nivek_wahs
03-28-2006, 12:20 AM
from sportsnet.ca
Top down trouble
With their season mercifully coming to an end, the Leafs face many problems both on and off the ice, and several options to correct them.
(CP) -- No one expected much of the Maple Leafs this season, despite their fans' hopes.
Most pegged the team to finish in or around the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with many picking Toronto to be on the outside looking in.
That seems to be holding true.
A look at what went wrong for the Leafs this season and what they must do moving forward:
OFF THE ICE
It became clear that the relationship between rookie GM John Ferguson and veteran head coach Pat Quinn is fractured beyond repair.
There were hints of this throughout the season but it was there for all to see this weekend in Montreal. It started Thursday morning when reporters asked Quinn about losing goalie Ed Belfour for the year to a back injury, news that had leaked out first when Ferguson, on a Toronto radio station Wednesday night, said the Leafs were operating under the assumption Belfour was gone, and then a ticker note said as much on the Leafs' official website Thursday morning before being removed. Quinn had no idea, because his GM hadn't told him yet, and it's believed he was upset about it.
Quinn took the unusual step after Saturday night's loss to the Canadiens to re-enter the dressing room after already having completed his post-game duties with the media, telling reporters that defenceman Alexander Khavanov had suffered a broken leg. We suspect Ferguson did not know this yet, not until he himself came down the visitors' dressing room to check it out. By then, every major media outlet already knew.
But truth be told, neither Ferguson nor Quinn are to blame for overall problems. They never had a chance. A rookie GM inherited a veteran coach who not only had decades of experience on his new boss, but was also the team's former GM. This is where Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, must accept responsibility. Quinn wanted either Vancouver Canucks assistant GM Steve Tambellini or Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson as his new GM, men he knew he could work with, but Peddie instead chose the unknown Ferguson, who had toiled as assistant GM in St. Louis.
Ferguson also deserved a better chance, but he was behind the eight-ball right off the bat in Toronto. Every new GM deserves the chance to hire his own people, especially his own coach.
Quinn is most likely gone and the veteran coach already appears to know it. His demeanour with the media in recent weeks, while relaxed and happy go-lucky, suggests a man who is resigned to his fate. He'll take the money left on the final year of his contract and return to his Vancouver home while awaiting his next coaching opportunity.
As for Ferguson, he'll probably get at least one more year, especially since Peddie hired him. He's created plenty of salary cap space for this summer and probably deserves a chance to spend some of that money and mould the team he wants.
ON THE ICE
Every team's success in the NHL starts from the net out and that's where the problems started for the Leafs this year. Belfour, who was tremendous in his first two years in Toronto, was average at best this season as his age (40) and back problems finally caught up with him. His 3.29 goals-against average ranks 39th in the NHL, his .892 save percentage 37th. There are other problems on this team, but no club makes the playoffs with that kind of goaltending. Belfour's bad back has opened the door for Mikael Tellqvist, who had better numbers (3.00 GAA, .898 SP) but has failed since officially being given the No. 1 job, giving up 11 goals in two losses to Montreal. He now has 11 games to showcase his skills for next season.
The blue-line has been brutal for the most part all season long, another reason why the Leafs won't make the playoffs. After the all-star pair of Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, who were excellent this year, it gets thin in a hurry. Khavanov, Aki Berg and Ken Klee (before he was traded) struggled most the year, opposing forwards preying on their giveaways.
On the bright side, Staffan Kronwall showed promise in the 34 games he played.
Up front, it's been a mixed bag. Captain Mats Sundin had a poor first half, set back by a scary eye injury in the first game of the season, but he's come on strong in the second half and quietly is close to the point-per-game pace he's always delivered (56 points in 59 games). Darcy Tucker has been Toronto's most consistent forward, tying a career-high with 24 goals, but also displaying the kind of hustle and desire few of his teammates have matched on a nightly basis. He's also matured and become an important leader.
Rookie Alexander Steen started off strong but the demands of an 82-game season (twice what he was used to in Sweden) has seen him fade a bit in the second half. But he's a keeper. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Chad Kilger are the other bright lights in a season gone wrong.
On the down side, winger Jeff O'Neill has been the biggest disappointment, his 16 goals and team-worst minus-20 rating not what was expected from the former 41-goal scorer. He's got another year at $1.5 million so the Leafs are likely stuck with him.
