Kessel Needs to be Better!

     With just one goal in his last twelve games Phil Kessel is causing Leafs fans to wonder if he's the player Brian Burke thought he was getting when he traded for him in September.  Obviously Kessel is a highly gifted player and already the most talented player on this team.  The question is, does he have ALL the tools needed to help guide the Leafs to the promised land. 
     Phil Kessel's recent mediocre play is not the reason for the Leafs latest lack of success, but it is a contributor.  December was a very important month for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  It was an opportunity to reach a number of key milestones and position the team for a genuine run for the post season.  With teams like the Flyers, Canadiens, Islanders and Thrashers plummeting in the standings, last month was a golden opportunity to move up and gain some ground on the rest of the Eastern Conference bottom dwellers.  Unfortunately the Leafs and Kessel failed to take advantage.
     The Leafs came out of the blocks like gangbusters in December.  They began the month going 6 - 3  with 5 of those wins coming against Eastern Conference rivals.  Phil Kessel was on a 3 game goal streak with 5 goals and 5 assists in those 9 games.  With Kessel scoring at more than a point a game they were making a charge and moving back towards respectability.  They even looked like they may finish the month at 500%.

     Since that charge, the Leafs and Kessel have been far from respectable.  They went 2 - 5 in the last seven games of 2009 and began the new year with only 1 win in their first 5.  During this period Kessel has managed just 1 goal and 1 assist.  His point production is worst among all noteworthy Leaf forwards and is even taking a backseat to 3 defenseman.  Even Luke Schenn has been more prolific during this span.
     Nobody is expecting Phil Kessel to carry this team single-handedly.  He also gets a pass for having to play with such a talent starved group of forwards.  Combine this last point with fact that opponents have figured out that if you shut-down Kessel, you shut-down the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Having said this, stars in the NHL are supposed to be able to overcome such things and find ways to succeed.  Not only has he failed at this he's become all but invisible.  If Toronto is going to salvage this season at all, this just cannot happen.
     It's still much too early to judge whether Brain Burke gave up too much for Kessel.  Carolina is trying their best (or worst) to land the number one pick in next years draft so leafs fans may not have to endure the agony of watching Boston use our selection to take Taylor Hall.  With every loss however, it does seem certain Burke did trade a lottery pick.  Too make matters worse, none of the players Burke aquired last season with the exception of junior prospect Nazeem Kadri are making much impact at any level.
     All this boils down to one important fact.  The team we have this year is probably going to look very much like the team we have next year.  Granted Burke will have some money to play with in the off-season and many of our current players may not be back, but with teams holding on to their young core players more than ever, good, young, free agents may be hard to land.
     Kessel is not big, he's not truculent, and he's not a fighter.  He's a fast, flashy forward, who can beat defenseman and goalies from almost anywhere.  He's been this for most of the season, hopefully he will wake up and bee that player again.  If not, this already disastrous season will only bet worse.

Leafs are Listening to Wilson.

     The last time I checked the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs were still in second last place.  They still had to overtake six teams to achieve a play-off berth, and they were still a sub five hundred hockey team.  After acknowledging these thing I asked myself, "Why am I smiling?"  The answer was was right in front of me.
     A closer look at the standings showed our Toronto Maple Leafs with 10 wins  in their last 23.  In six of those losses they gained  a point because the game went to overtime.  This still doesn't make them a five hundred team, but it does give Leaf fans hope for seeing them play at least one round in the playoffs.
     The Leafs picked a very good time to play their best hockey.  December's schedule is brutal.  They play 13 games between the first and the 23rd.  They don't have more than one night off during that stretch and end the months schedule with three games in five nights between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.  Of those 16 games, 13 will have been against a conference opponent.  Six of those games are against teams within 7 points of the Leafs in the Eastern Conference.  A good month means a legitimate shot at the playoffs.  So far it's been a good month.  Except for two losses to a very good Boston Bruins team, they've been very good.  The Leafs started the month with a shut-out win against the hated Habs, very convincing wins against Columbus and Atlanta and a good character builder against the Islanders where they squandered a 2 goal lead, but went on to win.  Going into tonight's game against Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals, they are 6 and 2 in the month of December.
      So why are the Leafs looking like a team on a mission?  It might be because Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek have finally found their games.  Maybe it's because Jason Blake has found his scoring touch.  Might it be a result of Stajan, Grabovski, and Kulemin.  All three of these Leafs are playing their best hockey this season.  Matt Stajan is even emerging a team leader again.  Vesa Toskala is stopping pucks and even Luke Schenn is starting to come out of the funk that has been tempting fans to call for his demotion to the minors.  Most significant in this is we can finally praise the play of Leaf players without mentioning Niklas Hagman and Phil Kessel.  Both players are clearly their most gifted forwards, but with the help of the aforementioned players, they don't have to carry this team any longer.
     As good as the players have looked recently, the most credit should go to their coach.  Thank goodness it's an Olympic year.  Had it not been, Ron Wilson may have been fired in October.  Wilson wasn't fired obviously and like his team he didn't quit either.  Instead he kept preaching his system to the struggling Leafs.  Wilson convinced his team they could win by simplifying their game.  He knows the kind of team he has.  A good, tough, defensive core, with speed to burn upfront.
     When Wilson has his team listening and playing THEIR game, they're usually rewarded.  They can block shots, and wear down their opponents with relentless forchecking and crushing hits.  Their forwards have enough backup to be able to live infront of the oppositions net without having to worry about reprisals from the other teams  tough guys.  In short, Ron Wilson has them playing old style hockey.  Nothing fancy, but tremendously entertaining most nights.  If he can maintain their attention, they have a chance to bury the past and make a legitimate playoff run.  If they stop listening like they did losing both games in Boston, we can forget about any hope of an extended season.  Here's hoping they listen.
     What do you think?  Who should get the credit?  Do they have enough to be a playoff team? What's the next move for Brian Burke?

