Leafs Line - Globe and Mail Gruff

Why I Don't Read the Paper:

I was just reading an article by Robert Macleod of The Globe and Mail today and it inspired me to write this little piece. The article -which you can read here- took some liberties in criticising the rookie defenceman Mike Kostka saying that he (and Phaneuf) are "not delivering despite plenty of ice time".

What Team are YOU Watching?

As it stands right now Toronto has a 3-3-0 record in this modified season. Considering that they've managed to draw to a game a-piece with the Buffalo Sabres who have a record of being Leaf-killers and that they've also managed to oust the highly-regarded Pittsburgh Penguins amongst their wins fans should be happy we're not worse-off than we are.

So maybe his game isn't 'godly' but he's pretty damned
good... Also the resemblance is uncanny.

Although the numbers don't say much about the new Toronto D-man (save for his 3 assists) those who have actually watched the game and his attitude on the ice would know that Kostka is nothing but an asset to a Toronto team that has been so lacking in defencemen willing to put their heart into the game. Now maybe it's just because he's desperate to prove that he deserves the spot he's been given on the team, but even still it's a player displaying real heart and determination, going to lengths that were unheard of from former defenceman Luke Schenn during his time with the club. How Brian Burke managed to ignore Kostka while sporting a raging hockey hard-on for Schenn is beyond me but then again, I'm not a general manager of the Leafs am I? Yeah well neither is Burkie anymore so HA!

Back to the real issue here, Kostka's willing to jump up into the play yet knows when not to push his luck. He's thrown himself across the blue ice in front of the net to prevent goals, and he has no problems hitting when the time calls for it. He has more than kept pace with the (for reasons I'm no longer able to comprehend) much-loved Dion Phaneuf and after all of this, in his rookie start during a season that can be described as nothing other than FUBAR, The Globe and Mail wants to blast him? Give me a break.

Scapegoat Much?

Could it be that TG&M (The Globe & Mail) is just looking to blame someone new for the Leaf's not having an undefeated season? Are they looking for someone expendable to shoulder the blame for shortcomings we as fans have been witness to for the last number of years? It just seems to me that the critics always seem to jump on the backs of the newest team members while ignoring the failings of those before them. I will give Macleod some credit in that he doesn't absolve Phaneuf of HIS sins on the ice, but to start nit-picking the play of Kostka seems a little hasty. Yes he has the second worst +/- in the league, only above Dion Phaneuf, but both of these players have been given -by far- the most ice time per game through the following match-ups:

• TOR @ MON: 2-1 TOR
• BUF @ TOR: 2-1 BUF
• TOR @ PIT: 5-2 TOR
• NYI @ TOR: 7-4 NYI
• TOR @ NYR: 5-2 NYR
• TOR @ BUF: 4-3 TOR

So facing heavy-handed Sabres and Rangers squads, an ever-potent Pittsburgh offence and a sixth-ranked New York Islanders (in the conference) it's no surprise that they could be expecting high goals-against games. Really the killer factors here are that they've been put out on the penalty kill, and that coach Randy Carlyle has admitted to insisting that Dion and often Kostka be out for defensive zone faceoffs... Faceoffs that aren't being won and as such you see the defensive pairing trapped in their own end, typically on fumes with no chance to switch off and get some relief.

The fact is that we've had 20 goals scored against us, while only managing to score 15 ourselves. Consider that a decent few of those have been powerplay goals and as such, would not count towards any positive rating and a clearer picture begins to develop. I honestly don't feel that Kostka of all players really deserves to be thrown under the bus or sniped at with the amount of work he's been doing each game. Some things simply don't show up in numbers, especially not this early in the season.

 Send It Upstairs:

So what's your review readers? How do you feel about our top defensive line's performance thus far? Satisfied? Left wanting? Comment on the post and let me know. Aside from that, until next time...

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Leafs Line - Eneuf of Phaneuf

Forgive the title folks.

There used to be this game called hockey, it was a glorious thing. Centremen and wingers knew to tread carefully as they crossed the opposing blue line. Defensemen spent their minutes eagerly awaiting a cocky forward's headstrong approach to their net for which they could answer with a resounding, bench-clearing-brawl-starting hit... May that sport rest in piece.

Hockey as we used to know it died years ago, but some players fought valiantly to prevent the NHL's higher-ups from really putting those last nails in the old gal's coffin. One of those champions of good, full-contact play was none other than Dion Phaneuf. You would hear of him -to borrow from basketball's vernacular- 'posterizing' players with hits that left them wondering which way was up, and they were GOOD hits. He was a player that a young physical player could look up to as a role model for their own style of play. He'd take aim, step up and go body-on-body with anyone crossing the blue line and take them from full-speed to a dead stop in an instant and he was prized for it. Add to that the fact that he could send in bombs from the point and you had a pretty lethal player. Unfortunately it would seem that the Phaneuf we knew, loved, and acquired from Calgary is also dead and gone.

