24 Cups looks at the Leafs

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- There have been many culprits who have taken the blame for Toronto’s futility over the past decade.  Heading the list are John Ferguson Jr, Cliff Fletcher, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the Muskoka Five, and even the Toronto fans themselves.  Truth be told, Richard Peddie is probably the main evildoer who is responsible for this ongoing debacle.  It will be interesting to see if he can get along with the fierce minded,  independent thinking,  Brian Burke.  As the world turns.

- GM, Brian Burke, has served notice that the laff’s overhaul and subsequent re-development will be put on the fast track.  Missing the playoffs the past four years dictates immediate action. There is no five year plan in place here.  Phil Kessel, Luke Schenn, and Nazem Kadri are the designated building blocks for the future but the supporting cast is being upgraded as we speak..  Patience and indifference have now given way to aggressiveness in the Toronto  front office

- Just like Montreal, Toronto’s fortunes for the season will start with the quality of their goaltending.  This is an area where Toronto has really stumbled over the years.  A 1st rounder (Tuukka Rask) went to Boston for Andrew Raycroft.  When he didn’t pan out, they then traded  1st, 2nd, and 3rd picks for Vesa Toskala.  After a good start,  Toskala went from hero to zero in short order.  He tends to be an unorthodox goalie who gets by on his lightning quick reflexes.  Tends to go down on most shots and can be beaten up high due to his lack of height.  He is now in the last year of his contract and is being challenged by “The Monster”, Jonas Gustavsson.  Gustavsson is a mature 24 year old who is 6'3" and uses his size to cover much of the net.  Played in the Swedish Elite league last year so he’s had plenty of experience.  Joey McDonald is a great ‘backup to the backup’ goalie and will open the season with the Marlies.

- Burke spent a lot of money shoring up his defense and it probably will turn out to be a wise move.  Outside of Schenn, there are few young blueliners to get excited about in the Toronto pipeline.  Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek are solid additions and will be able to contribute immediately.  Komi will quickly find out that Tomas Kaberle doesn’t go into corners or clear the front of the net. However, Kaberle is the only real offensive force on the back end and I can’t see him being traded this year.  Luke Schenn is learning on the job and will compete with Komi for the giveaway title in Toronto.  To be fair, this kid is a stud and can only get better.  Jeff Finger is a Cliff Fletcher brain cramp and the oft injured Mike Van Ryn is the cost that was paid to get rid of Bryan McCabe.  Ian White is better than I ever thought he would be and adds some much needed offense and puck moving ability to the back-end.  He can also play up front which will help make some room for (Take No Prisoners), Garnet Exelby.  Overall, a very improved defense.

- Unfortunately for the laffs, things don’t look so good up front.  There are no star players here and the only building block (Kadri) will be going back to junior.  Outside of Kessel, it’s really difficult to know who might be a legit top six forward. Guys like Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan, Jason Blake, Nikolai Hagman, and Alexei Ponikarovsky get a lot of top six minutes and PP time, but it’s basically by default. Lee Stempniak and Jamal Mayers were brought in last year by Fletcher  but certainly didn’t set the world on fire.  There are way too many overpaid, underperforming forwards on this team.

- Much will depend on how well two first round picks develop this year.  Niklas Kulemin has shown signs of breaking through while Jiri Tiusty seems to be stuck in neutral.  It would really help if these two could become regular top six forwards somewhere down the road. Both failed to impress during training camp which has to be a concern for management.  The laffs also have the “Frat Pack” consisting of young college players, Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson, and Viktor Stalberg.  Stalberg was amazing during training camp and could be a real diamond in the rough (6th round pick).  Skates like the wind and utilizes his 6'3" frame.  Bozak is a huge investment for Burke and will challenge Kulemin and Tiusty for future ice time.  His contract is a cap liability right now so he may not see much ice this year.

- Much has been made about the Brian Burke “pick and shovel” mentality that he is trying to implement in Toronto.  His truculent mindset has the city all abuzz (there’s that word again:-)  That’s all fine and good but coach, Ron Wilson, has to keep two things in mind.  Toronto had one of the worst PK units in the entire league last year and many of their centres were weak in the face-off circle (not to mention that Dominic Moore is now gone).  Rickard Wallin (Farjestads) will try to help out on the PK.  All this belligerent  behaviour may well come with a price. Toronto allowed more goals (286)  than any other team last year and really doesn’t have the goaltending to constantly be on the PK.  Everything comes with a price.  Colton Orr is the in house thug while converted Dman, Jay Rosehill, is his protégé. They both may skate on the 4th line with Wayne Primeau so Moen and Laraque better be up to the task.

- A player to watch is John Mitchell (c/lw).  He’s not the best skater in the world and he may eventually lose his job to one of the college kids, but right now is he the perfect example of effort and hustle.  He is always on the puck and you will certainly notice him during tonight’s game.  Every team needs a Mitchell on their bench.

- The arrival of Phil Kessel as the newest laff is an entire post unto itself.   No doubt the impact of the trade will be huge, not only for Toronto, but for Boston and Montreal, as well.  Some very quick thoughts on his arrival. An offer sheet would have been a combination of 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd round picks.  Burke only upped the 3rd to a 1st and then signed him to a contract that would have dictated two firsts based on his new contract.  So he really didn’t overpay, especially seeing that Kessel at least equals one of the 1st rounders..  Bob McCown stated that Burke basically gave up Kadri and Schenn for Kessel (which is pretty unfair) but you could counter that and say that if the laffs make the playoffs the next two years then it will be more like Kyle Chipchura and David Fischer for a 22 year old Kessel.  Point to ponder. Playing with Stajan and Grabovski won’t be the same as riding alongside Marc Savard. Having said that, the only present NHL players who have had a higher scoring average by the age of 22 are Ovechkin, Malkin, Staal, Kovalchuk, Thornton, and Nash.  Pretty elite company to say the least.  In terms of Montreal, you can look at this deal two ways.  It weakens Boston for the next four years as their picks are only ‘what ifs’ and no matter how you cut it, losing 36 goals is a tough blow to any team.  You also have to admit that any 1st rounders are also going to need about three years of development before they hit the show.  As for the laffs, Kessel will make an immediately impact (once his surgery heals) and enhance Toronto’s chances of making the playoffs for the next few years.  On the downside, they are royally screwed if one of their traded picks turns out to be Scott Niedermayer.

- Interesting tidbits.  Career minor leaguer, Boyd Deaveraeux, scored a hat trick during the last game of the season for Toronto which helped drop the laffs from 5th to 7th in the entry draft.  Turned out to be the difference between getting Nazem Kadri instead of Brayden Schenn.  Ouch. The buyout cap hit for Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft is a combined $1.73M.  In other words, it’s the equivalent of Paul Mara.  Just like the Habs, Toronto plays without a captain.  And for the same reason.

- Injury Report > Mike Van Ryn, Jeff Finger, Jamal Mayers, Phil Kessel

- Stat Pack (2009) =  PP > 16th, PK > 27th, GF > 10th, GA > 30th, GD > -42, FO > 50%, CS >.162M

Brian Burke has stated that he expects Toronto to challenge for a playoff spot this year. There are probably four or five teams that are a lock to make the playoffs in the East so that means Toronto will have to focus on doing well in their own division.  They will be in a dog fight to beat out Montreal, Ottawa, and Buffalo so they basically must win two of those three  regular season series.  Here’s hoping that defeating Montreal doesn’t turn out to be one of the two.