January 11, 2007
A Just-Past-Halfway Analysis Of The Leafs
With their 4-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs slipped back to a .500 record (19-19-6) yet again, and now sit tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, fighting for their playoff lives after having played more than half of their games this season. They're missing a hospital ward full of regular players due to injury (Mike Peca, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ian White, Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Tucker, etc.). They continue to struggle with goaltending that, while decent at times, is far from superior, with neither Andrew Raycroft nor Jean-Sebastien Aubin stealing a single game for them this year. So what has general manager John Ferguson, Jr. done to shore up his team with the all-star break and stretch run looming? Well, yesterday he claimed former Leaf third/fourth-liner Travis Green (two points in seven games this year with Anaheim, 22 points in 82 games with Boston last season) off of waivers. While a noted faceoff and penalty kill specialist, Green is hardly a replacement for the likes of Tucker (19-12-31 in 39 games), Ponikarovsky (11-13-24 in 35 games) or Wellwood (9-22-31 in 35 games) on a team that even when fully healthy is still lacking offensively.
This is not to say the Leafs have been wholly terrible. After a series of distressing losses to division rival/bottomfeeder Boston, the blue and white scored 15 goals over two games against the Bruins last week. A number of call-ups from the minor league Toronto Marlies (Kris Newbury, Boyd Devereaux, Ben Ondrus) have performed admirably, with Devereaux leading the way with six points in six games since being promoted. And they're certainly living up to preseason predictions made by their own head coach, Paul Maurice, that they would be in a fight for the playoffs right through the campaign. But in a city that expects the Leafs to at least contend for the Stanley Cup every single year, a city that hasn't seen a championship for 40 years now and counting, mediocrity is akin to blasphemy.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Ferguson shoulder a lot of the blame for the team's sub-par showing over last season (the first time the Leafs missed the playoffs since 1997-98) and the first half of this one. Ferguson has made a number of questionable-to-shoddy moves in his four-year tenure (contract extensions to dinosaurs like Ed Belfour and Tie Domi before the lockout which necessitated buyouts this year, massive contracts to questionable stars like Brian McCabe and Pavel Kubina, the trading of a number-one prospect in Finnish goalie Tuuka Rask to Boston for the underachieving Raycroft at the NHL entry draft this past summer, etc.), and was picked by many pundits to be the first executive fired this season. But a quick start by the team had MLSE falling over themselves to extend Ferguson's contract, as if the rest of the hockey world was wrong in predicting the Leafs as being the paper tigers they eventually proved to be.
Hope does remain, though. Maurice has squeezed a lot more out of the team on many nights than some experts thought was possible, and the consensus based on media reports has the players enjoying the more workmanlike atmosphere to the dressing room and practices than they had under Maurice's predecessor, Pat Quinn. The NHL trade deadline is a month and a half away, and the Leafs have a plethora of young defence prospects, one or two of which, should they be even flirting with contention by the February 27 deadline, they might be willing to part with. This is a dangerous game in itself of course, as the past has shown the Leafs to not be overly successful in trading the future for the present (see Alyn McCauley and Brad Boyes for Owen Nolan). But one of the few major positives of Ferguson's reign has been the upgrading of the team's scouting department, and the Leafs enjoy a larger and more attractive stable of prospects than they have in years. And those injured players will start trickling back over the next while, and as the first few weeks of the season proved, this team when healthy is at least capable of contending with the rest of the conference.
There are 38 games left in the regular season. That's 38 games for captain Mats Sundin, who's been on a tear lately (8-8-16 in his past 12 games) to continue being one of the best forwards in the league and put to rest all of that silly trade talk that comes up on Toronto sports radio stations whenever the team loses a couple of games. Thirty-eight games for Tucker to return and continue being one of the league's premiere offensive threats on the power-play. Thirty-eight games for McCabe and Tomas Kaberle to continue being the second-highest-scoring defence tandem in the NHL. Thirty-eight games for Raycroft to regain the form that won him the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year prior to the lockout. Thirty-eight games for young players like Wellwood, Matt Stajan and the recently rejuvenated Alex Steen to continue finding their games and contributing. Thirty-eight games for this team to become the contender its city craves.
