropov to be an offensive threat, ideally, on every shift. Coach Wilson, and, well, everybody, knows that Stajan can't do it all on his own. Antro needs to find his mojo and get excited and aggressive. His game is played best down low, controlling the puck, and taking it to the net. Oppostion players should be more concerned with Antropov's size and what he's going to do with it next, then they are about scoring goals. When you're 197 feet from the net, it's usually impossible to score. Antropov's defensive contribution should come when he's being defended. Obviously, the more points he puts up, the better his plus/minus will be, but even if he's in a slump and doesn't score, the more he's on the attack, the more the other team is focused on preventing goals rather then scoring their own.

Antropov is usually a very streaky player. It's hard to imagine the Leafs having any kind of a winning streak without Antropov getting hot. The Lanky Kazakh might not be our only top-six forward (hello, Grabbo!), but he may be our only hope if the Leafs are going to make a run before Christmas at getting back into contention. Unlikely as it sounds, I believe he can do it, as long as he plays hard and stays positive.

Third Line Charm = Freedom 55

Leafs 5, Oilers 2. A solid effort all around and the Leafs are rewarded with an excellent result. Early on in the evening there was a familiar sound:

"Breaking in down the wing, Jason Blake fires... right on... and Deslauries will... hang on to the puck." /throw to commercial break

Yes, it was Freedom 55, back on the ice, fermenting and pissing his way to two important assists in the 3rd period. Good for him (and good for Ron Wilson), as that's exactly the contribution Blake needs to make on a regular basis. Hopefully this will help Blake realize his role as an effective 3rd line player, inspiring him to play his best in every situation, not just his favorites. Perhaps because of the Blake benching, I've been thinking about Cliff Fletcher's words this summer, which bkblades also made a point about in the GameThread. Remember when the Silver Fox said:

"If you look at our club, we really have only one player you can consider a top-six forward, and that’s Antropov... We have a couple others that are on the fringe of the top-six, but no one else".

Well, the Leafs do in fact have 6 top-six forwards, but Jason Blake ain't one of 'em, anymore then Ian White is.

The top two lines look set and pretty solid. I've been tracking the Leafs statistics the last 6 games, ever since the thrilling Rangers comeback, and a clear pattern of succesful point production has emerged. The victory against the Rangers belonged to the third line, who were in on almost every goal, with John Mitchell as the key motivator. It was the last game Jason Blake made any kind of meaningful contribution. Since then, including tonight's victory over Edmonton, the Leafs have scored a remarkable 24 goals in 6 games, almost all of them coming from the top two lines.

Grabovski has been on fire the past two weeks and is leading the way with 10 points in his last 6 games. His linemates - Hagman and Kulemin - have added 6 points each. This line has found some chemistry, and is clearly capable of carrying the Leaf offence on any night. However, what I like best about this line is that while Kulemin's game still needs a lot of improvement, the potential is there that as he improves, so will the line, and hopefully SuperKule will grow into a top line superstar.

"I don't know how much more you can say about Matt Stajan."

-Jim Ralph

Totally. It's not like Ralphie to be at a loss for words. Matt Stajan has come alive. He's completely convinced me that he's a first or second line player who belongs with Antropov and Ponikarovsky. Amazing, but whatever, it's working.  Stajan had another big night with 3 assists, and now has 9 points in his last 6 games. Ya, 9. I know - wow. He's really come along way since the begining of the season. Sure looks like a top-six player to me this week.

Stajan's linemates, Antropov and Ponikarovsky round out the Leafs top-six. The Lanky Kazakh, with another goal tonight, has kept a point-a-game pace for six games, with 3 goals and 3 assists. Poni, meanwhile, hasn't let a newborn in the house slow him down too much, chipping in with 3 points over the last six games.

I like this top-six, and I think Ron Wilson does too. At this point, the only player I could see replacing Stajan on the Antro-Poni line would be the Captain himself. Hopefully Jason Blake can see the talent and the chemistry on these two lines and will realize that the only way to get top-six ice time is to be the best 3rd or 4th line player on the ice, night after night.

Tonight was definitely a step in the right direction. Now, if they could get their 3rd and 4th lines rolling with the same attitude and regular success, Wilson might soon have this team looking like a serious playoff contender, or even, like a dangerous playoff darkhorse. Jason Blake may be the key in that regard. If he can come to work and accept the role that Wilson gives him with enthusiasm and determination (i.e. Ian White, 5 points in 6 games), the confidence and the expectations of the entire team might be raised.

