Kinks in the System: Who Gets the Part
The pre-season Buds may have exuded that truculent belligerence so deeply worn into the modern Toronto fans lexicon, but they rarely looked convincing. Either letting leads slip or being forced to fight back from poor starts, the Leafs managed to scrap their way to a strong 6-3 record. But as the 2008 Detroit Lions will attest to, a good pre-season rarely translates into a successful regular season.
Subsequently, while it is easy to buy into the hype of September hockey after the barren months of Summer, the Leafs will do well to learn from the more lackadaisical moments of their 6-3 warm up before they start lacing up against the cream of the leagues “A” squads. After all, rallying performances aside, the pre-season has done little but affirm that the Leafs own one of the strongest depth charts in the league, not necessarily the strongest team.
Too often the Leafs were burnt puck watching in their own end, evidenced continual lapses of concentration after goals, perpetually lacked consistent 60 minute performances and regularly let opposing teams machine gun the Leafs net for the best part of the first period. It may seem hyper critical of a team that won two thirds of their pre-season games, but pre-season is where the bugs come to the fore.
Obviously transition proves a bumpy road. With a new core of veterans learning to work alongside feet dipping rookies, Ron Wilson has been simultaneously trying to impose his own brand of West Coast hockey, largely witnessed last year, on a revolving door of players and line combinations. Hammering home the physical advantage, Wilson has also tried to install a more attacking ethos to a fundamentally stronger group of players.
Be it a forecheck fashioned on the speedy Capitals, or the strong side defenseman pinching; the implementation of these new systems on untested lines inevitably led to the Leafs becoming unstuck. The worrying problem is that the kinks became more apparent in the stabler lineups of the final few games.
The strong side pinching in particular was utilized with positive effect, but also led to several lopsided breakaways which will surely be more clinically punished by the leagues top lines. While Kaberle and Komisarek seem to have worked an instinctual understanding that has seen the Czech stalwart come alive, other defensive pairings and more crucially the centers (bar Bozak) have looked less accountable.
Meanwhile the forechecking play has been hit and miss. The more pugnacious and hungry players, Stalberg and Mitchell to name two, have looked more than adept at harrying opposing defenders but all too often the good work is unhinged by sloppy neutral zone coverage or lazy puck pursuit, Grabovski, Kulemin and Tlusty to name three.
To be fair Kulemin improved as the September schedule wound on and Grabovski was the victimized linchpin of many experimental lines, but both were inconsistent performers and in a word, “consistency” was the very thing the pre-season Leafs lacked, the very thing the Leafs of last season lacked.
Sure that is unpreventable in the maelstrom of players hitting the late summer rota, it also has to be remedied fast. It is one thing to see inconsistent performances from young, over worked rookies, but many of the players and player combinations that struggled were those penciled in for opening night.
One can easily point at shifts where Blake, Stajan, Kulemin, Tlusty, Grabovski and Exelby looked great and worked hard, there were also plenty of occasions when they were almost completely absent… or worse.
Considering Burke has done his utmost to make the Leafs a meritocracy and remove the culture of entitlement witnessed in the dark days of JFJ, too few players treated the pre-season as the audition it should have been. Meanwhile those that did: Gustavsson, Bozak, Stalberg, Rosehill, and to a lesser extent Ian White; all made strong arguments for inclusion. Making a stand out of principle or brushing pre-season performances under the go-to (pre-season means nothing) excuse, Burke and Wilson have got a difficult decision on who makes the team on Thursday night.
In many respects its a dilemma most coaches would relish, the Leafs have several serviceable front lines and a defense that on paper is top 5 quality. With perpetual question mark Lee Stempniak coming on in later games and pairing well alongside the maligned Rickard Wallin and Niklas Hagman playing at his best; the sheer number of options is enviable and also fraught with pitfalls.
