Youthful Leafs still have pot holes on path to a Bay St. parade
LANCE HORNBY
In olden days, Maple Leaf fans — and beat writers — could book June for weddings, vacations and virtually anything on the late spring calendar without fear of conflict with the hockey team in a playoff run.
Now, with all the giddy optimism this season, don’t be surprised if Toronto mayor John Tory cancels any major roadwork on Bay St. in 2018 so it’s clear for a Cup celebration.
After so many post-season misses and going on 51 without making the final, can the Leafs really raise the Titanic in just two or three years? Though Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock have been trying to keep the lid on expectations, they also invested more money in a lineup built to go further than the first round.
There are plenty of cautionary tales in the NHL of ‘can’t miss’ teams who didn’t get to June — or even May. Thus, here are some potential potholes and pitfalls facing that potential Leafs’ parade:
Conference conflagration
Despite a good showing last year, the Leafs only made the playoffs in Game 81, barely ahead of the Islanders and the Stamkosless Lightning. Add Jack Eichel’s Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia to the Bolts and Panthers as nonplayoff teams capable of keeping pace.
Back door ajar
Eric Fehr said it best on the weekend, the sky’s the limit when the Leafs marry offensive creativity to commitment on defence, using their speed and skill to get the puck back and launch an attack. There is a dark side, however.
“You can see when we’re not working and we have breakdowns and things can spiral pretty quickly,” Fehr said. “It’s important to stay focused and make sure we are not getting ahead of ourselves, realizing that it’s the will that’s going to win it, not the skill.”
Babcock, who rarely let up on the champion Red Wings in their time, is bound to put someone’s nose out of joint, getting in their face every day to reinforce that message.
Pain, pain go away
The Leafs must have sore knuckles from knocking on all that wood this summer, every time they spoke of how lucky they were health-wise last season.
The magic number was 88 regular season and playoff games, which a remarkable eight of them reached last year, while William Nylander (87) and Nikita Zaitsev (86) were close. Injuries to Frederik Andersen, the team’s worst nightmare, were limited to an upper body summer mishap.
If they earn a gold star for attendance again, Babcock will have to stop ribbing “the science project”, his term for the Leafs’ army of sports medicine and high performance staffers.
Blueline blues
The Leafs came this far without the “stud” defenceman everyone has been clamouring for, thanks in part to ongoing development of Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly and Zaitsev’s great rookie year. But no team goes far into the spring without one or at least more depth than the Leafs currently show on paper. Connor Carrick, Martin Marincin and the untried Andreas Borgman and Calle Rosen will have to do beyond the top four, unless a trade is made or Travis Dermott excels with the Marlies. The jury is out on whether Roman Polak has a role.
Wanted posters
By the end of last season, there weren’t any foes who hadn’t heard of Auston Matthews and not heard the drum beat that Toronto was a better team. Warnings from the Leafs themselves that they “won’t sneak up on anyone” this season are very true. Patrick Laine has probably had the season opener circled for months and Buffalo and Ottawa can’t wait for their chance.
Net Flicks
No one is suggesting Andersen won 33 games last season through smoke and mirrors. But that no Toronto netminder has reached 30 in consecutive seasons since Ed Belfour speaks to the difficulty of such feats. Hopefully he has a good plane pillow because from Halloween to New Year’s Eve, the Leafs are home just nine times, with 11 games out of their time zone.
Back-up Curtis McElhinney likely faces his most difficult stretch before New Year’s Day when the Leafs have eight backto-backs on the schedule.