Ronald Neal
Staff Writer
This week has been fun. For one, the Leafs have had a really strong showing with an impressive West Coast swing, making stops in Los Angeles and San Jose before wrapping up in Phoenix, and coming away with two wins out of a possible three. The highlight of the week was the 600th career win for head coach Ron Wilson, after the victory over San Jose.
When it came to forcing a Leafs loss, a familiar foe, the Calgary Flames, was up for the challenge. Think back to this time last year and you’ll remember the blockbuster trade general manager Brian Burke executed that changed the face of the team and officially put his stamp on the city.
Sending unremarkable-but-reliable foot soldiers Matt Stajan and Ian White to the Lone Star province in exchange for future captain Dion Phaneuf was a highlight and a gutsy move. It also made it clear the man who signed the cheques was not afraid of change in the face of weakness, a lesson that still applies today.
So there was more than enough motivation going into Hockey Night in Canada on both sides of the ice for a good game. Unfortunately, the tension and animosity never really materialized and the teams skated to a banal 2-1 Flames victory.
I recognize the Leafs tied it late and that it did go to a shootout, but if the cake isn’t very interesting to begin with, the icing on top isn’t going to save it.
Overall this week, then, the team skated to a pedestrian 2-2 record.
So why was it a fun week?
It was a fun week because the team had nothing to lose – and everything to gain.
Last week, perhaps in the spirit of the new year, I decided the team was not making the playoffs. It didn’t matter it was the first week in January, and that it might wound and upset a lot of the faithful. It needed to be said and I was willing to say it.
The result: nothing but hockey bliss. The games the Leafs are playing now come with a sense of hope and optimism. The team is now playing on a different level, one that is pure and unhindered by failed expecta- tions and poor results.
Don’t get me wrong; the team still needs to perform and to be accountable to the city, but there is no sense in damning these young men to a year of misery because they are not meeting expectations that are no longer reasonable.
The most we can hope for this team is that this week was just the beginning of a huge improvement the fans have been waiting for, for a long time.
Leafs make their return
About the Author
“It was a fun week because the team had nothing to lose – and everything to gain.”
Come on man! We have that potential first overall pick in this years draft that we’re going to “lose” to Boston thanks to the Phil Kessel trade based on the condition that we continue staying in the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Thats alot more than ‘nothing’ if you ask me.
“Unremarkable-but-reliable foot soldiers Matt Stajan and Ian White” What the heck are you talking about!? Its statements like these that make me wonder if you actually even watch leafs games or if you’re just a good reader and know how to loosely interpret game recaps. Stajan and White were, and will always be, useless and unreliable. Stajan and White have a combined three goals for the entire year man!….wheres the reliability that you speak of? Mediocre stats from the years prior? give me a break!