Being mired in last place nothing new to Leafs
The 1984-85 team finished dead last in NHL but landed Wendel Clark in the draft
Call it the Auston Matthews Bowl — the Maple Leafs against the Oilers on Thursday night in Edmonton.
To the loser goes sole possession of last place in the NHL.
And if that team can hold onto last place, they’ll have the highest odds of winning the lottery for the right to pick first in the summer draft, where franchise-player-in-waiting Matthews awaits.
The last time the Leafs finished last was the 1984-85 season.
There was no question Toronto was going to get the first pick that season. They were 6-29-5 at the halfway point of a season in which they’d set franchise records for most losses (52), fewest points (48) and fewest wins (20) since the league started playing 60 games a year in 1946-47.
Their reward for their futility was Wendel Clark.
Here’s a look at the Leafs then, and now:
GENERAL MANAGERS
Gerry McNamara/Lou Lamoriello McNamara had taken over as GM in 1981, inheriting a team in total disarray following Punch Imlach’s short and disastrous second tenure. A loyal employee who preferred life as a scout, it was left to him to trade Darryl Sittler, the biggest name to move in or out under his watch. His drafting record was among the best — Gary Nylund, Gary Leeman, Peter Ihnacak, Russ Courtnall.
Lamoriello is a pro’s pro, with three Stanley Cup titles to his credit, all with New Jersey. He runs a tight ship with a singular message, and only he and the coach are allowed to talk to the media regularly. Others are by appointment. Lamoriello seems to have bought fully into president Brendan Shanahan’s methodical rebuild, showing no signs of trying to rush progress along, a sin that has befallen just about every Leafs GM the past 50 years.
COACHES
Dan Maloney/Mike Babcock “We’re going to do it all step by step until everything becomes second nature to the players.” That was Maloney, a rookie head coach, on the eve of the 1984-85 season, sounding eerily like Mike Babcock during training camp this past September. Like Babcock, he was taking over a team that finished fourth-last the year before.
Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, world championship, you name it and Babcock has won it. He’s a competitive soul driven by a need to be better every day, and to encourage the people around him to be better. His eight-year, $50 million (U.S.) contract gives him an edge no coach has had before, that players had better listen. He coaches a meritocracy: Play well, and you play more.
CAPTAINS
Rick Vaive/Dion Phaneuf Vaive became captain at age 22 in 1982, taking over from Sittler, who quit the team and was traded in a contract dispute.
The Leafs are captain-less now, with Phaneuf now an Ottawa Senator. Like Vaive, Phaneuf presided over some of the most tumultuous years in Maple Leafs history, certainly the worst of the post-Harold Ballard era. Much was expected when Phaneuf arrived. Little was deliv- ered, the team suffering late-season collapse after late-season collapse that led to questions about Phaneuf’s leadership.
GOALTENDING
Tim Bernhardt/James Reimer Bernhardt came out of nowhere to become the team’s No. 1 goalie that season. The Leafs had intended to go with 20-year-olds Allan Bester and Ken Wregget, but it was Bernhardt who got the lion’s share of games (37). He had been signed as a free agent and had been expected to play for the AHL team in St. Catharines.
A fan favourite, Reimer finally won back the job as the team’s No.1 goalie. Reimer is an unrestricted free agent this summer and is trade fodder as a result. The fact he is among the league leaders in save percentage only makes him more valuable.
TOP PROSPECTS
Todd Gill/Mitch Marner The Leafs were guilty of rushing their prospects to the NHL. In 198182, they played three teenagers on defence. And in 1984-85, they played their top pick — Al Iafrate — right away. Gill, their second-round pick that year, almost made the team out of camp with Iafrate. Thankfully, Gill but was sent back to Windsor of the OHL. He did play 10 games with the Leafs, who ran into injury problems. But of the players the team drafted between 1980 and ’85, Gill played the most —1,007 games. He was on those 1993 and ’94 teams that made it to the Western Conference finals.
The only thing working against Marner is his size. His speed and skill are at the NHL level and he’s a proven goal-scorer and playmaker. There was never a chance Leaf management would rush Marner, the fourth-overall pick, to play this season.
THE FUTURE
Wendel Clark vs. Auston Matthews The choice for No. 1 overall was between Clark and Craig Simpson. The Leafs took Clark, a future captain who became an instant fan favourite as a scorer and a fighter. The Leafs would not get much better for a few years, until after skinflint owner Harold Ballard died. Clark would captain the team that went to the Western Conference finals two years in a row in 1993 and ’94.
Matthews, an 18-year-old centre, has broken the mould in many ways. Not only is he from the hockey outpost of Scottsdale, Ariz., he also eschewed the normal paths to the NHL by a North American player. He said no to junior and college hockey, instead choosing to play professionally for the Zurich Lions of the Swiss league. He’s in the top 10 in scoring playing against men and has an 11game point streak.