Daddy, No More Pull-Ups!

Those classic words were the final words spoken in the movie 2012. Never before has such a monumental movie been summed up by one line of dialogue. Why do I mention it here on my hockey blog? Because these words were spoken after a world wide catastrophe happened and 98% of the human population was wiped out. Kind of how the Leafs season is going so far. Let's accept the inevitable here. The Leafs are second last in the league, are playing the last team in the league tonight(The 'Canes are last only because the Leafs have a game in hand), and the fans are left with the exciting prospect of playing for last in the league. Oh yeah, the Leafs don't have a first round pick in the draft next year.

Don't get me wrong. I still watch every game and get excited every time the Leafs come back from a one - nothing deficit to tie it and eventually lose. Phil Kessel has cheered up my household greatly. I now only swear too loudly and bother the neighbors in the third period when the game is finally out of hand as Toskala lets in another back-breaking goal. Nope, we're all full of good cheer and pessimistic optimism here at Far Away Leaf.

Now for those of you who haven't seen 2012. Let's just say that we may still yet get our Pull-Ups Moment(tm). The clouds will part, the shine will shine through and the Leafs will open the first round of the playoffs. They will look up and Daddy Burke and say, "Daddy.....no more pull-ups!". And we as a nation will CHEER!

They Deserved A Better Fate!

I, for one, am tired of hearing it. With a tired Calgary team, they couldn’t take advantage of it. Why? Their team game still isn’t anywhere close to being there. Their polar opposite special teams definitely didn’t help. The Leafs came into the game with the 3rd ranked powerplay and it’s the first time I have seen it function as such. In a game against Anaheim they brought their powerplay percentage up by clicking 5 times. The Leafs needed 42 minutes and 23 seconds to get a powerplay against Chicago the Friday night, mostly because you need to forecheck and frustrate the opposing team to draw penalties.

The Leafs penalty killing continues to be atrocious. So every time they take a penalty it’s a sphincter agitating proposition. Not to mention Toskala has not quite redeemed himself after just one competent game. After facing few shots and the Leafs pressing hard, Toskala once again failed to hold his team in the game. Then let’s take a penalty, down 2 late in the 3rd period. This is the familiar recipe for a 5 – 2 Leafs loss.

Don Cherry, who would have to practically wear my ass as a hat to get me to agree with him lately, is spot on in his assessment of Rickard Wallin. Where has this guy been so far this year? I know he’s supposed to be a third line checker with a slight offensive upside, but he has done nothing. Basically, he’s wasting a roster spot. Speaking of which, there has been a gross mismanagement overall of the roster. Jamal Mayers was one of the only men on the ice in blue that looked like a hockey player. He’s been sitting out, not due to an overflow of talent in the roster, but of some idea that he isn’t benefitting the team? I like Primeau in the line-up as well as Orr, but who should be sitting? Wallin as it is right now. Primeau wins face-offs, Orr beat the living snot out of McGrattan(great fighting name by the way) and the usual fall-guy, Kulemin, is the only forward who finishes every check and backchecks. Lets give the Wallin experiment a break, shall we?

With 3 total wins there is a time to admit defeat. How about now? Our goaltending saviour is human, our $4 million backup has the worst numbers in the league and our expensive back end can’t keep a puck out of the net. Let’s get the kids up to the big team. I shelled out for Center Ice this year to watch my favourite team play. I have only seen it happen half of the time. Last year’s team that never gave up is gone. We’re looking at winning over 70% of the rest of the season to get into the playoffs. ENTERTAIN ME ALREADY.

Happy?

I read today that Toskala is "happy" with his performance and said it was his best start of the year. That is saying a lot about how far Vesa has come since platooning with Raycroft two seasons ago. Raycroft and Toskala were easily the two most deluded goaltenders in the league when they played together. It was never a reflection on them when they lost and they always felt "great" about their performance. If I had that first goal scored against me in NHL 10, I would be emailing EA and saying there was a glitch in the game and could they please fix it. No NHL caliber goalie should let that in. Ever. Seriously, Vesa, they showed us footage of you practicing fundamentals with Allaire in a montage(MONTAGE!) on HNIC. I'm not going on too much about this other than, I hope Jonas Gustafsson learns to love it in Toronto despite losing. He is only under a one year contract and the Leafs are moking it very hard to put him in a situation where the better bid would be coming from the TML office in

