Now for something completely different...talk about the Leafs. I have a few thoughts on the latest trade made by our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. About 4 years ago I started posting comments on line at two of our newspapers. Specifically, I was asking if anyone in Leaf management understood what hockey talent looked like and even more importantly if they knew how to build a team.
Despite some extremely nasty comments by those who live and breathe the "Blue and White", I expressed my total dislike for the management team of Brian Burke and Dave Nonis. BB spent all sorts of time promoting himself and the team as "soon-to-be Cup contenders". He and his sidekick Nonis assured every Leaf fan that they were building a winner with the likes of Kessel, Phaneuf and then Clarkson and that the cupboard was full of young talent. The core of the franchise were in fact two men that nobody else wanted for reasons the media kept hidden from the Toronto public. Seemed that Phaneuf especially, was off limits when it came to criticism in the Toronto media. To add to the problem he was made captain and his claim to fame was his leadership in the dressing room when it came to what music to play. On the ice he displayed his tenacious side only occasionally and quickly became known as the "Pylon" for the simple reason that other teams were able to skate past him as if he was standing still. I have a few more thoughts about this fellow later on.
Yet my comments were usually saved for the management and scouting team. BB traded away potential great prospects to get Kessel as the "final piece" to becoming a contender. He said it and yet the lemmings called Leaf fans kept saying he never did. Most hockey experts agreed that BB and Nonis had some of the weakest talent in the league both on the NHL team and in the minors and juniors. This is where Toronto fans were fooled into believing something that most others realized was smoke and mirrors. To top it off they had no character players that showed the slightest amount of leadership. I still remember the game where one of the Leaf players seemed to seriously injure themselves just before the end of a period. Many of the Leaf players stayed on the ice even when the ref sent both teams to the dressing rooms while the Leaf player was taken off on a stretcher. Even Steven Stamkos who played on the opposing Tampa Bay team, stayed on the ice, showing concern for a fellow NHL hockey player. Not our captain though. Dion Phaneuf, as the story goes, left the ice with a handful of his teammates and only came back out, minus his sweater, when someone went and told him to get back out on the ice and act like the captain of the team.
This is who BB made captain as soon as he arrived and who Nonis gave a ridiculous contract to: a contract that was the same as Drew Doughty, who is arguably one of the top 2 or 3 defencemen in the league.
So today, as Phaneuf got shipped off to Ottawa, the media was still at it. They still want us to believe that Phaneuf was under too much pressure in Toronto and that he was "loved" by all the young Leaf players. As I heard that comment for the 5th time, something finally clicked for me. Consider for a moment that the young defencemen have been looking up to Phaneuf as their example of an NHL leader. While the rest of the NHL considers him the most overrated player in the league year after year, his young teammates actually believe that Phaneuf is the way to not only play the game but also the way to lead others. That is beyond scary in my mind. That alone could be the reason Shanahan and Lamoriello knew they needed to get rid of Phaneuf. Just his influence on other players was hurting the franchise. That is a theory but I wonder how far removed it is from the truth.
Phaneuf is married to a TV/movie personality and apparently has a very nice summer home in PEI. Media and teammates get to spend time there during the summer months. Maybe we will start to get some interesting stories coming out now that nobody has to "suck up" to Dion. There are stories about his time in Calgary that most Leaf fans haven't heard yet but they are out there if you look outside of the Toronto media. Let's just say, he is not the outstanding guy he's made out to be.
Hopefully this management team will rebuild this franchise well but sometimes I even wonder about the start they have. They drafted a bunch of smurfs last June. Hopefully they will get some size this year. I am willing to give them time but I am certainly glad Phaneuf's time in Toronto is up!
Despite some extremely nasty comments by those who live and breathe the "Blue and White", I expressed my total dislike for the management team of Brian Burke and Dave Nonis. BB spent all sorts of time promoting himself and the team as "soon-to-be Cup contenders". He and his sidekick Nonis assured every Leaf fan that they were building a winner with the likes of Kessel, Phaneuf and then Clarkson and that the cupboard was full of young talent. The core of the franchise were in fact two men that nobody else wanted for reasons the media kept hidden from the Toronto public. Seemed that Phaneuf especially, was off limits when it came to criticism in the Toronto media. To add to the problem he was made captain and his claim to fame was his leadership in the dressing room when it came to what music to play. On the ice he displayed his tenacious side only occasionally and quickly became known as the "Pylon" for the simple reason that other teams were able to skate past him as if he was standing still. I have a few more thoughts about this fellow later on.
Yet my comments were usually saved for the management and scouting team. BB traded away potential great prospects to get Kessel as the "final piece" to becoming a contender. He said it and yet the lemmings called Leaf fans kept saying he never did. Most hockey experts agreed that BB and Nonis had some of the weakest talent in the league both on the NHL team and in the minors and juniors. This is where Toronto fans were fooled into believing something that most others realized was smoke and mirrors. To top it off they had no character players that showed the slightest amount of leadership. I still remember the game where one of the Leaf players seemed to seriously injure themselves just before the end of a period. Many of the Leaf players stayed on the ice even when the ref sent both teams to the dressing rooms while the Leaf player was taken off on a stretcher. Even Steven Stamkos who played on the opposing Tampa Bay team, stayed on the ice, showing concern for a fellow NHL hockey player. Not our captain though. Dion Phaneuf, as the story goes, left the ice with a handful of his teammates and only came back out, minus his sweater, when someone went and told him to get back out on the ice and act like the captain of the team.
This is who BB made captain as soon as he arrived and who Nonis gave a ridiculous contract to: a contract that was the same as Drew Doughty, who is arguably one of the top 2 or 3 defencemen in the league.
So today, as Phaneuf got shipped off to Ottawa, the media was still at it. They still want us to believe that Phaneuf was under too much pressure in Toronto and that he was "loved" by all the young Leaf players. As I heard that comment for the 5th time, something finally clicked for me. Consider for a moment that the young defencemen have been looking up to Phaneuf as their example of an NHL leader. While the rest of the NHL considers him the most overrated player in the league year after year, his young teammates actually believe that Phaneuf is the way to not only play the game but also the way to lead others. That is beyond scary in my mind. That alone could be the reason Shanahan and Lamoriello knew they needed to get rid of Phaneuf. Just his influence on other players was hurting the franchise. That is a theory but I wonder how far removed it is from the truth.
Phaneuf is married to a TV/movie personality and apparently has a very nice summer home in PEI. Media and teammates get to spend time there during the summer months. Maybe we will start to get some interesting stories coming out now that nobody has to "suck up" to Dion. There are stories about his time in Calgary that most Leaf fans haven't heard yet but they are out there if you look outside of the Toronto media. Let's just say, he is not the outstanding guy he's made out to be.
Hopefully this management team will rebuild this franchise well but sometimes I even wonder about the start they have. They drafted a bunch of smurfs last June. Hopefully they will get some size this year. I am willing to give them time but I am certainly glad Phaneuf's time in Toronto is up!
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