The Maple Leafs and leadership: who is the real leader of the band here?

I don’t pretend to be an expert on leadership, either in the corporate world or in the sports field.  But generally speaking, organizations that grow and thrive have had strong, smart “leadership” somewhere along the way.  And when it comes to professional sports teams, well, most successful franchises have someone leading their teammates to the promised land.

We all know that in sports, leadership can be defined in different ways.   There are vocal leaders and quiet leaders.  There are guys who lead by example, who demonstrate leadership by how the play.  There are the Mark Messier-types who can seemingly intimidate teammates into a more determined effort. In Leaf lore, there is a Darryl Sittler, who led by his on-ice presence and willingness to fight his own battles.  There was Dave Keon, who said little but led by working harder than just about everyone else and playing hurt- without spending all his time in the therapy room.  George Armstrong was “The Chief”, a practical-joker who kept things light in the iron-fisted Punch Imlach era but was also a constant voice of reason as the go-between when it came to his  frustrated colleagues and the Leaf boss.  (That's Keon and Armstrong on the right, just after the blue and white had captured their second Stanley Cup in a row at Maple Leaf Gardens against Gordie Howe and the Detroit Red Wings in the spring of 1963.)

In more recent times in Toronto, we’ve seen folks like Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and  Mats Sundin hold down the job of not only wearing the “C”, but also inspiring their teammates when something extra was needed.  None of them, by most accounts, were terribly loud or vocal, but led primarily through sheer (and quite obvious) extra effort and their will to win.  None of that latter trio led us to a Cup, but each brought up pretty darn close close. And each was unquestionably a leader in their own way.

Which all leads me to the present and a question I have to ask, which is also kind of an observation, I guess:  I wonder, on the current Leaf roster, exactly who is the team’s inspirational leader?  More to the point perhaps, is there one? Do we have anyone who remotely seems to be on the verge of being an Armstrong, Sittler, Gilmour or Sundin (left)?

Phaneuf is the captain, of course, and with that goes certain public and organizational responsibilities.  But is he the real team leader?  I saw many times last season when he was hammered by the opposition and nary a teammate raised an eyebrow, much less actually came to Dion’s defense.  That doesn’t mean he is not well-liked or isn’t a good leader.  It may simply mean that the Leaf team, as it is currently assembled, doesn’t have all that much in the way of hockey backbone.

We’ve talked here a number of times about the things that the Leafs still lack when and if we ever get back to playing hockey again.  They have questions in goal, up the middle (the much-discussed first-line center issue) and in terms of overall team toughness.  And yes, there is the matter of veteran experience, as in players who have won something somewhere or at least have extensive experience playing when it matters—in the spring at playoff time.

But one of the biggest issues, to me, is leadership.  Our goalies aren’t leaders, nor would these youngsters in goal be expected to be.  (Most goalies aren’t on any NHL team.)  We have so many third and fourth-line guys I’m not sure any of them are real team “leaders” though some, like Mike Brown, certainly play hard.

Kessel is a wonderfully talented offensive winger, but we’d hardly call him a leader by almost any definition.  The Lupul sample-size has been brief.  Before he was injured last season, he looked like he may be bringing some of those important “intangibles” (e.g. hating to lose) to the table that we often associate with leadership, in addition to the more noticeable things he provides, like scoring ability.  But is he a true team leader?

Again Phaneuf is the actual captain and the de facto, presumed “leader” of this troupe.  But is he a guy that others follow?  Does his voice resonate with his teammates?  How much are others inspired by either his talk—or his on-ice efforts?

I don’t know.  I just don’t know.  The brass claims they are happy with his leadership, but what else would they say?   So I’m left wondering:  do we really have a go-to guy, a player that others look up to and who can pull everyone up together when times call for the ability to do just that?

I realize it took Sundin a while to grow into the role, but he had undeniable skill- the best player on the team (often on the ice) most nights, by quite a bit.

Am I missing a current Leaf who provides that sometimes-elusive leadership that I still believe all good teams need?

What do you think?

(And for those VLM readers like myself who live in or have connections to Canada, warm wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving Monday.)