VLM post number 1,200: As the playoffs loom for the Leafs, 20 pre-trade deadline blue and white observations

I’ll get to the point today, on the occasion of the 1,200th post here at VLM since the site was launched in September, 2009.  There are plenty of things to like about the current edition of the Maple Leafs—and some things that may still leave folks shaking their heads.  But that said, there is finally hope, rather than despair, in Leafworld.

Now, let's keep our unbridled enthusiasm (to borrow a Seinfeld reference...) somewhat in check.  This is a team that has not won a playoff game in almost ten years.  This is a different Leaf squad, for sure.  But as much as I've been saying for weeks that they can make the playoffs (and now it's clear they will), that is, for me, the low-hanging fruit.  Playoff success is what it's about. That's when real progress is determined- not the make-believe kind against lousy competition.

So as we get down to that nervous time, the hockey “stretch run” and the playoffs, here are some across-the-board thoughts on the blue and white:

1. As I believe I inferred here recently and also mentioned in a “Leaf Matters” podcast, I’m neither worried about nor fully inspired (yet) by this team.  In my mind they are not quite good enough to “worry” about, nor are they bad enough to think there is no future.  What do I mean?  Back in the Quinn years, I knew we had a pretty darn good team every year, and believed—really believed—that with a few breaks, we could advance to the finals and maybe win it all any given year in the playoffs.  We came awfully close in 1999 and 2002.  In those days I fretted over crucial mistakes because the stakes were truly high.  Right now, they feel high—but in truth, they are not, not yet, anyway.  Now, if they make noise in the playoffs...
2. On that note:  are the playoffs important this season?  Yes, they are.  It would not have been a colossal failure if the Leafs didn’t make it—very few of us expected they would, after all—but given where they are now, yes, they "need" to make it. And as I've said here all season,  I’ll take playoff exposure for young players over dreaming of a lottery “win” in the draft.
3. James Reimer has not always been quite as good as I’d hoped this season, but nowhere near as bad as some fans suggested when the Leafs were giving up too many goals a few games back.  No, he hasn’t been stealing us games, exactly, but he has also made some huge saves late in games to save us crucial points. Overall, I like his "compete" and make-up.  Is he in the "top ten" of NHL goalies?  Maybe not, but that list changes year to year in this era, anyway. How many guys are there right now like Brodeur, Roy and Hasek?
4. On the goaltending note, who are all the flat-out brilliant goalies in the Eastern Conference this season?  Lundqvist in New York?  I don’t think so.  Has Rask been amazing or is he playing behind a good team in Boston? Until recently when the Pens got really hot, people were saying Fleury was struggling in Pittsburgh.  Ward is hurt in Carolina but was not a show-stopper until that point.  Anderson is hurt in Ottawa.  The young guys (Lehrner and Bishop) have had some really good games.  But will they be great in two years?  As we well know, many young goalies start off brilliantly and flatten out, like Mason in Columbus (though I said last season I thought he was too young to give up on…).  My point is:  Reimer and Scrivens are good enough to get us to the playffs.  More than that, I don’t know.  I posted a couple of weeks ago that one of them will have to grab the job and, yes, steal some games for us.  And since then, they have both played pretty darn well.
5. Somehow Mark Fraser, a slow-footed defenseman, has become one of my favourite Leafs.  He is hardly the poster boy for flashy, but he does little things well, rarely gives the puck away, seems to have a knack for timing his hits to eliminate the man and he makes them count.  Plus, he can defend himself and his teammates rather well. 
6. Nazem Kadri, right now, is making everyone he plays with better.  Doesn't matter who it is.  (He's done it this season for Frattin, MacArthur, Lupul, and now Kulemin...)  I can’t predict the future, but he is proving his worth right now.  As with Gardiner, the playoffs will be the next big hurdle, to see how he responds to tighter checking and all that.  But he’s been awfully good.
7. I’m not a Grabbo-basher, but I do feel he has more to offer offensively, and he has demonstrated some of that lately.  A second-line checking center is allowed to score, and many do.  He can, as well—and needs to for the Leafs to really advance this season and do something in the playoffs.
8. I realize Bozak does some important things for this hockey club.  That said, if we have to spend five million this summer to sign him before he cbeomes a UFA, then I’m living in a different hockey world than I knew.  Maybe he can change my mind in the next few weeks with his play, and again, I see the good things he does.  I’m no cap expert, but how much do we want to spend on a player who brings what he does?
