Is the “progress” of the Maple Leafs real—or imagined? Here’s how I see it…

One of the things about being a Leaf fan:  there is an endless opportunity to debate any and all issues.  Of late, the social media debate has been centered on whether this team has “really” improved from last season.

Some feel the progress is obvious.  After their shootout loss at home against the Penguins Saturday night, the Leafs are solidly in a “playoff berth” in the Eastern Conference, based on the current standings (though we know they were last season as well, until they hit a wall from February on.  I believe they have about the same number of points as they did after 26 games a season ago).  A new coach has demanded a smarter, simpler break-out game, with more defensive structure—at least on paper.  The goaltending has been better, as has the penalty killing (yes the two are inter-connected).

Now those who take an opposing view suggest Carlyle is being credited with far too much; that the Leafs remain a sloppy squad, prone to mistakes.  And the claim seems to be based on some statistical evidence (chances given up, scoring chances, etc.) and the conclusion appears to be that the difference between last season and this is simple:  the goaltending is better, therefore the team has had good results. (There is also the criticism of Carlyle's roster deployment.  But I'll leave that discussion for another day.)

For me, this is a very different Leaf squad.  Oh, I’m well aware the faces in some cases are obviously the same.  And I can’t miss the give-aways and fretful moments in our own zone.  Heck, if we’re honest, even the goaltending, while much improved, has been uneven at times.  (It certainly was in the early going against the Penguins on Saturday night).  We're not all sitting back in our rocking chairs relaxed and feeling like "it's all good" every game, that the goaltending will be flawless and the team will play mistake-free.

But how can we say this is the “same old Leafs” when, for example,  Kadri has emerged as a legitimate "secondary" impact player in his first  full season with the team?  (On that note, how many times, whether he gets an assist or not, does Kadri make a pass in the offensive zone and it leads to a goal on that shift?  He has a knack for finding the dead spots in the defense and getting there at the right moment, and also finding open teammates in the same fashion.  The young man anticipates awfully well.  He's had a stellar start to this season and plays with an edge, too.)

Can we say it’s the same old Leafs when journeyman Mark Fraser has suddenly become a steadying influence on the backline?  And he is exactly that—a calm, sure presence on the back end.  Is this the same bunch when we see how Jay McClement and Leo Komarov have provided more grit, more of an  edge and have finished more checks than we have witnessed in these parts in almost a decade? 

Throw in that as much as people want to slam Mike Kostka, the guy continues to play significant minutes and acquit himself well. If he’s only “an AHL player”, then let’s admit that there are a ton of serviceable but yes, replaceable players now in the NHL, among defenseman and the forward ranks, right across the league.  Check any 5/6 defensemen on virtually any NHL team, and you have players who most NHL coaches would rather never see on the ice, but someone has to play those minutes.

In Toronto, I like what Kostka has done.  He’s really 3/4 defender now and I think he’s been fine all season, not just lately.  Bumps along the road, of course, but c’mon, the guy had never played in the NHL before.  Who cares how old he is?  It’s an adjustment for anyone.  That he’s still here and playing as much as he is tells us Carlyle sees something.  And I’ll say it again:  I’m not afraid to criticize coaches, but I’ll admit the obvious:  I’m no coach.  And in this case, I’ll respect the notion that Carlyle may know a bit more about what he needs on his blueline than folks who study zone charts and graphs in their spare time to determine if someone is “NHL worthy” or not.  I say Kostka is—right now.  He doesn’t panic, is pretty darn good with the puck.  He’s not showing the “flair” he did earlier in the season, but that’s OK.  Will he slide back?  Who knows.  Let’s talk in a year.

Against the Penguins in the first period, McClement helped killed off a potentially dangerous five-on-three.  Would we have felt that was even possible a year ago against the skilled Penguins, led by a determined Sidney Crosby- much less have it happen?  But we killed it off.

Yes, Reimer struggled at times, but name a goalie this season that hasn’t some nights.  Heck, Luongo looked great over many games, but blew up a few days back.  It’s been the same with just about every other netminder in the league.  Not many guys pitching shutouts every night. 

Rebound control?  Glove issues?  Sure, Reimer fights the puck sometimes, but he also fights.  So does Scrivens.  No one figured we had Jacques Plante and Bernie Parent in goal this season.  But for now, we should be pleased with what our goaltenders have done.  I am, anyway.  And I’ll say it again:  when the game is close, Reimer has a knack for not giving up the “next one”.  That was a trait of his rookie season, and he has shown that crucial capability again this season. With less than five minutes to go, Neal (I think it was Neal) was at the crease all alone and Reimer made a huge save.  The Leafs went down the ice and scored the equalizer.  That’s big time goaltending at key moments and it gave us a point we needed badly in the playoff chase.

This organizaiton has been pretty lucky the past few seasons when it comes to injuries.  A lot of other teams in the East had to fight through major injuries and Toronto didn’t have to work through as much as many of their opponents did (yes, losing Reimer clearly was devastating a year ago).  But this year, we lost Gardiner, Lupul and Frattin, and have continued to win games and put up points.  Could we have done that in previous seasons?

I’m hardly ready to pronounce this squad an elite team.  But I keep wondering:  who can’t we beat?  The Penguins have given up an absurd numbers of goals.  So have the Flyers.  And going into the season, they were considered two of the top teams in the East.  Sure, the Rangers will likely be tough down the stretch and into the playoffs, and the Bruins have been our nemesis.  But that’s only two teams.  Who else aren't we incapable of beating, even in a playoff series, if we get decent goaltending—and if, in turn, we help our goalie out?

We have three lines that can score goals; we kill penalties better.  We hit more.  The power play looked pretty darn good against Pittsburgh. 

Sure the team makes mistakes.  But nowadays, as much as coaches talk about minimizing mistakes, the truth is that it is a game of mistakes.  That’s why goals are scored.  Every team in the East has major roster flaws and are eminently imperfect.  They all give up plenty of goals, including the usually defensively sound Devils.

The Leafs make their share of mistakes, of course.  We can all see that.  No system prevents all human error.  I could write a long story about the things I think they need to do better, and I’ll likely do that before the playoffs get underway.  But right now, we’re talking about regular-season hockey, and the Leafs are getting results despite not playing a complete 60-minute game very often.  Whether that means they are a “good” team or, as I’ve said all year, that the East is pretty mediocre, you tell me.

But for me, the Leafs are better than they were two years ago, and better than they were last season.  I see a different team.  I see that we have several players who can score, can make plays (Frattin, Kessel, Kadri, van Riemsdyk, etc.) and those who have that nasty element to their game as well, including the aforementioned Komarov who hits anything that moves.  And players like Kulemin and Grabovski and Bozak are being asked to do a tough job—and most of the time, they’re doing it.

Our best players are playing pretty hard (yes, Kessel sometimes is not as intense as we might like, but he is what he is—if our stars were as disinterested as Malkin has been most of the time in the games against the Leafs this season, we wouldn’t be very happy…).  The worker bees are working. (For the record, I thought Gunnarsson played his heart out Saturday night…)

A great team?  No.  But better than they have been in recent years?  Yes.