415!

Finally, I'd like to finish this post with a special congratulations to Tomas Kaberle. Tomas has struggled a bit this season in his own zone, but lately seems to be finding the offensive side of his game again. After last night's game in which Kaberle had a 3-point night,with a goal and 2 assists, he now has 8 points in his last 6 games, and, of more historical importance, equalled and passed Ian Turnbull for 3rd in all-time career points by a Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman, with his 414th and 415th points. Salming, the all-time leader (768) is still a long way off, but Tim Horton (458) could definitely be reached this season. Nicely done, Tomas. Keep 'er goin'.

Maple Leafs' Halloween

So, I heard that Ron Wilson was going to let the players have a night off for some Halloween fun. Don't be surprised if a few of the Leafs come trick-or-treating at your door tonight. To help you figure out who's who underneath those scary costumes, here's a sneak preview of what some of your favorite Leafs might be wearing...

Jeff Finger

...as a big walking hand! I know, too easy.

Nik Antropov

...as Frankenstein! "Buuugrrrzz Kang!"

Alexei Ponikarovsky

...as the Bride of Frankenstein! Scary.

Ryan Hollweg

...as a Gorilla. That's about right.

Jiri Tlusty

...as the Pizza Boy! Yikes. Delivers, extra cheesy.

Matt Stajan
...as the Invisible Man. A throw back to the first 2 games of the season.

Jamal Mayers
...as the Hot Cop! Arresting and enforcing.

Nikolai Kulemin
...as the Kool-Aid Guy! Oh-Yeah!

Carlo Colaiacovo
...as the Mummy! He must have spare bandages around he can use.

Jonas Frogen

...as the Techno Viking! Except, in this case, he really is.

Trick or treat, everybody. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

(Vincent Price voice) Oooohwaahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.......!

Looking For Plus Signs

Another sorry Sunday comes and goes. The box of crayons on the floor is still unused and unopened. The unfinished tin-foil Stanley Cup I started building last Saturday morning looks more like a tin-foil Ground Zero. Since beating the Detroit Red Wings in the season opener, the Leafs have now gone 4 games without a win, and only scored one goal in 2 games on the weekend. Pretty crappy. Don't get too down, though. There's always a bright side to look on, right?
For instance, last year when we sucked there were no positives, only excuses and betrayal. Having to listen to Paul Maurice discuss theoretical quantum mechanics while explaining the Second Act of King Lear after every loss would be unbearable. This year at least we're getting solid quotes from Wilson, not to mention a lot of straightforward, easy-to-understand, honesty:

"A lot of times, he's just standing there in our zone."

That's Wilson talking about a player who may or may not be my new favorite Leaf. So there's one positive already; Wilson's wisdom. Let's look for some more plus signs and see how many we can find...

Hustle. The Leafs' energy and speed is much better so far then at any point last season. Aggressive forechecking and smart positioning is giving the Leafs the ability to control the tempo of the play for long stretches at a time.

Accountability. Wilson sat out Stajan for a game in an attempt to light a fire under him. Seemed to work, sort of. Then he threw him into the fire when he put him in the shoot-out. Meanwhile, Ponikarovsky, who began the third period Friday with a needless hooking penalty, saw very little ice-time after that and was demoted to the 4th line for Saturday's game. As for Hollweg, I suspect that the things that were said publicly were not the same as the things said behind closed doors. I think Hollweg must be on his last chance and a very short leash.

Toskala earned his first shutout. It wasn't a win, but it still counts as a shutout, and it's a good sign that Vesa has found his top form. I wonder what the record for most shutout losses in a season is? Something for Toskala to shoot far, I guess.

Kaberle and Schenn look like a good pair. Schenn doesn't yet have the big shot that Kaberle needs to dish to, but together, their positioning is so sound that they seem to have the ice covered defensively and both can move the puck up the ice safely. Also seems like Kaberle is playing a little bit tougher then he did last year.

Antropov scores his first goal. I was a bit worried about Antro because he hadn't scored a goal in the pre-season, so it was good to see him break the ice Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Antropov is a streaky scorer who can go long stretches without a goal if his confidence goes down, but he aslo scores by the bunch when he gets hot, so hopefully this helps the Lanky Kazakh get on a roll.