With so many to account for whilst also eating up a line with likely truculent fan favorites such as Colton Orr and Wayne Primeau, those expected to perform (Blake and Grabovski) or those who knew they had to perform (Tlusty, Kulemin, Stajan, Toskala and Exelby) have been largely an enigma.
Subsequently trying to breed the very same culture of accountability that powered the early season, undermanned Leafs of last year to unexpected pre-December heights whilst also trying to find greater consistency over this pre-season could prove even more of a challenge with a deeper, more talented roster with so many “unproven” youngsters knocking at the door.
If consistency proves the mantra on the ice, one wonders how consistent the Burke-Wilson tandem will prove when it comes to picking the most deserved players against the diminutive Canadiens. It’s one thing to expect to play, quite another to earn it.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Ok guys,
If you think Stalhberg and Franzen and Ovechkin are same type of player as Lucic, Morrow Wendel than we will just have to agree to disagree.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Take Stalberg and Ovechkin out of there and yes, they’re power forwards. Franzen will score more and Lucic is a more proficient hitter and fghter, but both would fall under that category.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Sure they are Charlie… Sure they are.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
They don’t call Franzen “Mule” for no reason. He’s a workhorse and he’s near impossible to get him off the puck.
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At least until he meets Mr. Komisarek and Schenn!
September 29th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Potsy, sure who is?
September 29th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Franzen Lucic are practically the same player
September 29th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
ill agree to dissagree
i wanna see Grabo and the Kostytsyns (sp?) go at it and than Komi come in and dry hump those Belarussian Habs
September 29th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Franzen and Ovechkin are definitely in the power forward mould. Ovechkin definitely strikes fear into opponents, but his coach doesn’t want him to fight. Franzen plays all tough against some opposition but when teams stand up to him he backs down. See series last year with Ducks, which in my opinion was the best playoff series.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Potsy, who the hell said Franzen and Lucic are the same player?!?!?!?!!?!?!?
They both fall under the power forward category. Again, it’s not an elite category until you name it the elite power forward category. Lucic is an excellent hitter, fighter and is looking to shape up to a great scorer. He is on his way to being an elite power forward, although I don’t think he’ll ever reach the offensive production of a Ryan Getzlaf. Franzen is a beast with the puck and is a great scorer, can throw a decent check and holds on to the puck for as long as he would like. So they both fall under that category. that doesn’t mean they are the same player.
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Are you trying to be stubborn and difficult on purpose?
September 29th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
@ Edward Flannery
That’s hilarious. Two more days and we will be seeing that.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Im a little curious about that answer also.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Oh, by the way, Stajan and Malkin both fall under the “centre” category. That must mean they are the exact same player, right?
September 29th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Power Forward Rankings
1) Getzlaf
2) Ovechkin
3) Lucic
4) Grabovski
5) Morrow
September 29th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
@ B Leaf
Ovechkin is an anomaly when it comes to categories. He is his own category and is the best hockey player in the world, in my humble opinion.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@ B Leaf
You forgot Aki Berg.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
hahahah B Leaf i love the slip in, i read over it quickly and was like wait one sec here. One of these things is not like the other.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Getzlaf > Ovechkin
Getzlaf plays alot of minutes, plays very well in all three zones, and makes those around him better. He can do what ever is needed, a big goal, a big hit, he can invole his mates, he can PK.
I know everyone will disagree, so don’t bother. It’s just my opinion.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
@Peter: Too many of the players I mentioned were, what you could describe, on the bubble. You can say pre-season doesn’t matter but I think you have to make a statement of intent if your game is under question. 20 games is far too many… 9-10 perhaps, but if the Leafs want to make the playoffs they can’t baby so-called stars who aren’t putting in the effort. Normally I would agree that pre-season is by-an-large, meaningless but with so much competition for spots and so many new players in the mix there were certain players who had to stand up and be counted, and some didn’t while others such as Wallin and Stempniak were steadily improving.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
@ B Leaf
Nice disclaimer!
September 29th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
@RSW
I hope Toskala comes out strong. I think he has it in him. But if he starts this year like last year, how long before we see a replacement?
