Time to pick their pony
Toronto is the NHL’s only top-10 team still debating its playoff starter
It was obvious to me as early as minor hockey that goalies were different. You have to be a little extraordinary to willingly stand in the path of fast-moving rubber pucks for the sake of the team.
As skaters, we were hyperaware of the superstitions and rituals that conceivably helped netminders prepare mentally for a game.
My old teammate Glenn Healy would warm up on an obnoxiously loud, seldom-maintained StairMaster before each game. At away games, he asked the opponent’s maintenance team to hunt one down to be placed in our dressing room. He was obsessed with warming up on this thing.
In my under-18 days, our goalie laid his equipment across the floor of the room and we weren’t allowed to step over it. We were forced to work around what looked like a crime scene.
When I first broke into the NHL with the Capitals, you could hardly tell Don Beaupré was breathing before a game. He wouldn’t move, as if he were in a trance. Do you say hi? Or dare to wave your hand in front of his face to see if he blinks?
There has always been something more intense about a goalie’s mental approach compared to the rest of the team, but more recently that perception has started to wane. The approachability of goalies has endeared them to fans and teammates. At the beginning of the 2022-23 season, his first with the Maple Leafs, Ilya Samsonov’s colourful post-game quotes were the toast of the town after wins.
“I live day by day. Tomorrow I go to practice, have some smile and go on road trip,” he said playfully.
Perhaps it’s the rise of social and mainstream media where players in general have been humanized. lt has allowed us to see goalies such as Samsonov in a different light. His candour in sharing his mental struggles earlier this season has undoubtedly led that charge.
His goalie partner, Joseph Woll, is of a similar ilk: talkative, honest and approachable.
Those personalities may have bought the Leafs’ one-two goalie punch some patience from the fan base as they weave in and out of the crease on a nightly basis. But inside the organization, patience might be running a tad thin.
With 10 games left in the regular season, the question of who starts in net for Game 1 of the playoffs remains open-ended. And that’s a problem.
Look around the league and it would be hard to find another team with Stanley Cup aspirations in a similar predicament. The Bruins will ride with Jeremy Swayman, even though Linus Ullmark is more than capable of stealing a series. Florida has an undisputed No. 1 in Sergei Bobrovsky, who stymied the Leafs in the second round last year. The same can be said for the Canucks, Stars, Jets, Avalanche, Rangers, Hurricanes and Oilers.
That leaves Toronto as the only team within the top 10 of the NHL standings debating who might be the most trustworthy netminder to open the post-season.
Part of that comes down to health and reliability. While Woll missed 85 days with a high ankle sprain this season, Samsonov has shown signs of wear and tear of late.
He appeared to injure himself during a morning skate last week but went on to make his scheduled start against the Hurricanes. On Saturday, after he was forced to leave a game against the Oilers, the seriousness of the moment didn’t seem to match Sheldon Keefe’s post-game comments. Eyebrows were raised when the Leafs coach abruptly answered that Samsonov appeared to be “fine.”
It leads me to believe that the hard work Samsonov put in to gain the organization’s trust since he was demoted to the minors earlier this season may have suffered another setback.
It’s one thing to play well. It’s another to believe in a goaltender’s durability and reliability when the games really count. A big part of becoming a playoff hero is not disappearing when the team needs you most. That may be harsh when a player can’t control injuries, but a team doesn’t care if you can’t be counted on — they will simply move on to the next in line.
A similar situation ensued last playoffs when Samsonov left the ice in Game 3 against the Panthers after Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn slid into him. He never returned to the series as the net was handed to Woll.
We’re seeing a similar theme this week as Keefe turned to Woll for a third straight start on Thursday night against Washington, despite Samsonov telling reporters he’s available to play after Saturday’s scare.
The Leafs are back to square one with goaltender questions, ones that could conceivably be asked after every game over the final few weeks of the season.
The sooner the Leafs get a final answer the better.