Carlo's still playing. He hasn't been injured yet. On Friday, he was a healthy scratch. Healthy! Back in the lineup Saturday, Carlo played hard, bangin' and crashin' on the blue-line. He might want to do up his chinstrap a little tighter though. Twice in the same period Saturday, Colaiacovo had his helmet pop off on a colision. The last thing he needs is a head injury, but it's good to see his fearlessness and courage.

The Grabovski-Hagman-Kulemin line looks very sharp. Excellent puck control, they just need to find a little finish. Collectively, the line reminds me of three John Cullens - lots of flash and dash and dipsy doodle but not a lot of goals so far. They look like they should make a good second line, would probably make a great third or fourth line, but unfortunately, they seem to be the Leafs' best line. Hopefully they start to find the back of the net with some consistency, and find a way to turn "dangerous-looking" into "potent".

Frogren looks great. This guy is a monster. He can hit, he can take hits, he isn't afraid to sacrifice his body, throws himself in front of point-blank slap shots, and everytime he gets back up and back into the play quickly. We're still just at the beginning of the season, but already Frogren is giving the Leafs the kind of selfless extra-effort that is usually reserved for the playoffs. I think Jonas is doing an awesome job so far as a defensive specialist, and I think his strong play is making the entire blue line better.
So let's count'em up and see how many positives we found: 1, 2, 3, ...Toskala, ...Antropov, ...the Hagman line is 8, and Frogren is 9. Nine positives in only 5 games. If we count actually winning a game as a positive, that makes 10! That's 2 positives per game. That's quite a pace. If they can keep that up, they'll finish the season with over 150 positive things that could be said about them! Can you imagine? And I was hardly looking, really. Success is worth waiting for, I guess, especially if we can keep things positive and have a laugh or two along the way.

Further Deconstruction Of The Inner Circle

Since the beginning of the off-season, a lot of Leaf-talk has revolved around the Muskoka Deconstruction Project. While Sundin takes retirement for a test-drive, McCabe is dispatched to Florida and Tucker is bought-out and goes to Colorado. Neither Kaberle nor Kubina, the two remaining of The Five, are given the C to wear, nor are they openly endorsed by the coach for their leadership. In fact, sort of the opposite.


You have to look at the leadership in the locker room, and it has not been there.


So we looked elsewhere. A lot of attention this summer has also been paid to the Leafs recent additions: Mayers, Finger, Van Ryn, Grabovski, Hollweg, and Hagman. These players will likely contribute to a higher work ethic on the ice with less disfunction off of it, but they are not a collective nor are they the leaders. They are individuals who can set a fine example for others to follow but won't be blamed when those others don't. No one will look at Mayers at the end of the year and say "we didn't win because Jamal didn't show enough spirit in the locker room".


So has the culture in the Maple Leafs' locker room changed? Or will it? A 2-5-2 record through the pre-season, including 3 games where 2-goal leads in the 3rd period turned into losses, is disturbingly similar to what we experienced last year. If our recent additions can't be fairly blamed for not having enough influence at this early stage, and the former usual suspects (Raycrap included) are all somewhere else, then who should we be talking about now? Who represents the identity and character of this year's Toronto Maple Leafs? Which players form the new Inner Circle?


In my last post, I looked at a group of seven Leaf players that could all possibly hit the 100 assist milestone this year. In this post, I'm going to look at another group of seven - no, not that Group of Seven - , Leaf players, that as a unit, form the new dominant entity within the team, and thus, have the strongest influence over the locker room and its personality. (Also, what should we call them? The Muskoka Five was so catchy. This group needs something similar.)


The core group of players that best represent this team's identity now are: Kaberle, Antropov, Ponikarovsky, Steen, Stajan, Colaiacovo, and White. All seven of these players have been with the team since at least 2005. All seven have never played for another NHL team. Like friends who travel through high school together, these seven are all very familiar with one another. To say that they should be comfortable in Toronto is an understatement. None of them have ever played for any other team. The Leafs' locker room is the only one they've ever known. It's practically their living room, minus the fireplace. For all of them, this year represents a cross-roads in their careers - greater opportunities and greater responsibilities - a chance for each of them to cement their presence on this team as long-time Leafs, but if individually they falter or can't find success, this group may be broken up very quickly, and their careers re-evaluated, probably somewhere else.


So how have they done so far?


