Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!jeff From: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) Newsgroups: net.sport.hockey Subject: Re: struggling Leafs and national question Message-ID: <1731@dciem.UUCP> Date: Mon, 18-Nov-85 13:11:01 EST Article-I.D.: dciem.1731 Posted: Mon Nov 18 13:11:01 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 18-Nov-85 16:10:00 EST References: <474@bdmrrr.UUCP> Reply-To: jeff@dciem.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE) Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 82 Summary: > It is really sad to see the Toronto Maple Leafs struggle like they are. > Toronto, home of the hockey hall of fame, and a hockey center, has a > NHL franchise that is an embarrassment to the league. What has gone > wrong with this organization? Most people around here will say that it's owner Harold Ballard's fault because, since the tickets are pretty well all sold no matter how bad the team is, he doesn't care whether the Leafs are good or not. However, I disagree. Ballard is the Leafs' number one fan and he attends pretty well every game. He wants to see a winner very badly. Perhaps that's part of his problem. Because he wants a winner so badly, he meddles more in the team's affairs than most owners. The current manager and coach have been accused of being Ballard's puppets, and whenever he hires someone who demands "total control", like Punch Imlach, he seems to eventually fall into disfavour with Ballard, so it's understandable if they are yes-men. But I think Ballard has been staying out of the team's affairs lately. Also, the NHL's free-agency rules prevent an owner from "buying a winner"; in fact, they could even favour an owner who's cheap. So Ballard can't be blamed for not spending more money on the team; it wouldn't do any good anyway. I think the main reason they are so bad now is that until 1984 they were making the playoffs every year, and they always believed they were on the right track, so they didn't do anything significant to really try to improve the team. Meanwhile, the other teams got better, and the Leafs ended up in last place. Now, they've finally realized that they had to change things, and I think they're heading in the right direction at last. Last season, I identified their problems as having too much youth and not enough experience on defence, and having too many forwards that aren't going to get any better where they should have good young prospects. Some of the recent player moves they've made should definitely help solve both of those problems. The trade of John Anderson to Quebec for Brad Maxwell (not Marian Stastny as someone suggested; Stastny was signed as a free agent), though it looks pretty well even talent-wise, should help the Leafs immensely because Anderson's contribution to the team seemed to be diminishing, and his exit opened up a spot on the left wing for rookie Wendell Clark. Clark along with Dan Hodgson, Russ Courtnall and Gary Leeman give them a few young forward prospects. (Courtnall and Leeman were around last year and a little of the year before, but it seems they've never been given much ice time.) Maxwell is probably the best available player to fill the badly needed role of experienced, steady, two-way leader of the defence that the Leafs' several excellent young prospects need. (Salming, though certainly one of the best defensemen the Leafs have ever had, seems to be on his last legs, and he's injured far too often to provide steady leadership.) Trading Bill Derlago for Tom Fergus seems like another even trade, especially since both are centres, but I think it will help too. Fergus is younger (23) so he may get better, and he's more of a playmaker than Derlago (Derlago is more of a goal-scorer) so he may get Rick Vaive back up to the 50 goal mark. (Because of the leadership Vaive provides, I think it's better for the team to have Vaive scoring 50 and his centre scoring 20 than it is for both to score 35.) But I think a more significant thing about that trade is that Derlago was part of the nucleus of the losing Leafs. Derlago is a fine player, but I believe that if you want to turn the team into a winner, you can't do it with a nucleus of players that has become accustomed to losing for the last five years. I'd rather bring in a couple of players that haven't been that close to the bad situation. They've lost a lot of close games this year, and blown a lot of leads, so that says to me that they're capable of playing better hockey, but they have to develop more confidence, killer instinct, and a winning attitude. > The goaltending situation in Toronto is atrocious. This is the part I can't understand. Tim Bernhardt was impressive last year, but new goalies often are until the other teams get a book on them, so I can understand him being a little disappointing, but I can't figure out Don Edwards. I got to see him play a lot with Buffalo, and I always thought he was one of the best in the league, so I figured he would solve the Leafs' goaltending problems until Bester and Wregget were really ready for the NHL, but his skills seem to have eroded over the years. But most top goalies seem to last at least to their late 30's unless they have injury problems or die. What's the story? Is there one style of goaltending that doesn't last as long as the others? If so, can you spot it early in a goalie's career? Let's hear from some goaltending experts. > Al Gates > BDM Corporation ^ ^ ^ ^ {seismo,rlgvax}!bdmrrr!gates -- Jeff Richardson, DCIEM, Toronto (416) 635-2073 {linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd}!utcsri!dciem!jeff {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!dciem!jeff