Jason Allison is technically the top-scoring Leafs forward with 60 points (17-43) in 62 games but his minus-18 rating tells the tale of a player that also disappointed. He wasn't the dominant No. 2 centre Ferguson had hoped he had signed, scoring on the power play but not doing much else, especially in the clutch. His contract is expiring and he likely won't be back.
Overall, not enough offence except for its power play. The Leafs rank 28th in the NHL in five-on-five scoring, squeezed between Columbus and St. Louis. That's unacceptable.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Leafs, not counting any of their AHL prospects, only have 10 players under contract for next season, which gives Ferguson some flexibility in rebuilding his club.
First he must say goodbye to Belfour, which means declining a $4.48-million option and paying him the $1.5-million buyout. Ferguson should give serious thought at approaching veteran goalie Curtis Joseph about returning home to end his career. He'll be an unrestricted free agent July 1 and would not mind playing mentor or even backup to Tellqvist next season. And he'd probably do it for $1 million.
The blue-line needs serious help. First Ferguson must try to re-sign McCabe, who is slated for unrestricted free agent status July 1. He's not worth $5 million a season and unless his asking price comes down, he's a goner. That's OK, there's plenty of big-name defencemen on the free-agent market this summer, led by Zdeno Chara, Ed Jovanovski, and even the likes of Pavel Kubina, Willie Mitchell and Jay McKee. (Forget Nick Lidstrom or Wade Redden, they'll re-sign with their clubs before the season is out). Ferguson needs one of those big names, and then bring up some of his promising prospects such as Kronwall, Brendan Bell, Ian White or Jay Harrison. Give them a chance.
Up front, Kilger will be an unrestricted free agent and needs to be re-signed, he's proven to be a quality third-liner. Nik Antropov will be a restricted free agent, Ferguson should opt not to qualify him and let him go free. He's never lived up to his first-round hype.
Eric Lindros is a free agent, and we suggest bringing him back. Yes, he only played 32 games, but put up 22 points and was a pretty good player, especially at $1.55 million. He'll come back cheap.
Ferguson also has to look at what's available elsewhere. Star winger Patrik Elias will be unrestricted. Todd Bertuzzi may be available via a trade. Brad Richards will be a restricted free agent but the Lightning may find it difficult to re-sign him. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The bottom line? Ferguson won't appease Toronto's faithful fan base unless he returns in September with a drastically different-looking lineup.
The clock is ticking.
Top down trouble
With their season mercifully coming to an end, the Leafs face many problems both on and off the ice, and several options to correct them.
(CP) -- No one expected much of the Maple Leafs this season, despite their fans' hopes.
Most pegged the team to finish in or around the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with many picking Toronto to be on the outside looking in.
That seems to be holding true.
A look at what went wrong for the Leafs this season and what they must do moving forward:
OFF THE ICE
It became clear that the relationship between rookie GM John Ferguson and veteran head coach Pat Quinn is fractured beyond repair.
There were hints of this throughout the season but it was there for all to see this weekend in Montreal. It started Thursday morning when reporters asked Quinn about losing goalie Ed Belfour for the year to a back injury, news that had leaked out first when Ferguson, on a Toronto radio station Wednesday night, said the Leafs were operating under the assumption Belfour was gone, and then a ticker note said as much on the Leafs' official website Thursday morning before being removed. Quinn had no idea, because his GM hadn't told him yet, and it's believed he was upset about it.
Quinn took the unusual step after Saturday night's loss to the Canadiens to re-enter the dressing room after already having completed his post-game duties with the media, telling reporters that defenceman Alexander Khavanov had suffered a broken leg. We suspect Ferguson did not know this yet, not until he himself came down the visitors' dressing room to check it out. By then, every major media outlet already knew.
But truth be told, neither Ferguson nor Quinn are to blame for overall problems. They never had a chance. A rookie GM inherited a veteran coach who not only had decades of experience on his new boss, but was also the team's former GM. This is where Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, must accept responsibility. Quinn wanted either Vancouver Canucks assistant GM Steve Tambellini or Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson as his new GM, men he knew he could work with, but Peddie instead chose the unknown Ferguson, who had toiled as assistant GM in St. Louis.
Ferguson also deserved a better chance, but he was behind the eight-ball right off the bat in Toronto. Every new GM deserves the chance to hire his own people, especially his own coach.
Quinn is most likely gone and the veteran coach already appears to know it. His demeanour with the media in recent weeks, while relaxed and happy go-lucky, suggests a man who is resigned to his fate. He'll take the money left on the final year of his contract and return to his Vancouver home while awaiting his next coaching opportunity.