Thirty-eight games and maybe we can start planning that Stanley Cup parade route.
Travis Green image (top) and Sundin fans image (bottom) courtesy of the Toronto Star, John Ferguson, Jr. image (middle) courtesy of Canada.com
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When I first moved to Toronto, I had to at least somewhat like and cheer for the Leafs by default (I'm a lifelong Pens fan) and for some reason or another, along with Darcy Tucker, Travis Green was my fave Leaf. Even though he's kinda crappola these days, I'm still glad to see him back.
Green played amazing well in the 2002 playoffs when the Leafs reached the conference finals against Carolina even though half the team was injured and they were going with a top line of Gary Roberts, Alyn McCauley and Jonas Hoglund for most of the playoffs. But then he got sort of tied up in that whole dressing room split with Corson, Tucker, him and Domi pretty reviled by guys like Roberts. Corson taking off seems to have solved all of that though for a few years (Roberts not being around, some say, is also good for the dressing room, although others would disagree). I'm glad he's back too, is what I'm saying, but they need more.
Why on earth is Torontoist writing about the Leafs? I understand *why* it would, but if I want to read something about hokcey analysis, I'm going to read Damien Cox, one of the goofs at the Sun, or read The Hockey News web site.
I know this sounds negative, but when I come to Torontoist I don't want to skip any posts, but when I see stuff on pro hockey written by a "nobody" (sorry Andrew, nothing personal) with no access to the players or executives, and has no discernible credentials about the game, tell why I should be reading it? Andrew's take on the half-season is fine, but nothing I couldn't get from the other well-respected sources of hockey news/analysis.
This is what the Star, Post, Globe, Sun, et al offer. I can get it from them. What I want from Torontoist is much different. Are you trying to be mainstream media or trying to be a different voice about Toronto?
Ah, yes, 2002...the year where I scored a ridiculous number of playoff tickets right off of Ticketmaster. Ever since that year, I've had friends hounding me to try for them at playoff time. haha.
Offensively lacking? Don't tell them that then. Right up there for the most goals scored in the league.
Mick: I suggest you see the sports posts kinda like a talk radio program. Andrew, who knows what he's talking about, is putting the information out there, and the comments are used for discussion. Andrew's a fan just like anyone who might be reading or contributing to the discussion, just like callers on a sports radio show. The Star, Sun, Globe, etc. don't really offer the same kind of reader interaction.
Stick around, and you might find that Andrew knows what he's talking about like any other mainstream analyst, and if you're a sports fan, I hope you can participate in the articles' discussion forums -- 'cause if there's one thing sports fans like to do, it's talk about the sport.
If it's not your bag, we're planning much more content over the next little while so we hope you can skip over the stuff that doesn't interest you and find enough new offerings that do. Who knows -- you could end up being a fan of our increasing sports coverage!
Sorry, I don't want it form you, which is what I was trying to say. We are saturated with good hockey coverage. I don't find this much differnt from Torontoist decided to start covering celebrity gossip. They're both billion dollar industries that have thousands of other publications covering the same topics.
I can put it this way: are you interested in what your next-door neighbour has to say about Paris Hilton or Rachel MacAdam? Having a Torontoist blogger writing about his thoughts on the Leafs for the greater public is no more interesting than reading teenage analysis of a celebrity's social life.
Original, unique content is what the blog world should be giving us, not the same stuff "from a different perspective" of what the billion dollar news industry gives us.
You have unique coverage of the city on Torontoist when you report about the non-news, the stuff that makes us feel *in* Toronto. I love the Leafs but you guys don't have the credibility to make we want to read about them here.
