Serious Grief in Hogtown
by BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru, Rink Rat
The City of Toronto takes itself seriously. Fans of the NHL's Maple Leafs take themselves seriously. And that city's sports media take themselves super- seriously.
It can be easily guessed then that with the home-town yoiks creeping out of the gate there is a surplus of serious grief and hand wringing these days in Toronto. Perhaps a person can understand the mindset of Leaf fans when one realizes that every summer, usually late in July, fans begin the arduous job of planning their Stanley Cup parade float. They are encouraged by the booming tub- thumping from the area's eternally optimistic media.
Optimistic, that is, until the first goal goes in against a Leafs
goalkeeper. Goals have been hammered into the Toronto's net with unsettling regularity this season and Torontonians are now caught in the vice-grip of anxiety. The Leafs knew they would be given a short leash this season because they bid on, and lost out to, every decent free agent this past off-season. They let Curtis Joseph flit off to Detroit and then made matters worse by signing Dallas' Eddie Belfour. The Eagle spent all the previous year giving us his impression of a
washed up goaltender.
After a thrilling 6-0 opening night win over Pittsburgh, the Leafs have showed no signs of being a contending team. They were 4-9-2 for 10 points after the weekend's play. That is good enough for 13th in the Eastern Conference. The great 'what's wrong' debate has begun. Coach and G.M. Pat Quinn says he doesn't know what's wrong. The Rat believes that statement.
The easy answer is Belfour. Leaf goaltending, that would be Belfour and Trevor Kidd, have a combined save percentage of .882 - 13th in the Eastern Conference. However, Belfour isn't bad - his .905 effort is middle of the pack. Kidd has been awful, but not the problem. He's played only five games.
Toronto's defense has been generous, giving up an average of 29 shots/game. That is 8th. Jersey has allowed 22 shots/game while the terrible Montreal Canadiens permit 33.6/game. Combine an average to poor defense with average goaltending and it can be seen that the Leafs are in the position of having to outscore their opponents and their own defensive frailties. Not easy to do.
Pittsburgh Penguins are setting the pace for all-attack/no-defense hockey at the moment and their defensive figures are better than the Leafs. Penguins have a goals against average of 3.14, Toronto's is 3.33, and the Leafs don't score like the Penguins do. Toronto scores an average of 3.00 goals/game. Pittsburgh is 2/3 of a goal/game better.
The only two players who are worth their salt offensively are Mats Sundin and Alex Mogilny. No-one else is threatening to tally a point per game. Alyn McCauley was a sensation last season in the play-offs, scoring timely, important goals. He has one goal in 15 games. Now that one may have been timely, perhaps even important, but there have been plenty of other times Toronto desperately needed a goal and there was none to be had.
Darcy Tucker began the year on Sundin's line and was scoring. Then he was unceremoniously dumped from that line and he's stopped scoring and pretty much stopped defending too, as his plus/minus number is -9, worst on the team. Shayne Corson hasn't been a factor either.
Can it be this team is missing Gary Roberts this much?
There is no point blaming one person or one specific area of the game. Toronto is poor in spots, adequate in others. This team is caught in the classic bind of not doing anything exceptionally well and not being spectacularly awful either.
One trade won't fix what is wrong with the Leafs.
If they had stellar goaltending, then the high shots per game against total wouldn't matter. If the defense was better the shots would be lower and average goaltending would be masked. If they had more than two players scoring then weaknesses in their own end would be less of a problem.
The Rat thinks that not having signed any free agents, not having made any worthwhile trades, is now becoming apparent. The Leafs are a declining asset. The price Leafs management is about to pay for doing diddly-squat in July and August is about to fall due.
Fans should forget about that float - the Leafs are toast.
Rink Rat can be reached via email at rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com
by BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru, Rink Rat
The City of Toronto takes itself seriously. Fans of the NHL's Maple Leafs take themselves seriously. And that city's sports media take themselves super- seriously.
It can be easily guessed then that with the home-town yoiks creeping out of the gate there is a surplus of serious grief and hand wringing these days in Toronto. Perhaps a person can understand the mindset of Leaf fans when one realizes that every summer, usually late in July, fans begin the arduous job of planning their Stanley Cup parade float. They are encouraged by the booming tub- thumping from the area's eternally optimistic media.
Optimistic, that is, until the first goal goes in against a Leafs
goalkeeper. Goals have been hammered into the Toronto's net with unsettling regularity this season and Torontonians are now caught in the vice-grip of anxiety. The Leafs knew they would be given a short leash this season because they bid on, and lost out to, every decent free agent this past off-season. They let Curtis Joseph flit off to Detroit and then made matters worse by signing Dallas' Eddie Belfour. The Eagle spent all the previous year giving us his impression of a
washed up goaltender.
After a thrilling 6-0 opening night win over Pittsburgh, the Leafs have showed no signs of being a contending team. They were 4-9-2 for 10 points after the weekend's play. That is good enough for 13th in the Eastern Conference. The great 'what's wrong' debate has begun. Coach and G.M. Pat Quinn says he doesn't know what's wrong. The Rat believes that statement.
The easy answer is Belfour. Leaf goaltending, that would be Belfour and Trevor Kidd, have a combined save percentage of .882 - 13th in the Eastern Conference. However, Belfour isn't bad - his .905 effort is middle of the pack. Kidd has been awful, but not the problem. He's played only five games.
Toronto's defense has been generous, giving up an average of 29 shots/game. That is 8th. Jersey has allowed 22 shots/game while the terrible Montreal Canadiens permit 33.6/game. Combine an average to poor defense with average goaltending and it can be seen that the Leafs are in the position of having to outscore their opponents and their own defensive frailties. Not easy to do.
Pittsburgh Penguins are setting the pace for all-attack/no-defense hockey at the moment and their defensive figures are better than the Leafs. Penguins have a goals against average of 3.14, Toronto's is 3.33, and the Leafs don't score like the Penguins do. Toronto scores an average of 3.00 goals/game. Pittsburgh is 2/3 of a goal/game better.
The only two players who are worth their salt offensively are Mats Sundin and Alex Mogilny. No-one else is threatening to tally a point per game. Alyn McCauley was a sensation last season in the play-offs, scoring timely, important goals. He has one goal in 15 games. Now that one may have been timely, perhaps even important, but there have been plenty of other times Toronto desperately needed a goal and there was none to be had.
Darcy Tucker began the year on Sundin's line and was scoring. Then he was unceremoniously dumped from that line and he's stopped scoring and pretty much stopped defending too, as his plus/minus number is -9, worst on the team. Shayne Corson hasn't been a factor either.
Can it be this team is missing Gary Roberts this much?
There is no point blaming one person or one specific area of the game. Toronto is poor in spots, adequate in others. This team is caught in the classic bind of not doing anything exceptionally well and not being spectacularly awful either.
One trade won't fix what is wrong with the Leafs.
If they had stellar goaltending, then the high shots per game against total wouldn't matter. If the defense was better the shots would be lower and average goaltending would be masked. If they had more than two players scoring then weaknesses in their own end would be less of a problem.
The Rat thinks that not having signed any free agents, not having made any worthwhile trades, is now becoming apparent. The Leafs are a declining asset. The price Leafs management is about to pay for doing diddly-squat in July and August is about to fall due.
Fans should forget about that float - the Leafs are toast.
Rink Rat can be reached via email at rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com