As for Ferguson, he'll probably get at least one more year, especially since Peddie hired him. He's created plenty of salary cap space for this summer and probably deserves a chance to spend some of that money and mould the team he wants.
ON THE ICE
Every team's success in the NHL starts from the net out and that's where the problems started for the Leafs this year. Belfour, who was tremendous in his first two years in Toronto, was average at best this season as his age (40) and back problems finally caught up with him. His 3.29 goals-against average ranks 39th in the NHL, his .892 save percentage 37th. There are other problems on this team, but no club makes the playoffs with that kind of goaltending. Belfour's bad back has opened the door for Mikael Tellqvist, who had better numbers (3.00 GAA, .898 SP) but has failed since officially being given the No. 1 job, giving up 11 goals in two losses to Montreal. He now has 11 games to showcase his skills for next season.
The blue-line has been brutal for the most part all season long, another reason why the Leafs won't make the playoffs. After the all-star pair of Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, who were excellent this year, it gets thin in a hurry. Khavanov, Aki Berg and Ken Klee (before he was traded) struggled most the year, opposing forwards preying on their giveaways.
On the bright side, Staffan Kronwall showed promise in the 34 games he played.
Up front, it's been a mixed bag. Captain Mats Sundin had a poor first half, set back by a scary eye injury in the first game of the season, but he's come on strong in the second half and quietly is close to the point-per-game pace he's always delivered (56 points in 59 games). Darcy Tucker has been Toronto's most consistent forward, tying a career-high with 24 goals, but also displaying the kind of hustle and desire few of his teammates have matched on a nightly basis. He's also matured and become an important leader.
Rookie Alexander Steen started off strong but the demands of an 82-game season (twice what he was used to in Sweden) has seen him fade a bit in the second half. But he's a keeper. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Chad Kilger are the other bright lights in a season gone wrong.
On the down side, winger Jeff O'Neill has been the biggest disappointment, his 16 goals and team-worst minus-20 rating not what was expected from the former 41-goal scorer. He's got another year at $1.5 million so the Leafs are likely stuck with him.
Jason Allison is technically the top-scoring Leafs forward with 60 points (17-43) in 62 games but his minus-18 rating tells the tale of a player that also disappointed. He wasn't the dominant No. 2 centre Ferguson had hoped he had signed, scoring on the power play but not doing much else, especially in the clutch. His contract is expiring and he likely won't be back.
Overall, not enough offence except for its power play. The Leafs rank 28th in the NHL in five-on-five scoring, squeezed between Columbus and St. Louis. That's unacceptable.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Leafs, not counting any of their AHL prospects, only have 10 players under contract for next season, which gives Ferguson some flexibility in rebuilding his club.
First he must say goodbye to Belfour, which means declining a $4.48-million option and paying him the $1.5-million buyout. Ferguson should give serious thought at approaching veteran goalie Curtis Joseph about returning home to end his career. He'll be an unrestricted free agent July 1 and would not mind playing mentor or even backup to Tellqvist next season. And he'd probably do it for $1 million.
The blue-line needs serious help. First Ferguson must try to re-sign McCabe, who is slated for unrestricted free agent status July 1. He's not worth $5 million a season and unless his asking price comes down, he's a goner. That's OK, there's plenty of big-name defencemen on the free-agent market this summer, led by Zdeno Chara, Ed Jovanovski, and even the likes of Pavel Kubina, Willie Mitchell and Jay McKee. (Forget Nick Lidstrom or Wade Redden, they'll re-sign with their clubs before the season is out). Ferguson needs one of those big names, and then bring up some of his promising prospects such as Kronwall, Brendan Bell, Ian White or Jay Harrison. Give them a chance.
Up front, Kilger will be an unrestricted free agent and needs to be re-signed, he's proven to be a quality third-liner. Nik Antropov will be a restricted free agent, Ferguson should opt not to qualify him and let him go free. He's never lived up to his first-round hype.
Eric Lindros is a free agent, and we suggest bringing him back. Yes, he only played 32 games, but put up 22 points and was a pretty good player, especially at $1.55 million. He'll come back cheap.
Ferguson also has to look at what's available elsewhere. Star winger Patrik Elias will be unrestricted. Todd Bertuzzi may be available via a trade. Brad Richards will be a restricted free agent but the Lightning may find it difficult to re-sign him. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The bottom line? Ferguson won't appease Toronto's faithful fan base unless he returns in September with a drastically different-looking lineup.
The clock is ticking.