Now, if you were to write about the guys selling peanuts outside the arena, or going on a jog with one of the players, I'd be interested in reading that.
This partially ties into a greater fear I have about blogging: thru sites like Torontoist, Spacing, BlogTO, etc. we have the power to tell stories that are special about this city, but as the good blogs grow-up they get bigger egos and sometimes report what the big boys report and can easily slip into the mode of reguritators of the mainstream media. I'm not accusing these sites of this, but that's what this hockey post reminds me of.
I guess some people actually read this site for sports news. I was thinking it was strange that you have been expanding your scope to include sports more recently (maybe those surveys told you to do so.)
Mick: First off. Did I miss the part that the Torontoist was being published just for you? Should the name be changed to Mickist? If so let's secure the rights to the domain, you can email someone every morning about what you think is worthy of being blogged about and they will go live with it as soon as possible.
Secondly, can you contradict yourself more? You say you look to blogs for "unique coverage" of the city, etc. yet you blast Andrew for not being like one of the major dailies as well as a hack. What gives. If you don't like sport so be it. As much as it seems you despise hockey it has a huge tradition here in the city from little leagues to city rinks to the pros.
Maybe I missed the memo that Blogging was not about being able to express yourself freely such as Andrew has. They are afterall his opinions and not those of Ted Rogers et al.
TO-ist covers all types of stories. Big ass music fest that has huge sponsors and gets play on every one of the networks and all the dailies? You bet it will be covered. How is this different from coverage of a pro sprorts team? You can bet dollars to donuts that if Neil Young played ACC TO-ist would have something to say about it. If Madonna did, you can bet they would be there as well.
Stop being so paranoid that your precious blog world is being threatened by mainstream media.
ok ok ok...so I missed the part where you said you loved the Leafs.
It's Friday. It's fairly early.
I stick by everything else though.
mm: It should be noted that we love getting constructive feedback, positive and negative, about Torontoist and we genuinely consider (and sometimes agonize) over it. Useful interaction with our readers to our stories is crucial to the value we hope to offer, even though we can't always be perfect or offer everyone what they want to see all the time. We do, however, take reader feedback very seriously and encourage people to use the contact information in the sidebar to let us know what you like and what you'd like to see (including tipping us off to events or stories we might not know about).
Mick: Rachel McAdams is from Toronto and lives here a great amount of the time, so she might still be siteworthy someday! :-)
"I know this sounds negative, but when I come to Torontoist I don't want to skip any posts, but when I see stuff...written by a "nobody"...and has no discernible credentials...tell why I should be reading it?"
Most bloggers go off about stuff they aren't experts in. I thought this was the de-facto definition of blogging.
I mean, Carrie isn't on the Rolling Stone payroll, but do you skip her music reviews? Tanja doesn't write restaurant reviews for Toronto Life or some other mainstream media...
It sounds like you only want opinions on things IF IT IS mainstream media.
"Offensively lacking? Don't tell them that then. Right up there for the most goals scored in the league."
Paul - that's true overall, but if you subtract three or four individual games where they've scored 7-10 goals (not unreasonable, since a 10-2 win is no different than a 3-2 win), suddenly they're not quite as prolific with the goals anymore...
As to all the people who say I'm a hack or that they don't need to read me for hockey because they can read guys with more access writing for bigger papers, I'll say one thing: it's true that I don't have MLSE giving me access to the dressing room, free tickets for games, access to press conferences, access to catered team events, celebrity golf tournaments, etc. etc. I'm just a guy who knows a fair bit about hockey (eleven years playing, a year covering minor and junior hockey in Northern Ontario), without any ties to the team, and with no need to worry about who I might offend. If you think my analysis is wrongheaded, feel free to debate me whenever I write one of these columns. I would most enjoy that. Cheers!