Now That's More Like It!

     Nothings sweeter for Leaf fans than beating those dreaded Montreal Canadians.  When Colton Orr and Jeff Finger score the first two it just get's better.  I'll give you a minute to digest that one.  Ok, get back on your chair.  That's right, COLTON ORR scored his first goal as a Leaf, the winner by the way, and Jeff Finger scored what ended up to be the insurance goal.

     Tuesday night at the Bell Center in Montreal, your Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadians, 3 - 0.  This was quite a turn around for them since they were shut out themselves Monday night against another division rival, the Buffalo Sabres.  This time it was the Leafs who quieted the crowd and set the tone of the game by luring Montreal into playing their style of hockey.  This was exactly what Brian Burke had in mind when he put this team together.  The defense was solid, getting in the way of shots and forcing a much smaller Montreal team to the outside all game.  Offensively, Toronto forwards were tough on the Habs, pushing them around and creating traffic in front of Carey Price all night.

     As usual Kessel and Hagman were Toronto's best forwards but they weren't the only ones working last night.  Mat Stajan had a very strong game keeping the pressure on Price and also chipping in with his eighth goal of the season.   He was perfect taking a pass from Kessel and going in alone, scoring  on Price's  glove side.  Mikael Grabovski also showed signs of life buzzing around the Montreal  net and creating scoring chances.  With  the exception of the first ten minutes it was all Toronto.

     This game came with two prices however.  Unfortunately for the Leafs, one was very costly.  After making eight saves in the first period, Jonas Gustavsson was a third of the way to recording his first NHL shut-out.  That's as close as he got however, as he was unable to return for the second period because of an irregular heartbeat.  Gustavsson experinced a similar problem with a racing heartbeat during the preseason and actually had surgery as a result.  According to Coach Wilson his heartbeat had actually returned to normal before being removed from the game.  Leaf officials maintain his hospital visit was simply a precautionary measure but have not reported whether he'll miss games. Fortunately Joey MacDonald picked up where The Monster Left off.  MacDonald entered the game at the beginning of the second and was perfect, helping the Leafs earn their first shut-out of the season.

     Last nights game was more proof Leaf fans are in for a bit of a roller-coaster ride this season.  Granted the Habs are not a cup contender and are only marginally higher in the standings than the Leafs.  However,  if you can have a must win situation in December this was one of them.  Toronto was shut-out at home against another division rival the night before.  Montreal is ahead of them in the standings and now within reach of catching, and a loss last night would have been the beginning of yet another losing streak.  At the end of the night we're still in second last, but with an effort like we had last night fans have a little more to look forward to than watching Phil Kessel rack up highlights.  Not to mention, we beat the Habs, and that's always a good thing.

Our Leafs Just Won't Quit!

Here we go again.  In one week The Toronto Maple Leafs have gone from Chumps to Champs.  Just when we were talking about these guys hitting rock bottom, they've put together another mini point streak.  A week ago they lost, in horrible fashion to the worst team in the league.  Not only did they lose to the Carolina Hurricanes, they did it by surrendering the lead twice, giving up a goal with three seconds left and then losing in a shoot-out.  The game before they squandered a lead to the Ottawa Senators and went on to lose to them.  The Leafs had lost FIVE in a row!  We were living a nightmare, and we couldn't wake up.

Well the nightmare may be over.  It appears the boys in Blue and White have woken up, and fans are cheering again.  Since that terrible night in Carolina, the Leafs have beat Washington in a shoot-out, lost in a shoot-out against the Islanders, and beat Tampa and Florida on the road.  That's 8 points out of a possible 10.  Not bad for a team with no skill, and for the record,  I still believe they're a team desperately in need of skilled players. 

