Rebuild likely means another tough year
Playing for a losing team can take toll on players
By the end of last season, the air around the Maple Leafs had grown heavy and toxic, where angry fans threw jerseys on the ice, frustrated players protested and, ultimately, where Joffrey Lupul abandoned Twitter with a brief message: “Goodbye. Thank you for your support. I love you.”
This season, the veteran winger said, will not be like last season.
“It wasn’t a good environment to be around,” Lupul said. “It wasn’t fun to be around the guys, it wasn’t fun to go on the road. For the first time in my career, I wanted the season to be over — I was looking forward to the next season, already.”
As he spoke, Lupul was the only player left in a dressing room that has welcomed scores of new players, in a franchise that has turned over its management team and undertaken an ambitious rebuilding program. As part of that program, the Leafs are not expected to be very good this year, meaning that while this season will undoubtedly be different than last season, it will not be without its challenges, especially for veterans.
Nobody is expecting the team to chase the Stanley Cup, or even a playoff berth. The only real expectation is for the team to lose, and to lose more often than not. And that can be a challenge for the players who are expected to compete at high levels through even the darkest days.
“You get fatigued,” said TSN analyst Ray Ferraro. “You feel heavy.”
In August 1999, Ferraro signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers, an expansion team preparing for its debut season. He was a forward and, at 35, he was one of the oldest players on a team that went on to win only 14 of its first 82 games.
“I can’t even tell you how empty you feel going to the rink,” he said. “You play a really good game, you lose 4-2 with an empty-netter, and when you’re sitting there after the game getting out of your gear, the thought that goes through your head is, ‘we couldn’t have played much better than that.’ ”
Mike Johnson, an analyst with Rogers Sportsnet, was once a forward with a team that was expected to struggle in Tampa Bay. The Lightning met those expectations, and Johnson found that one of the ways to survive was to be “selfish within the team concept” — aiming to become a 20-goal scorer, or to get more time on the power-play, or to play well enough to prompt a trade, or land a new contract.
“We’re going nowhere, I hate going to the rink every day,” he said, “so how am I going to go and get up and play hard?”
In Toronto, there is the added complication that, from September to April, whatever happens on the ice will echo around the city. Even in a season without expectation, there will still be scrutiny.
“There’s no question very few athletes can turn a deaf ear to negative comments,” Johnson said. “Even if it’s Joe from Scarborough on the Fan after a game, you don’t want your parents to hear someone say ‘Mike Johnson is awful.’ ”
That criticism would be mild compared to what happened last season. In January, in the middle of a month in which the Leafs won only one game, Toronto Police issued tickets to three fans who were caught throwing their jerseys to the Air Canada Centre ice in protest.
“The one thing I think the Leafs management has done a pretty incredible job with is, they’ve worked really hard at lowering expectations,” Ferraro said. “They’re not trying to jump a six-foot bar this year, they’re trying to step over a little 18-inch hurdle.”
Stephane Robidas, the veteran defenceman, said motivation would not be hard to find.
“I think it’s pretty simple: You’re always fighting for your job,” he said. “Everybody wants to play in the NHL. How many guys are playing in Europe who want to play in the NHL? How many young guys playing in the CHL, who are going to get drafted this year, want to play in the NHL?”
“For us, I mean, last season was a nightmare,” Lupul said. “The second half of last year was a nightmare, and I know no one wants to go through that again.”