Yeah, about that 'C'...

Now I wasn't all that fond of Phaneuf by the end of the 2011-12 season. I'd set aside a page on my old blog known as "Dion's Phan-omenal Hit List" and for the first two months he gave me something to post about to the tune of a highlight per game. By the end of the season? I'd be lucky to find ANY Leaf with something worth mentioning, much less Phaneuf whose play seemed to die. He lost any 'oomph' he'd had in years past, players just blew by him on the ice... It was as though the game had just gotten too fast for him and he couldn't catch up.

Jeremy Roenick, Scott Stevens, Chris Pronger, Cam Neely, Eric Lindros, Wendel Clark, these names all have something in common... They're not in the game anymore. Pronger being the latest to hang up the skates DID manage to hold true and stay relevant in his play however when you're one of the best defencemen to ever play in the NHL, and I believe I'm more than justified in calling him one, you tend to stick around. However, the guys who hit, and did little else, just aren't in the game anymore because the game was simply made too fast for them to follow and I fear that's what's happening to Dion Phaneuf. Players skate by him, he can't get the puck on-target with his slapshots from the point... The man's just not the weapon he used to be.

Now I'm positive that he no longer deserves the 'C' on his jersey. I don't care at this point what he might be like OFF the ice, he's not putting in enough ON ice effort for it to matter. Maybe that's not fair though, maybe he IS putting in the effort, it's just not amounting to anything. Either way, a player who just can't get results isn't usually kept on the team, much less on as the team's captain.

I'm not going to start bringing up who should hold the captaincy over him, because really, there aren't many players who I'd say aren't ahead of him in that race. All I'll say is that it's about time we shopped him around while some of the other clubs may still find value in him and try to pick up someone better. Honestly, if it meant getting a veteran goaltender, I'd sell Phaneuf in a second. It's not that I feel Reimer is inadequate for the job, just that he COULD stand to be mentored by an older, more experienced netminder as opposed to forcing him to get his experience via firing squad as we've been doing the last couple year.

So, to sum this up:

• Phaneuf's slacking.
• He sure as hell doesn't deserve the 'C'.
• He's getting to the point of not earning his roster spot.
• Shop him around in search of something better (like a bucket of pucks or 10-12 rolls of hockey tape).

Enjoy your swim folks!

Joshua J. Taylor

Leafs Line - Orr Opens Up the Home Opener

Might as well start with the highlight right?

Orr Cleans House:

If you saw the game, you'll no doubt know what's coming. If you DIDN'T see the game, you missed one hell of a display of what could be called nothing other than 'truculence' from the Toronto Maple Leafs' Colton Orr who stood up to Buffalo's 6'8'', 270lb John Scott.

Orr's no small fry but it looks like David v. Goliath here.

Some of you might have followed Orr from years passed, and you'll likely know about his history with concussion problems and so, as you'll hear in the video, for him to make it through a fight much less to take the other fighter to a knee, and much less for that fighter to be John Scott... Well, it's a pretty big 'welcome home' to the ACC for him to pull that off. In any case, here's the video. Well done Colton, it's good to have you back.

Unfortunately, though this had the majority of the sold-out crowd on its feet, the Leafs were unable to capitalize on any of the energy generated. Here's the rest of a rather sad story.

Joffrey Lupul: Gets an 'A' for Effort, and Results

Everyone who followed the Leafs last year knows about the record season posted by Lupul. the guy was dynamite, he was the key to unlocking a peak-efficiency Phil Kessel, and I spent the entire year posting the question "Why hasn't someone sewn the extra 'C' or 'A' onto his jersey yet. Finally, my prayers have been answered.

Joffrey Lupul took to the ice last night, having signed a tidy 26.25 million dollar, 5-year contract, with the 'A' on his chest (yes he was sporting it against the Habs, but this is his homecoming) and I couldn't be happier. He's put in a lot of hard work to get where he is now, and the results speak for themselves... Well not really but close enough. He had a point-per-game season last year, beat back surgery and a resultant blood infection before coming to the Leafs, and he's become a legitimate top-line left winger.

Good for you Joffrey, good for you!