What this team lacks in skill, they sure make up for in heart.  Sounds like another cliche doesn't it?  Well think about this.  So far this month the Leafs have out shot their opponents 40-22 against Calgary, 45-32 against Carolina, and recorded 61 shots to the Islanders 21.  They lost all 3 of those games.  This was the perfect opportunity for Leaf players to lose heart.  Who could blame them?  The fact is they didn't quit.  They don't seem to know the meaning of the word.  Add to these stats the fact that they blew a 3 goal lead in Tampa, and fell behind 2-0 in Florida in less time than it took for the P.A. announcer to read out the scorers to the crowd.  Instead of folding the tent, they fought back and won both those games on the road.

Not only have they been racking up some points, they've been doing it with style.  Phil the Highlight Reel Kessel, has been treating fans to plays we haven't seen since Gilmour, Sundin and Andreychuk were carrying this team.  He can flat out play, and it doesn't seem to matter who they put on his line.  It appears a well, that Kessel isn't the only leafs forward who can find the back of the net.  Niklas Hagman has stepped up his play with some flashy breakaways and nice goals of his own.  Another reason to cheer has been the play of Carl Gunnarsson.  He's averaged twenty minutes a game since being called up and has shown an offensive flair while managing to be solid in his own end.

None of this means this team is playoff bound.  It's still a huge long shot at best.  As good as it's been these last 5 games, they did lose 5 in a row leading up to them.  What it does mean however, is they may have enough to keep us interested during another rebuild.  The question is what's next?  Which team will show  up Monday against Buffalo?  We know Kessel will continue to thrill, but what about the rest.  Is Hagman on his way to a career year or is this just another hot streak.  Will Gunnarsson continue to improve or is he just another 7th round flash in the pan.  We can only guess at the answers, but what we do know is this team will be entertaining.  They may lose more times than not, but if they continue to battle the way they have been, fans will still have reason to cheer.

Leafs can't Win in Overtime

The Toronto Maple Leafs 5 game road trip came to an end Saturday night, and while it only produced 1 win it did give Leaf fans some reasons to cheer.  Before embarking the Leafs had yet to win a game and looked terrible in all but their first game of the season.   They still won't be mistaken for a playoff contender, and remain in last place, but with points in their last four games, the bandwagon is beginning to take on passengers again.

Anyone not a fan of the beloved blue and white may not understand how  to see the good in a team with only 1 win in 12 games, but Leaf fans are experts in separating hope from despair.  So for those non-beleafers impaired by perennial pessimism, here are some positives you may not have noticed.

Last night the leafs scored first!  They hadn't done that in their previous 11 games.  In their  5 games before hitting the road they hadn't mustered more than 2 goals in a game and in 3 of them had only managed 1 goal each.  Needless to say their power play was almost non-existent and even worse their penalty kill made their opponents look like the 84 Oilers.  In today's NHL that just can't happen ... the proof being the Leafs record before going on the road.  They started the trip with both starting goalies injured.  Their 3 offseason defensive pickups (Exelby, Komisarek, and Beauchemin) were tempting Leafs fans to petition Todd Gill to make a comeback.  In short they were awful and looking like a team destined to finish last over-all.  Considering they don't have first pick for the next 2 years things looked bad!

Much has changed since then.  The Leafs have THE BEST power play in the league!  If you don't believe me look it up.  The penalty kill still ranks at the bottom of the league, but has been crawling back steadily and is no longer an automatic goal.  Their 30 goals scored ties them at 22nd best, not worst in the league.  As of last night both starting goalies are healthy and Jonas Gustavsson is showing why Brian Burke chased him all spring.

If this weren't enough, Tomas Kaberle is on FIRE!  After last nights 4 point effort (he was in on all 4 Leaf goals), he now sits tied for 6th amongst all NHL players.  Not defensemen ... players.  His 17 points puts him ahead of Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Danny Heatley.  His 15 assists is BEST in the NHL.  When was the last time we could say best and Toronto Maple Leafs in the same sentence?  Did I mention he's tied the game in the final minute 2 games in a row.   Even if you still think he should be traded this has to make you happy.

Kaberle's not the only won looking good these days.  Niklas Hagman has a hat-trick and six goals so far.  Lee Stempniak is playing his best hockey since being obtained from St. Louis.  His shot from the point on the power play has been a welcome, if not startling surprise.  An honorable mention should go the Mikhail Grabovski for his contribution to the four game Leaf point streak as well.  If he continues to play this way he may become a fixture on a line with newcomer Phil Kessel.

Tuesday night the Leafs come home to play the Tampa Bay Lightning.  They will also be treated to Phil Kessel's much anticipated first game as a Leaf. That's probably the best news so far.  This speedy winger and power play specialist enters the line-up of a team with the best power-play, best offensive defenseman, possibly the best rookie goaltender, and a 4 game regulation-time unbeaten streak.  That might be more flattering than they deserve but why should Burke and Wilson get to be the Spin-Doctors all the time.  Now if we could figure out how to score in overtime or in a shoot-out we might just be allowed to talk playoffs again.