MM >
I didn't say I wanted Andrew to be like the mainstream media. I want him to be different. read carefully, please. Also, I know this site is not written for me, but I having followed this site for some time I find it odd to have Leafs coverage. Again, my greatest concern is oversaturation of a topic. I van get Leafs talk anywhere. I expect more out of Torontoist. And originality.
Andrew, this is nothing against you. I think I'm a hockey analyst too, and have insight. It's just that I don't know who would really care for Leafs coverage on Torontoist. Some will, but is it the right fit for the blog? I'd say no.
Marc> I sued Rachel MacAdams exactly for the reason she's from Toronto. I don't expect you guys to analyse what she's eating, where she's shopping. If Andrew wants to give his Leafs analysis he should start his own Leafs blog and do what every other hockey-mad fan does.
I just think you're wasting the time of most of your readers by covering the Leafs, or you're on the road to just doing what the mainstream media does. When that happens, you become irrelevant.
*off topic*
"Mick: Rachel McAdams is from Toronto and lives here a great amount of the time, so she might still be siteworthy someday! :-)"
Marc - Rachel McAdams was born in my hometown of London Ont, and grew up there and next door in St Thomas. In fact, my buddy saw her in Walmart there last Christmas (really). London represent!
"It's just that I don't know who would really care for Leafs coverage on Torontoist. Some will, but is it the right fit for the blog?"
Last time I checked, there was a "TORONTO" in front of the words Maple Leafs, hence it IS a right fit for the blog. If you've been reading this site for a "long time," you'll know that we've had plenty of sports coverage in the past from Adrian (The Adorable). It was just on hiatus for awhile because none of the current writers wrote about sports.
There's room for everything here. I contribute to this site, yet I don't feel the need to read every single post, if the topic doesn't really interest me. Neither should you. The point is to provide a wide variety of content for everyone to enjoy.
You all seem to miss the point Mick is making -- he was complimenting you! He expects you guys to do something outside the ordinary, and to be honest, Leafs coverage is ordinary.
People have gravitated towards blogs becuase they are tired of the mainstream media. Then you get to one of the city's most popular blogs (this one) and you find its covering the same thing.
Just because it has Toronto in front of it does not make it post-worthy.
I think his comparison of celebrity gossip is apt.
I'm aware of the previous sport coverage and it annoyed me then, too. For some reason, I posted about it yesterday and today.
I'll say it again: I like what you guys do, but I expect more creativity out of you. You can write about sports, or the Leafs, but do it differently than the other publications in this city.
I don't understand why Torontoist contributors are jumping the defence of the same-old same-old commentary that you can get elsewhere. Do you guys want to be ordinary? I'm suggesting you can be different in the best way.
I suspect you guys don't have it in you to be that creative and my expectations should be lowered. Is that what you want?
Also, gotta love Andrew's comment: "it's true that I don't have MLSE giving me access to the dressing room, free tickets for games, access to press conferences, access to catered team events, celebrity golf tournaments, etc. etc."
I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to get into dressing rooms and those catered events.
As someone with first hand knowledge of the NHL media, it is not the gravy train you portray it as. And no writer is in anyone's pocket and most events that involve the media have some kind of catering. Having sat in the press box numerous times, the only thing that's free are icr cream bars, soda, and popcorn. The Leafs provide meals around 6pm on game nights to the TV media, but that comes out of the fees those stations pay for space rental in the ACC.
We're listening to these suggestions, thank you Mick and Ahmad. I'm not sure that I entirely agree but I get where you're coming from.
Keep in mind that, as Carrie mentioned, we're just starting to get sports coverage back up after months upon months of a lull.
What's interesting about the direction the comments have taken on this post is that many of the other "ist" sites are quite sports-enthusiastic. I wonder why some might consider sports less appropriate for this ist than others?
There's nothing wrong with covering something the MSM already covers ad nauseum (like the Leafs). Mick/Ahmad sort of bring up a valid point though - it shouldn't simply be a rehash. TOist is in a pretty good position to offer a unique take on some of these stories and that's what makes them worth covering here.