And the dream is...............over!
In stunningly obvious news, the Leafs are fucked. They lost 2-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night and fell further behind the 8th place Philadelphia Flyers. With 12 games to play, the Leafs would need to win them all and get some help in order to make the playoffs, although I'm still not sure why any intelligent fan would want that.
I wonder if the latest loss will convince Paul Maurice to try out his prospects a little more. Prior to the last couple of losses, an argument could have been made that the team had a realistic - albeit tiny - chance of making the post-season. Now no such argument can be made. So, will Jiri Tlusty (4:52 of icetime on Saturday night), Jeremy Williams (3:26), Kris Newbury (3:35) or Robbie Earl (demoted) get some 'showcase' icetime? Will Kyle Wellwood be given an increase in icetime to try to show he is improving from the peewee hockey level he was playing at previously?
Coach Maurice can't use the playoff excuse anymore. And the thing is; it was always bullshit. He damn well knew his team had no chance of making it to the playoffs, but he is fighting for his job and needed something to tell the players. And media. And fans. As far as NHL coaches go, winning = job stability. Maurice knows he's circling the drain, and was riding his veterans into as many wins as possible - to make a case for his future employment - under the guise of making the playoffs. Previously, making the playoffs and keeping a job were the same goal, but now that the playoffs are out of the picture, we'll see how Maurice responds. If the young'uns don't see significant increases in icetime, Paul if officially hurting the team by trying to win his way up to 10th spot...and a lousy draft pick.
There will be a new general manager in Toronto come next season, and Maurice has shown very little potential to lead a winning team. Last year he was forced to play Andy Raycroft a ton, so I'd be willing to give him a mulligan. This year, however, the team signed a legit #1 goalie - whose stats are far superior to Raycroft's a year ago - yet the team is somehow worse. You can give a thousand different excuses, but the numbers don't lie. Paul Maurice has been unable to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a winning season. And, since the 2008/09 Leafs will be much the same as this season's version, there isn't much reason to believe he'll be able to do it next year.
Hopefully Paul will treat the rest of the year as if he was returning next year. It would take a helluva man to coach toward an end that is beneficial to the team (better draft pick) yet personally detrimental (loss of job). I believe he could do it and still come out looking good. How? Play the prospects much more - call it a type of try-out - and give Raycroft a handful of games of the last 12. Toskala has never played as many games as this year, and it isn't unreasonable to think it's a good idea to give your #1 goalie some rest when there is nothing to play for.
The Leafs play a home-and-home series on Tuesday and Wednesday nights against the 8th place Flyers. I'd say that these were important games that the Leafs must sweep, but it's much too late for important games. The truly important games were played months ago when the team still had a shot at respectability.
In stunningly obvious news, the Leafs are fucked. They lost 2-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night and fell further behind the 8th place Philadelphia Flyers. With 12 games to play, the Leafs would need to win them all and get some help in order to make the playoffs, although I'm still not sure why any intelligent fan would want that.
I wonder if the latest loss will convince Paul Maurice to try out his prospects a little more. Prior to the last couple of losses, an argument could have been made that the team had a realistic - albeit tiny - chance of making the post-season. Now no such argument can be made. So, will Jiri Tlusty (4:52 of icetime on Saturday night), Jeremy Williams (3:26), Kris Newbury (3:35) or Robbie Earl (demoted) get some 'showcase' icetime? Will Kyle Wellwood be given an increase in icetime to try to show he is improving from the peewee hockey level he was playing at previously?
Coach Maurice can't use the playoff excuse anymore. And the thing is; it was always bullshit. He damn well knew his team had no chance of making it to the playoffs, but he is fighting for his job and needed something to tell the players. And media. And fans. As far as NHL coaches go, winning = job stability. Maurice knows he's circling the drain, and was riding his veterans into as many wins as possible - to make a case for his future employment - under the guise of making the playoffs. Previously, making the playoffs and keeping a job were the same goal, but now that the playoffs are out of the picture, we'll see how Maurice responds. If the young'uns don't see significant increases in icetime, Paul if officially hurting the team by trying to win his way up to 10th spot...and a lousy draft pick.
There will be a new general manager in Toronto come next season, and Maurice has shown very little potential to lead a winning team. Last year he was forced to play Andy Raycroft a ton, so I'd be willing to give him a mulligan. This year, however, the team signed a legit #1 goalie - whose stats are far superior to Raycroft's a year ago - yet the team is somehow worse. You can give a thousand different excuses, but the numbers don't lie. Paul Maurice has been unable to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a winning season. And, since the 2008/09 Leafs will be much the same as this season's version, there isn't much reason to believe he'll be able to do it next year.
Hopefully Paul will treat the rest of the year as if he was returning next year. It would take a helluva man to coach toward an end that is beneficial to the team (better draft pick) yet personally detrimental (loss of job). I believe he could do it and still come out looking good. How? Play the prospects much more - call it a type of try-out - and give Raycroft a handful of games of the last 12. Toskala has never played as many games as this year, and it isn't unreasonable to think it's a good idea to give your #1 goalie some rest when there is nothing to play for.
The Leafs play a home-and-home series on Tuesday and Wednesday nights against the 8th place Flyers. I'd say that these were important games that the Leafs must sweep, but it's much too late for important games. The truly important games were played months ago when the team still had a shot at respectability.
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