chuck
03-28-2011, 10:09 PM
The Leafs, for a reason even players, coaches and general managers have trouble explaining, once again played like gangbusters over the final stretch of the season, only to come frustratingly short of the playoffs.
This year’s Leafs likely fell — as far as the playoffs were concerned — way back in November and December. Poor play and a dismal record early on put the postseason all but out of reach, regardless of an inspired push towards the end.
The unofficial end came in a 4-2 loss to Detroit on Saturday night. While Toronto is not mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture yet, they would need a hockey miracle to make it. Almost nothing short of winning every one of their last six, with Buffalo and Carolina losing four or five each, will do.
Reality — when it comes to the odds of the Leafs succeeding — is harsh. The club appears destined to finish out of the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year. That would further extend the franchise record for a postseason dry spell, and yet again dash the hopes of what may be the most patient and passionate hockey fans in the world.
A band of some of the Leafs’ most faithful fans have started a website (wewantacup.com), and plan to hold some kind of demonstration after the Leafs’ next loss, or when they are officially eliminated from the postseason.
Season ticket holders are also upset about letters they received from MLSE in early March, requesting deposits on next season’s ticket package. The ticketholders are annoyed with the timing, given that the Leafs are about to be eliminated from the playoffs — and because, the fans say, the deposit requests are coming earlier than in previous years.
This year’s Leafs followed a trend dating back to the 1998 season, where every Leaf team, regardless of talent and standing in the league, had at least one encouraging surge towards the end of the season.
The reasons for those performances over the years vary as much as the rosters.
The Leafs were suddenly the class of the Northeast Division in the Pat Quinn years, but fell on tougher times after the lockout. Less talented teams fought to stay alive in the playoff run against hugely successful divisional rivals in Ottawa and Buffalo. When playoff failures began to mount, the Leafs went through three coaches and three GMs, which ultimately led to an overhaul of the roster and a longer range plan to build a winner.
This year’s team marks what management hopes is the answer to those playoff failures, though fans continue to see the bottom line — another year out of the playoffs.
“We went 4-0 out of the gate, maybe played over our heads,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson said.
“We’ve been playing really well since the beginning of the new year, when you look at our record (21-11-6). I wouldn’t necessarily say this is finishing strong over our last (20 games). We’ve been going hard for 35 or 40 games, that’s what makes us feel so good right now.
“We’re in a playoff race and we’re not collapsing like everybody thinks we should. We’re getting better every day. That’s a huge plus going forward.”
Former Leafs GM John Ferguson understands the frustration Leafs fans are feeling. His clubs in 2005-06 and 2006-07 differed from the 2010-11 version. They were eight and nine games over .500 and suffered damaging losing spells, but recovered with strong play at the end.
In 2005-06, the team went 9-1-2 over the final 12 games, but finished two points out of the postseason. The next year, they went 10-6-2 from March 2 onward, but fell one point short of the playoffs, being eliminated on the season’s final day.
“It was a challenge in the division just to get a point because there were some real good teams there,” said Ferguson, noting that the Leafs played Buffalo and Ottawa eight times each, and both franchises routinely had 100 point-plus teams following the lockout.
“There is a sense that if a team got to the point where it had taken so much to advance, and then looked like it wasn’t going to qualify, that it bowed to the pressure of expectations. If that’s the case then it’s not a good sign, but that’s hard to determine.
“Since the lockout, what you see is teams having a hard time separating upwards or downwards in their divisions and conferences. Not a lot of teams (get) out of it even after an awful first two or three months.”
Coach and GM Pat Quinn took the Leafs to the playoffs in his first season in 1998-99, and in each successive year until the lockout in 2004-05. While that restored the fans’ faith after a three-year playoff drought prior to Quinn’s arrival, it also restored the pressure of yearly playoff expectations in hockey’s biggest market.
Most players agree Toronto can be a tremendous place to play when the team is winning, and hell if it isn’t. But even largely under-talented Leaf teams in 2008 and 2009 finished strongly over the final 20 games of the season, giving credence to the popular theory that teams can play well when the pressure of winning is off.
But this year’s Leafs are not buying that theory, at least as far as their team is concerned.
They also aren’t buying the theory that, under a more “player-friendly” coach, they wouldn’t have ended up needing an unattainable number of wins over the final quarter of the campaign just to reach the playoffs. Consider that Paul Maurice was considered the ultimate “player coach”, but his Leafs teams also failed to make the playoffs.
“This year we were a work in progress from start to finish,” said Cliff Fletcher, currently an advisor with the team, who took over the GM post in 2008 and began a complete overhaul of the roster and hockey culture that is continuing under Brian Burke.
“There’s no doubt that if a team is out of contention, that team plays loose — just look at the Islanders. It’s easier to win when there’s no pressure. That’s why we’re happy that our team is going through playoff-like pressure every night. These games are meaningful and it will help everyone when we do get into the playoffs.”
Wilson concurs with Fletcher, and believes the pressure of playing in Toronto has no effect on a club’s performance over the season’s final stretch.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with being in Toronto,” Wilson said. “It’s just the way the team has been. We’re in meaningful games now. That’s all that matters.”
