By Chris Shea, staff writer
It was just two years ago that the Toronto Maple Leafs had a 4-1 lead in game seven of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Boston Bruins, and then the franchise went into free-fall.
Ten minutes into the third period of game seven, Boston began to surge and went on and beat the Leafs 5-4 in overtime after the comeback of the year. Leafs nation thought they could bounce back from such a monumental upset, they never would.
The 2013-2014 season looked to be an improvement as the Leafs signed free agents Left Winger Mason Raymond from the Vancouver Canucks (now plays for the Calgary Flames), Right Winger David Clarkson from the New Jersey Devils (traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets), and Goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the Los Angeles Kings after letting go of many players that allowed them to reach the 2013 playoffs, the only playoff series they have played in since 2004.
For most of the season, Toronto held a playoff position, but they would lose it after injuries to Center Dave Bolland and Winger Joffrey Lupul, as well as a 14 game losing streak that would make their season collapse.
2014-2015 also had a decent start for Toronto after the acquisitions of free agents Defenseman Roman Polak from the St. Louis Blues, Forward Daniel Winnik from the Anaheim Ducks (traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins), and Center Leo Komarov from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
Again, the Leafs were plagued by injury, inconsistency, lack of leadership, and long losing streaks.
So what has become of a franchise that was on the verge of beating the mighty Boston Bruins and possibly going to the Stanley Cup finals just two years ago?
The obvious Achilles heel is goaltending. Ever since the 2005 lockout, goaltending has been nothing but a stumbling block for the team and it has cost them dearly. Not just in attempting to get into the playoffs, but also in getting good draft picks.
Future assets are another problem that the Leafs have. Before the ’05 lockout, draft picks weren’t as crucial as they are now, so Toronto didn’t have to worry. Toronto was (and still is) the most profitable team in the league, there was no salary cap for them to worry about, but the lockout changed that for them, they couldn’t afford to have as many veteran free agents as they wanted.
So years after the establishment of the salary cap in the NHL, how have the Leafs adapted? They now realize that draft picks matter and aren’t so willing to depart with them unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Their future assets are still a slight problem. Since 2007, only four of their draft picks have gone pro: Nazem Kadri, Morgan Reilly, Luke Schenn (now a Philadelphia Flyer), and Jimmy Hayes (now a Florida Panther). That is atrocious.
What of their goaltending? It’s not as nearly the problem as it used to be, the Leafs goaltending carousel of James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier is well covered and worth their salaries. The real problem now is defense.
Your goalie can’t continue to bail out your team game after game; you need defense to win, especially if you make the playoffs. Captain Dion Phaneuf is a solid D-man, but he just isn’t helping out the young defensive core that Toronto has.
But don’t just blame the players for this; the main reason that Toronto has been in a perpetual state of awfulness is because of their management. Their general managers have been giving out ridiculous contracts, dealing out poor signings, and drafting players who barely make the pros.
Former Leafs GM Dave Nonis has let this team suffer thanks to his poor decisions with virtually no consequences from the media that paints any player in Toronto as a hero until the inevitable collapse happens.
Leafs management has resorted to logically inconsistent ways of explaining that the team’s progressing slightly even though they aren’t. This is why the Leafs let go of Nonis on April 12.
There is still hope for Toronto’s future. First off, they are not the Edmonton Oilers, so they have that going for them. Second, they have assigned long time NHL player and former NHL Head of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan as team president and have given him permission to finally put this team through a rebuild.
The best thing that Toronto should do is to continue trading many of their players like Phaneuf and Right Winger Phil Kessel for first-round picks. Sure Kessel is one of the best goal scorers in the league, but he is currently in his prime and deserves to be on a cup contending team. Toronto shouldn’t be wasting his talents.
The Leafs faithful don’t have to worry about trying make the playoffs anymore. They can now take it easy and get some decent draft picks to return to their former glory and hopefully bring Lord Stanley back to Toronto for the first time since 1967.