September 29th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
B Leaf – Bill Guerin is definietly a PWF
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This is a pretty tedious and useless discussion. There is no set criteria, the definition changes person to person, team to team. Who the fuck cares?
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Point is – with his size, Poni should be a playing a lot more like a PWF in the mould of Franzen. Or at least it’s my point.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Potsy is either putting together the longest tirade ever, or hes seen another side of the coin.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
According to HockeyCentral
The following Leafs will be healthy scratches on thursday…
Kulemin
Tlusty
Bozak
AND….
MacDonald has been placed on waivers to play for the Marlies meaning The Monster is in for Thursday!
September 29th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
@ B Leaf
I don’t see Wilson having that much patience with him. If he has a few weak games and then Monster has a good game, my guess is he goes with the hot hand. If not right away then after the second or third round of some bad games by Toskala.
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Hopefully they both play well and we get a good return for Toskala at the deadline. MacDonald can then be brought up as backup… I think that is a solid situation- assuming Monster lives up to the hype.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
@mumbular
yeah thats a good point, Antro and Poni SHOULD have been a great forward tandem. I cant see poni planting it like Franze or Holmstrom. We definatly need a big strong top 6 forward.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
@ mumbular
I’d have to agree about Guerin, certainly on the Pens.
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Poni would be a beast if he used that size!
September 29th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
I wouldn’t be shocked if MacDonald gets claimed.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Good power forwards on the FA list this year… um Taylor Pyatt? Slim pickings, for the record I would describe Mitchell as an energy forward, like Cal Clutterbuck in Minnesota, Joel Ward in Nashville (although he could be described as a grinder), TJ Oshie (David Perron) or Ryan Bayda.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
If I could offer this regarding the Goaltending Issue:
Lets compare last years results with this years possibilities. Below are the actual stats not including OTL’s.
W——–L———-%
Toskala 22——17——–0.5641
Combined (Gerber, Joseph Pogge)
16——27——–0.3720
Leafs Total Pts 08-09 — 81
Lets assume at the very least that Vesa continues with the same win percentage @ 0.5641 and plays 50 games that would amount to 56 Pts
Lets also assume that (“The Monster” / MacDonald) are to match that same percentage and play the remaining 32 games which would amount to another 36 Pts.
That would give us a total of 92 Pts. If Vesa can match last years role, the backup position will be the deciding factor for us this year as it was last year. So in short, it’s the complete package in net that will decide our playoff hopes and thus far, way too early to determine.
Is a 0.5641 percentage good enough to make it to the top 8? Who knows but if these extra points are won from teams in the division / conference as seen below, it could be the difference from a birth to the playoffs or not and remember, that’s if we match that percentage this year.
1 z – Boston Bruins 116
2 y – Washington Capitals 108
3 y – New Jersey Devils 106
4 x – Pittsburgh Penguins 99 (Champs…not that it needs a footnote
5 x – Philadelphia Flyers 99
6 x – Carolina Hurricanes 97
7 x – New York Rangers 95
8 x – Montréal Canadiens 93
9 Florida Panthers 93
10 Buffalo Sabres 91
11 Ottawa Senators 83
12 Toronto Maple Leafs 81
September 29th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Regarding evaluating a team: I always thought that the 20 game mark tells (more or less) where things are at. The ten game mark where things could be.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Kulemin
Tlusty
Bozak
Interesting healthy scratch list…so then, it goes:
Hagman-Stajan-Blake
Stalberg-Grabovski-Poni
Wallin-Mitchell-Stempniak
Primeau-Rosehill-Orr (?Injured?)
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Or something like that. Also, if they plan on having 3 healthy scratches at FWD, that leaves no room for a 7th D (unless they dress 11 Fwds – think about it).
