The Leaf that we need to be the silent assassin when it counts...

There is no question that the Maple Leafs have surprised a lot of people with their play so far this season.  That they were able to fend off an obviously wounded Senator team on Saturday night without too much trouble in a rather blah home game is, if nothing else, an encouraging sign.  That the Leafs are now at 9 wins and 6 losses and well entrenched in a playoff spot in the East (for what it’s worth at this point) and deservedly so is positive.  Their “stinkers” have been few and far between this season.

I’m making no assumptions but those who follow VLM know my view:  there is no reason, in a compromised East (parity, injuries, compacted schedule, roster issues across the Conference, etc.) that the blue and white can’t make the playoffs this season.  Would they thrive once they get there?  I haven’t got a clue.  It’s a hard team to read.  We are seemingly tougher to play against (for real this time) but there isn’t a lot of playoff experience on the roster.  Still, you have to get 'experience' at some point, eh?  I’m ready and I think the players are, too.  We know Carlyle will hold their hand to the fire until the bitter end.

So I’m already looking ahead.  I’m raising the mental expectations “bar” in Leafland.  I fully believe we can earn that playoff berth and I’m envisioning what we need to do—and be—once we get there.

One thing I would like us to have is a guy that other teams fear; you know, that player that, every time he is on the ice, the other side is thinking about us, worrying about our players and what they are going to do next.

I think we have candidates, individuals who can step up and be “big time” when the lights shine brightest at playoff time.   Guys who can make those 'big' plays, score goals at the crucial times—the kind of goals that lift our spirits and deflate the other side.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have our own, for example, Mike Bossy—a player who could change a game simply by his uncanny ability to score a thousand different ways, primarily because he could find open space and release the puck so quickly that the goalie often had little chance to make a save.

Jacques Lemaire was that kind of player for the Habs in the late ‘60s and throughout the rest of his fine career in the ‘70s.  Early on in his NHL career, he scored some key playoff goals in overtime for Montreal and that gave him a “reputation” as a clutch performer.  Later he became the defensive conscience of his mid-'70s line with Lafleur and Shutt, but was still a premier offensive talent who could crush the other team with big plays at key times.

Brett Hull of course had the kind of offensive assassin’s touch that I’m referring to.  Like Bossy, he found the ‘seams’, those weak areas in the opposing team’s defensive structure and then laid in wait—until getting a pass and unleashing his shot with quickness and deadly accuracy.

Those are just a few examples of players who brought a lot of things to their table, but also the ability to change games—and outcomes.  (I suppose Glenn Anderson from those remarkable ‘80s Oiler teams would fit the bill, too.)  And they all had the ability to do it when it mattered, at special times in crucial games.

We can’t expect this young, inexperienced Leaf squad to have that kind of “proven” performer just yet, unless we go out and trade for it.   And we all know that would only come at the cost of some of our emerging young talent—an often harrowing long-term trade-off.  There hasn't really been the opportunity here over the past many years for that kind of player to make his bones.  But as this team grows and matures, wins its share of games and becomes competitive, we will—to get to that “next” level—need and want players who provide that extra layer of,  let’s call it…impact.

We have candidates, in my view.  Who are they?

Well, an obvious one is Kessel.  Do you ever have the sense that  (as much as we say “he is what he is”, as though he will never be more than a nice, sometimes exciting player who will score his 35 goals a year in between lengthy goal droughts) he can actually be more?  That he can be a player who makes a difference at crucial times, with key backbreaking goals when it really matters?  We have not seen that in him yet, but might it be there?

Lupul is hurt right now but there have been times in the last two seasons during his limited ‘run’ in Toronto where you got the impression he was one guy who really hated to lose.  Sometimes it’s those players who either go the extra inch to make a play or hate losing so much that they do something special to try and ensure victory.  It can be a smart play, a big hit or a goal that you didn’t expect against the flow of play.  But somehow they make it happen, just when you need it the most.

Grabovski?  I have this feeling that, just under the surface, something is waiting to break out.  He usually works hard, and we all recall his famous moment two years back against the giant Chara and the memorable outcome that night.  A lot of us really like Grabbo but lately I’ve wanted more.  For some time now, actually.  I think it’s there.  Could he be the guy that becomes a chronic pain for the opposition, something they have to game plan for beyond Kessel, a forward that comes up big at big moments?

Can Komarov bang his way to being a payoff difference-maker?  He has slowly emerged as a heavy-hitter.  He is, on our team (maybe along with McClement) the very definition of, as Howie Meeker used to say, “finishing your check”.  For that reason alone no one likes playing against him, because he is always a threat to ply you up against the boards or hammer you after you make a pass in open ice.  Players like that, like old-time Oiler agitator EsaTikkanen, can be game-changers.

Kadri is still a “kid” in hockey terms, but he is also showing an ability to find open space and make nifty plays out of almost nothing.  He can change the flow on the counter-attack.  He still makes high-risk plays, but no risk, no reward sometimes, eh?  Could he be our “key moment” man?

From the back end, I recognize that we are playing a more structured system under Carlyle, but does Jake Gardiner have the skill set (he showed it last season and with the Marlies in the AHL earlier this year) to take over a game at certain moments and change the tide?  He has, in my view, 20-goal potential as a defenseman.  And having a blueliner that can play in his own end, skate away from trouble and also make things happen on offense are gold in today’s game. 

At the end of the day, could it be van Riemsdyk?  We all remember what an impact forward he was for the Flyers two seasons ago in the playoffs, and he is still just blossoming as a kind of hybrid semi power-forward with the blue and white.  He hasn’t even really found his comfort zone here yet.  Could he be the one that, by parking himself in front of the net (a la Holmstrom all those years), and by being around the crease at the right time, cane score those goals that give us momentum at playoff time?

Maybe, just maybe, it's Matt Frattin.  He is a guy that can be quiet all night and then suddenly score out of nowhere. That's one of the traits I'm also talking about.

I’m just using the above guys as examples.  For my money it would be tremendous if Grabovski could be the "man".  If he was able to not only handle the task of checking the other team’s best center many nights, but also rounded things out by being the man to throw that ‘dagger’—contributing some timely goals at the other end at huge moments.  That would make him a noteworthy guy for us come playoff time.

To be the player I’m envisioning, you don't necessarily have to score a lot of goals, but when you do it matters—a lot.

I know many things can change a game—a huge save, a big hit.  A penalty kill.  It all contributes to overall team success.  But sometimes you need that offensive play—and that one player—who has the capacity to deliver just when a team needs it most with a big goal out of nowhere.

Have we got that guy?  You tell me.

**

Let me add a quick thought t my piece yesterday on Dave Keon and the ’63 Leafs.  This is what I posted on twitter—and how I feel.

A nice idea to celebrate the ’63 Leafs.  Just a shame that the vast majority of the folks at the ACC never saw any of those great Leafs play.  If MLSE really wanted to celebrate old-time Leaf greats, don’t do it on game night.  Invite those of us who actually saw those players into the ACC for free.  Then we’d fill the place with fans who really cared about those players.   We’d give them the ovation they deserve.

And that’s how I feel.  It’s a nice thought to celebrate a particular old-time team, but it just annoys the modern-day fans who (for the most part) could not, if they’re being honest, possibly care less.  Did you see the embarrassing empty seats in the ACC during the “celebration”?  Did you hear the deafening silence?

These events don’t  have to be on TV.  That’s all phony, anyway.  Do it for those of us who really care and are fortunate enough to still be round.  The players would feel the genuine affection of fans who want to be there and who actually cared—and still do.