This year’s Leafs likely fell — as far as the playoffs were concerned — way back in November and December. Poor play and a dismal record early on put the postseason all but out of reach, regardless of an inspired push towards the end.
The unofficial end came in a 4-2 loss to Detroit on Saturday night. While Toronto is not mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture yet, they would need a hockey miracle to make it. Almost nothing short of winning every one of their last six, with Buffalo and Carolina losing four or five each, will do.
Reality — when it comes to the odds of the Leafs succeeding — is harsh. The club appears destined to finish out of the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year. That would further extend the franchise record for a postseason dry spell, and yet again dash the hopes of what may be the most patient and passionate hockey fans in the world.
A band of some of the Leafs’ most faithful fans have started a website (wewantacup.com), and plan to hold some kind of demonstration after the Leafs’ next loss, or when they are officially eliminated from the postseason.
Season ticket holders are also upset about letters they received from MLSE in early March, requesting deposits on next season’s ticket package. The ticketholders are annoyed with the timing, given that the Leafs are about to be eliminated from the playoffs — and because, the fans say, the deposit requests are coming earlier than in previous years.
This year’s Leafs followed a trend dating back to the 1998 season, where every Leaf team, regardless of talent and standing in the league, had at least one encouraging surge towards the end of the season.
The reasons for those performances over the years vary as much as the rosters.
The Leafs were suddenly the class of the Northeast Division in the Pat Quinn years, but fell on tougher times after the lockout. Less talented teams fought to stay alive in the playoff run against hugely successful divisional rivals in Ottawa and Buffalo. When playoff failures began to mount, the Leafs went through three coaches and three GMs, which ultimately led to an overhaul of the roster and a longer range plan to build a winner.
This year’s team marks what management hopes is the answer to those playoff failures, though fans continue to see the bottom line — another year out of the playoffs.
“We went 4-0 out of the gate, maybe played over our heads,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson said.
“We’ve been playing really well since the beginning of the new year, when you look at our record (21-11-6). I wouldn’t necessarily say this is finishing strong over our last (20 games). We’ve been going hard for 35 or 40 games, that’s what makes us feel so good right now.
“We’re in a playoff race and we’re not collapsing like everybody thinks we should. We’re getting better every day. That’s a huge plus going forward.”
Former Leafs GM John Ferguson understands the frustration Leafs fans are feeling. His clubs in 2005-06 and 2006-07 differed from the 2010-11 version. They were eight and nine games over .500 and suffered damaging losing spells, but recovered with strong play at the end.
In 2005-06, the team went 9-1-2 over the final 12 games, but finished two points out of the postseason. The next year, they went 10-6-2 from March 2 onward, but fell one point short of the playoffs, being eliminated on the season’s final day.
“It was a challenge in the division just to get a point because there were some real good teams there,” said Ferguson, noting that the Leafs played Buffalo and Ottawa eight times each, and both franchises routinely had 100 point-plus teams following the lockout.
“There is a sense that if a team got to the point where it had taken so much to advance, and then looked like it wasn’t going to qualify, that it bowed to the pressure of expectations. If that’s the case then it’s not a good sign, but that’s hard to determine.
“Since the lockout, what you see is teams having a hard time separating upwards or downwards in their divisions and conferences. Not a lot of teams (get) out of it even after an awful first two or three months.”
Coach and GM Pat Quinn took the Leafs to the playoffs in his first season in 1998-99, and in each successive year until the lockout in 2004-05. While that restored the fans’ faith after a three-year playoff drought prior to Quinn’s arrival, it also restored the pressure of yearly playoff expectations in hockey’s biggest market.
Most players agree Toronto can be a tremendous place to play when the team is winning, and hell if it isn’t. But even largely under-talented Leaf teams in 2008 and 2009 finished strongly over the final 20 games of the season, giving credence to the popular theory that teams can play well when the pressure of winning is off.
But this year’s Leafs are not buying that theory, at least as far as their team is concerned.
They also aren’t buying the theory that, under a more “player-friendly” coach, they wouldn’t have ended up needing an unattainable number of wins over the final quarter of the campaign just to reach the playoffs. Consider that Paul Maurice was considered the ultimate “player coach”, but his Leafs teams also failed to make the playoffs.
“This year we were a work in progress from start to finish,” said Cliff Fletcher, currently an advisor with the team, who took over the GM post in 2008 and began a complete overhaul of the roster and hockey culture that is continuing under Brian Burke.
“There’s no doubt that if a team is out of contention, that team plays loose — just look at the Islanders. It’s easier to win when there’s no pressure. That’s why we’re happy that our team is going through playoff-like pressure every night. These games are meaningful and it will help everyone when we do get into the playoffs.”
Wilson concurs with Fletcher, and believes the pressure of playing in Toronto has no effect on a club’s performance over the season’s final stretch.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with being in Toronto,” Wilson said. “It’s just the way the team has been. We’re in meaningful games now. That’s all that matters.”