How Quickly They Forget

Just one short week ago the Maple Leafs were winless and at the bottom of the league. Well, they are still at the bottom of the league, but have put together three solid games, one win and two OT losses. I'm not sure what part of that modest success would make Niklas Hagman think that he needs to do a pass across the middle of the ice from a prime shooting position with bodies going to the net. There are WAY too many drop passes for a team with maybe 3 players that could be classified as "skill players". Seriously, let's keep it simple stupids. Hit the net when you shoot from a decent angle that doesn't make the puck leave the zone if you do miss. Get somebody over 5'10" in front of the net to pound home some rebounds. I'm not dissing their overall play, but remember what brought the slight return from the basement; hard work and a solid forecheck. That goal with 37 seconds left, short handed, is not going to happen very often this year. As a final note; can the Leafs go ONE game without a power play goal against?(Yes, I know they have had one game without a goal against on the PP, but come on). My last, LAST P.S., does Toronto really have the number 3 powerplay right now? A lot of things change when you play the Anaheim Ducks!

From Out Of Nowhere

One of the reasons it's sometimes hard to be a Leafs fans is the level of expectation that comes with an over-saturation of information. Being a sports fan in general is all about the unexpected things that can happen within an environment bound by strict rules. One thing Leafs fans don't really get to see is something happen that wasn't already thought about, predicted, reviewed, panned or just plain-old bitched about. Other NHL teams have had small surprises, like the Oilers' Sam Gagner on 2007/08. Or huge surprises, like Steve Mason winning the Calder trophy with veteran-like numbers last season. I tried being scientific about finding who the last great surprise in Toronto was, but our spotlight on prospects is a little too bright too. How many teams, in any sport, has a prospect system under as much pressure. Jiri Tlusty can attest to the pressure and the down side of being under a microscope. Back to that last surprise sensation; I would have to say the last stand out that made the camp with little fanfare would be Tomas Kaberle. Some of you may say, "What about Luke Schenn?". I would say that so far he hasn't been an impact player and really won't ever be a gamebreaker in the league. I see Schenn as more of a Adam Foote-type or Robyn Regher-like player that can give some guys some stitches in the crease. But that time hasn't come yet. What's the Leafs next big surprise? I'm, not sure, people like us little bloggers almost make that impossible now-a-days.

Who's The Better Burke Team?

Going into Anaheim, one has to ask which is the better Burke team. Obviously, since Anaheim has a win, they are the better team. I'm not facetious there, either. Coming in at 3-5-1, they still have a better record than the Leafs. Their Achilles heal has also been goaltending, with Giguere not living up to his contract for quite some time. Hiller has matured into a starter, sporting a .921 S% and a 2.72 GA average. This doesn't stop Anaheim from having only 3 plus players on their current roster. Anaheim has 2 bonafide power forwards with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf is under-performing and being outscored by Teemu Selanne. Corey Perry is a point-per-game in 9 games but is a -2. Anaheim is currently 24th in the league at 2.33 goals per game, well about Toronto's 1.88. the only team scoring less goals per game than the Leafs is Nashville at 1.70, but they have 3 wins this season. All these stats aside, who has the better chance of winning tonight? Toronto, hands down. Seriously, how can they not win at this point. They made their point that they were the worst Leafs team ever Saturday with the longest opening to a season without a win or a tie. Get ready for a win, Leafs fans!

Take That Vancouver!

The Maple Leafs took their 6 days off and banded together in order to bring their west coast fans something to cheer about; 25 minutes of good hockey. Unfortunately they also brought their atrocious penalty killing and undisciplined play. Almost full ten minutes of the first period was spent on the penalty kill. Not quite full because Vancouver scored twice on the power play. While McDonald was steady, he wasn't brilliant. It did prove that goaltending isn't the Achilles heal that the media and fans have been grousing about. Putting all your eggs in a basket that has 17 NHL wins is sad day for this franchise. So is wringing your hands waiting for a goalie with no wins to come back and play backup. This team has been losing games. Hopefully the 3rd period is something to build on. While Wilson makes his willie-nillie benchings and scratches, this team is feeling lower and lower. Sooner than later Burke has to make up his mind if he has the team he told us he made and if he has the right motivator running the show on the bench.