9. I want to see Kessel put up enough points in the weeks ahead to convince me he is a guy that needs to be here long-term.  (Not at any cost, but at whatever is a reasonable contract…)  I’ve long said I think Kessel plays and exerts much the same effort pretty much every night.  The difference is sometimes the puck goes in, or his linemates score, and therefore fans think he “played” well.  But for me, the only difference is usually outcome, not effort.  It’s more good or bad fortune than indifferent play a lot of the time. So if he can score some big goals in April and into the playoffs (and back check once in a while), that will make me feel better.
10. Phaneuf remains a head-scratcher for me.  He brings quite a bit to the table, obviously.  Team captain and all that.  He does hit sometimes, leads the team in minutes played.  He has mentored less experienced defensemen most of the season.  Puts up points.  Yet he has been a minus player (minus 2, which is much better than he was not that long ago).  Don’t know what to say.  Some people absolutely love him. Others don’t.  I’m almost….indifferent.  I know many will vehemently disagree, because they see Dion as our indispensable leader and key guy on the back end, but....I’m not sure if it's that I would prefer a different number-one guy, or would simply be happy if he was a really good “number 3” defenseman here on a better team.  I must have some kind of 'mental block' about the captain.  Maybe I just need to see him lead us on a playoff run for me to be a true "believer"? Don't mis-read what I[m saying.  He's a fine player, but he leaves me a bit blahhh at times.
11. I think Carlyle has brought way more good things than not, regardless of what his critics say. Yes we give the pick away and give up too many shots some nights, but he has helped the squad, I sense, build on what they began to develop in the first part of the 2011-'12 season.  There seems to be a 'belief' around this team now.  New players have helped, for sure.  But he has seemingly shifted the mentality a bit, and that's worth something.
12. While I will always struggle to see Nonis as something other than a quieter version of Burke, or at the very least a Burke “guy” (let’s face it, he has followed Burke everywhere—Vancouver, Anaheim, Toronto).  I like the small things he did regarding Connolly and Lombardi, but he now has a chance to begin to really put his stamp on the team.  I’m watching and waiting.
13. I do much, much prefer the less toxic atmosphere around the team.  The previous coach and GM brought hubris and, in the case of the coach, public negativity to levels I was not comfortable with.  I much prefer the quitter administration we seem to have now.
14. On that note, I also prefer the focus on the team and the players, not the General Manager.
15. I appreciate very much what McClement has brought to the Leafs this season.  I was among those who wondered if he wasn’t just another middle-of-the-road center to add to last season’s glut of bottom 3/bottom 6-type forwards.  But he has been more than that—much more.
16. That said, I would still like to see Nonis infuse the team with some legitimate veteran leadership at the appropriate time.  A couple of mid-cost, early 30’s guys who have been through the playoff battles.  Maybe we can get by without it right now, and even next season, but I’d be surprised if we can.  Someone has to lead.  I’m not sure Lupul is enough.
17. That said, can someone tell me how many playoff games this group of Leafs has under their belt?  It feels like we don’t have many guys with significant experience in the big games in the spring.
18. I’m hoping Rielly is allowed to develop quietly with the Marlies through their playoff run. I know there will be a rush to see him in the Leaf lineup next fall, but I can wait.
19. He has been injured of late, of course, but we can’t ask much more of Komarov.  He is as advertised.  I believe the goals will come over time, as he learns the league and grows comfortable in his surroundings.
20. I know there is this Luongo talk again, but I'm not sitting here hoping or thinking Nonis is going to make major moves at the deadline.  I could be wrong, maybe he will do something significant and shocking.  But sometimes less is more- and he may be prepared to go with what he's got, rather than move any young futures pieces...

There’s always more to chat about, but that’s what was on my mind today, when it comes to where the Leafs are "at”.  Have your say.  And to those who have become semi-"regulars" here at VLM over the past three and a half years, thank you. I like to think this is a place where thoughtful Leaf fans come to visit and to share views.  

A special thank you to those who post here and make such a huge contribution to the dialogue.

If you've never posted before but enjoy the site, I hope you'll consider posting a comment and adding to the level of discussion here.

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As you gear up for the playoffs, some VLM posts you might have missed...

• Where Kessel's next contract is  likely going....
• Gordie Howe's 85th birthday
• Your preferred Maple Leaf playoff match-up
• Speaking of playoffs, a great old-time Leaf playoff memory