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Also, I am worried about Joey Mac on waivers. He looked good, and thought him and the Monster would’ve been a good duo this season
September 29th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Not to get too into the semantics of “power forward”, but any forward that relies less on finesse and more on grit to get the job done would qualify as a pf. The higher the production from that forward, the higher they rank in the power forward category. I agree that if you follow the Don Cherry way of thinking that fighting is the preferred characteristic for those players. However in today’s game I think Ovechkin represents the modern version of a prototypical power forward.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
@Skadlig Tvangstanke
sorry disagree my man, 20 games in in the NHL tells you nothing. With how tight the conferences have been lately come final game of the season its wya to close to judge on a quarter of the season. Remeber 2 years ago when Toronto had to beat NJ and they scored with like .7 seconds left to send it to OT. And that Backup goalie for the Islanders put together the game of his life and stole our sport, Doobiewisky or some shit.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
somebody mentioned something about Schremp, and they thought that he should be picked up by the Islanders….well according to TSN, they just might have.
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293056
September 29th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I agree with the comments on MacDonald. The Leafs will be lucky if he is not claimed. A good scenario would be to trade Toskala at the deadline if there is a good return there. If things continue as they are then MacDonald and Monster would be a good quality, competitive tandem. I am a little unsure of the waiver rules if Toskala is traded and MacDonald promoted. Would MacDonald be exposed again?
September 29th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Islanders will probably take him, they seem to be colecting goalies…
September 29th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
yeah no shit eh Luke
did you read over that conversation that occured?
It was like debating Xbox roles.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Was on lunch
What did i miss?
I don’t put Franzen and OV in the PWR forward category because they don’t fight.
That is not to say they are not fantastic players, They are. they are big men, they use their size well. But I would not put them into the same category as the players who hit score and fight which is what a pwr forward does, and has done since the eighties when the term was first used.
I really don’t know why you all got you panties in a bunch over that. I never said that pwr forwards sre better I never said that if a player don’t fight he’s a pussy. I said Power forwards Hit Alot, Score 15 goals (approx) or more and fight.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
@Ed. Sorry I was not clear. I did not mean where things are at in terms of final standings. Your point is well taken. Those variables, especially with shootouts make those kinds of predictions impossible. I meant more in qualitative terms — which is to say another “could be” — not much better than the ten game mark. So yes, you are right it has become very difficult to say. Maybe evaluations should be shifted to the 81 game mark!
September 29th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
@Richard-Steven Williams
HA!!!!
headlines in new york
“In an unprecendted move The New York Islanders have iced a team of Goalies to try and stop some of the bleeding”
well not so much a headline as an opener.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Oh good G-d Potsy.
I officially give up.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
According to Berger on Hockey central @ noon, lines at camp
Stralberg Stajan Blake
Poni Grabo Hagman
September 29th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
ohhh okay yeah your right mis-understood. I definatly thought you were saying 20 games in the playoff picture would start making sense, but yeah 20 games you can get an idea of what kind of team they will be for the season. Unless the leafs prescribe to the usual 10-12 game skid they have been.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Charlie… you should
September 29th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
wallin Mitchell Stempniak
rosehill Primeau Orr
Komi with a slight goin strain, should be good to go
September 29th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
@Potsy
same song and dance, what your saying is certain players dont prescribe to your definition of a power forward. What we are saying is we dont agree with what your opinion of a power forward is.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
@ Potsy I don’t see why any power forward has to fight? Thats an enforcer, far as I’m concerned a power forward is a big bodied, physical forward. A fast skater, smooth hands but can also apply their game in the corners. Fightning has nothing to do with skillset… Fighting is an entirely different facet of the game. Like the comparisons of Kadri and Wendel, that would be awesome… he definately showed a lot of heart and a penchant for hitting when angry.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Geezus xrist Potsy, you are an insufferable little poster, eh?
September 29th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
@ RSW
Don’t even try with Potsy. Not worth it.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
“same song and dance, what your saying is certain players dont prescribe to your definition of a power forward. What we are saying is we dont agree with what your opinion of a power forward is.”
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ooooo….well said