First Period: Chances Gone to Waste

As I sat watching it, I thought the game had been handed to the Leafs on a blue and white platter. Buffalo was taking penalties left, right and center, the Toronto 3rd line started the game with great forechecking - forcing turnovers in Buffalo's end, and the first line was putting rounds down range resulting in Buffalo being outshot 13-5 in the first period alone. Yup, it looked like a guaranteed cakewalk for Toronto and then they were given the gift of a two-man advantage lasting 1:23. At this point I, and likely every fan in the building was thinking "Oh boy! It's just a matter of seconds until Toronto opens up the scoring" but we were sorely disappointed. The 5-on-3 passes, Buffalo manges yet another penalty late in the existing charges and has to sit a third man in the penalty box giving the Leafs an even more extended opportunity and yet they still managed to go scoreless.

Beyond this the Leafs were their normal self, and the lack of practice preceding the start of this shortened season was extremely evident. Passes were falling short or being sent too far almost all night, there was an easily discernible lack of cohesion amongst the players... All-in-all although they managed to out-shoot the Sabres, they really managed to lose the period more than Buffalo won it.

Buffalo DID score at 8:51 of the first period on a tip-in by Hodgson from Ehrhoff and Pominville and not only was it an odd last-second deflection off what appeared to be the inside of Hodgson's arm, but it came through traffic and went past a completely screened Scrivens. I'm not making any excuses for the guy, none need be made as his goaltending was solid however the team really let him down on their side of the blue line.

Rotten Refs:

It needs to be pointed out that the refs really turned on Toronto after this point. Tyler Myers leaving the penalty box early was allowed to slide, Leaf goaltender Ben Scrivens -the only reason the Leafs managed to stay in the game at all- was run-over by a Buffalo player without a call, and a number of hooks, trips, and a poor call of goaltender interference against Phil Kessel later and Toronto was struggling to keep out of the penalty box, much less in the game.

Second Period: Definite Double Standard

More chances went spoiled in the 2nd period, but Toronto did manage to kill off a penalty early. Just after the penalty kill, Kessel flubs a great chance at a goal, and shortly after runs into Ryan Miller which earned them another penalty. I have to point out that in this case, Kessel was looking to the point for a shot, being jostled by a Buffalo player, and Miller moved up to be in behind Kessel as he came past the crease. Was it a case of goaltender interference? Not by my books but unfortunately I'm not the one officiating these games. It was much more innocent than when Hesch ran over Scrivens without another soul around him, but everyone and their mother seemed to shit a collective brick when Kessel bumped Miller "with Buffalo's history and Miller's concussion problems last year" piped the colour commentators and the 1st intermission Sportsnet panel.

Honestly folks, if you want to see a goalie stopped by a head-hit, you need look no further than the Leaf bench. Reimer went his second straight game without starting, and this after he came to the team like God's rookie gift to Toronto goaltending. He was doing splendidly until hits from Ottawa's Folino and Montreal's Brian Gionta rattled his cage and scrambled his eggs for the rest of the season. Since then Reimer's never been the same man on the ice and yet everyone's willing to cry over Miller... I'm just sayin' is all.

Buffalo scored again to make it a 2-0 hockey game.

Great Expectations: Mike Kostka

Now here's a guy who knows his job, and gets it done. Mike Kostka, who's finally been given his chance at the big-time after years in the Marlies, has had two great showings in the first games of this shortened season putting up huge on-ice minutes and doing a lot with them. For some reason people seem overly quick to commend Dion Phaneuf for putting in big minutes on the ice but frankly, he hasn't done shit-all with what he's been given. to illustrate my point, here's an illustration!

Notice the difference?

On the left if a very rough rendering of how most players look at the opposing net. they look past the goaltender, aiming at the open pockets around him where they have a shot at scoring a goal, and the pipes and crossbar only apply to tell them the boundaries, beyond which is ignored.

On the right however, is how scientists believe Dion Phaneuf sees the opposing net, this time with Ryan Miller clearly visible, and nothing else but the goalposts and crossbar factor into the image processed by his brain. It is still a medical mystery as to why Phaneuf's brain interprets information differently than most shooters though he may just really have a hatred for goaltenders, and the colour red. Who knows?

The point here is that Phaneuf damned near manages to break the bloody crossbar at least once a a game and does little else. I'm pretty sure I've even seen him dressed in orange to serve as a pylon during practices... Okay, that's enough against him. Maybe he'll pick up his game but it just feels as though the pace it too quick for him.

Third Period: At Least it was Interesting

Not much went on the in 3rd. Right near the end Toronto's Nazem Kadri puts his second goal in the net in as many games, and brings the Leafs back into the game... With around 2 minutes left to play, so nothing much was made of the last-minute attempt.

The fans were given a show, albeit a disappointing end, Ryan Miller stole the game for Buffalo along with his cohorts on the officiating team and Toronto's lost it's first game which means their season has ACTUALLY begun because we all know a season can't be considered legitimate until the Leafs blow it at home... Which usually isn't long of a wait.

Enjoy your swim, and sticks on the ice folks!

Joshua J. Taylor