Kaberle: Tomas is the unappointed leader of the team. By far their best player, but maybe also their quietest, Kaberle's silent leadership was once endearing to me, but I think a more vocal role is expected of him now. I'd like to see him doing more post-game interviews and I'd like to see some fire in his eyes. Nothing wrong with his hockey though; in 5 exhibition games played, Kaberle averaged nearly 24 minutes of ice time, had 1 goal, 3 assists, and was a plus 3, with 6 PIMs.


Antropov: The lanky Kazakh is gonna be leaned on heavily by Ron Wilson this season, and his shortcomings won't be as easy to hide. Without Sundin, Antropov is going to face a lot of pressure from other team's front line defenders. It'll be his job to lead the team on the scoreboard, but also, to get guys going on the bench. His pre-season stats were only okay; in 6 games played he failed to find the back of the net, but did have 6 assists. Remarkably, Antro stayed out of the penalty box, but was overall a minus 2. His ice time was fairly consistent, ranging from 16 and a half minutes to just over 19.


Ponikarovsky: Alexei could be headed for a break-out year and he really needs it. He definitely had some spark in his last game, scoring an Andreychuk-like goal from the crease, throwing a couple of hits, and he even had a fighting major. Not that he should be defending Jason Blake's stupidity, but if Alexei can play like that every game, the fans will soon be chanting "Pony! Pony! Pony!" His preseason stats are: 6 games played, 3 goals and 3 assists, which is very good, but he was somehow a disappointing minus 4. He also tallied 13 PIMs while averaging 16:54 ice time.


Stajan: The enigma. Has had a very quiet pre-season. Hasn't really stood out one way or the other. I have the feeling MLSE would really like to see Stajan take a more prominent role with the team, but I'm not sure he's ready for it mentally. He needs to find away to get people excited and to play his heart out when the time is right. Obviously, exhibition is not that time, but here's what he's done with it: In only 5 games, Stajan had 1 goal, 1 assist, 8PIMs, and came out minus 1. His ice time ranged between 14 minutes to 19 minutes. Nothing special, but I think he didn't have the same kind of pressure to impress as some of the others in camp did.


Steen: Alex also needs to have a breakout year. His numbers after 3 seasons with the Maple Leafs are not bad, but this year they need to get better. Steen is another quiet leader that I'd like to see more passion from. Whether we win or lose, I want to see the results on his face. His pre-season stats are not great: 8 games played, 2 goals, no assists, 4 PIMs, and a minus 2. His ice time was all over the place, ranging from 13:47 to 21:13.


Colaiacovo: We know what Carlo can do, the big question is for how long can he do it? I don't think Carlo has to worry about ice-time, he'll get plenty of it as long as he stays healthy. He had a very decent pre-season in limited action, seeing only 5 games, but registering 4 points. Carlo had 1 goal and 3 assists, including a couple of really nice plays, and also picked up 4PIM's . His plus/minus finished at even, while averaging well over 20 minutes a game (22:02). Carlo's looking good so far and his effort on its own is uplifting and inspiring. Another spiritually-deflating injury however, and it might be the end of the line for this wonky warrior.


White: In this group, Ian "Snow" White, is the fairest of them all, and appears to be the most on the bubble. In fact, he may already have lost his job as a 5th or 6th defenceman as he doesn't appear to have the skills Ron Wilson values on the blue line. However, his recent transition to forward has been nothing short of inspired and dramatic. White looks good there, especially in that first game on the wing against Detroit where he played beside Stajan and Steen. That line had jump and forechecked very effectively, mostly thanks to White who seemed quick, tenacious, and aggressive. A brilliant move by Wilson, and I'm really hoping it works out for White (as long as he doesn't grow a mid-season beard). This may be his last chance to stick with the team, and to be part of a nucleus of imporant core players whose future is now.


This is the group our fortunes will follow. Their efforts, their attitudes, their responses to their own failures and successes will dictate the character of the team, and will define the identity of the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. Will they be known as the Magnificent Seven, or as Ian White and the Six Dorks? The Personality Of The Room: A New Season, episode 1, begins Thursday night.


*Update - Earlier today, Mark Bell was placed on waivers. I guess this means you can probably scratch his name off the list of Leaf players on pace to get their 100th career assist. The other thing that occurred to me, is that in just 3 games, Ian White outplayed Mark Bell for a job in the lineup as a forward. Congratulations to Ian White, best of luck Mark Bell.