After a week of chaos, all quiet in Leafs-land
Team president Shanahan chooses to ignore Chelios TSN Radio barbs
Chris Chelios, the author and restaurateur who also once played in the National Hockey League, rehashed an old grudge on Toronto radio earlier this week. He was asked about former teammate Brendan Shanahan, who this year became president of the Maple Leafs: “He’s more like a politician, and if you like politicians, then he’s your guy.”
Chelios, in case the listener was still unclear, said he does not like politics.
“He took that job with no experience,” Chelios told TSN Radio. “Anybody could (be a general manager). Anybody could be a president. Whether they’re going to be any good or not, who knows?”
As of Thursday morning, Shanahan had not provided any response. The air was still and quiet, which is an unusual state of being for the Leafs. And it is likely not an unwelcome change of pace following one of the more bizarre weeks in recent memory.
Toronto has won two of its last three games, taking five of a possible six points following a hard-fought overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. The noise of the previous week had receded; the Leafs even held a playoff spot as they congregated at their west-end practice facility.
“It’s a lot better coming in here when you’re winning than when you’re losing,” forward Daniel Winnik said.
According to sportsclubstats.com, the Leafs have a better than 50/50 chance of qualifying for post-season play this season. Toronto had a 57 per cent chance of being in the playoffs, the 15th-best probability in the league on Thursday morning.
A week earlier, the team was in a hole, and digging down. The Leafs were blown out in Buffalo that Saturday, and in the hazy aftermath of the post-game dressing room, winger Phil Kessel was said to have growled at a veteran reporter: “Get away from me.”
That was only the beginning. On the Monday, Kessel held court to discuss his actions — or inactions — two nights earlier. The team’s response on Tuesday was a flat, disjointed 9-2 loss at home to the Nashville Predators. Fans were anxious; some players were asked if they were playing to get their coach fired.
Randy Carlyle was not fired, but even when the team rebounded on the scoreboard, it still found its way back into trouble. Toronto beat the Tampa Bay Lightning at home, but then deliberately refused to salute the Air Canada Centre crowd. Players claimed the move had nothing to do with the fans and everything to do with superstition, of changing things up.
That explanation was not widely accepted. Chaos continued its reign.
The Leafs won again at home against Detroit on Saturday. Even in defeat on Wednesday, the team showed positive signs. Added to that was the return of forwards Joffrey Lupul ( broken hand) and David Booth ( broken foot) from injury. There seemed, finally, to be some good news.
Alarm bells are still sounding. Toronto is still among the bottom five teams in the league in some key possession numbers. The team’s Corsi percentage at five-on-five is just 46.8, which suggests opposing teams are still driving play.
The schedule will turn against them, too, when the Leafs surrender the Air Canada Centre to the world junior hockey championships later next month. Toronto will play at home on Dec. 20, not to return until Jan. 7, a run of seven games that will take them to Chicago and Dallas, then to Florida, Tampa Bay, Boston, Minnesota and Winnipeg.
On Thursday, though, the alarm bells were muted. For the first time in days, players were able to skate without fires burning in plain sight. The grousing from Chelios was as close as the Leafs had got to a controversy during the week. And given the month they have endured, that, too, was probably a victory.
Chelios told TSN Radio there would not be a happy ending to the story of his relationship with Shanahan. The two were inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame together last year, but they have not spoken since Chelios released his book: Chris Chelios: Made in America.
“It doesn’t matter what I say, it doesn’t matter what he says. Neither one of us is going to budge,” Chelios told the station.