Singing the blues in T.O

As hockey fans, there is something you never want to see, whether you are a fan or not, is the boys wearing the blue and white with the maple leaf on their chests give up! As sad as that is, it is ultimately what is happening in Toronto. When a team hurts their number 1 (arguably) goalie during the warm up, then nearly injures their 4th string net minder before the game has even started, you know the players minds are elsewhere. Then you start the game with said 4th string goalie who's scared out of his mind and don't give him any support or help - that's unconscionable! The blue and white are beat down, tired and honestly can't wait for the season to end, but it's not fair how they have just quit; not fair to the goalies, coaches and most importantly the fans who pay huge bucks to see them play like crap!
In early January the Leafs just fell off a cliff, they were doing well, everyone was happy, there was excitement in T.o........ fast forward 6 weeks and 14 teams have passed them in league-wide standings! What the heck happened? I'm going to try and narrow it down to 3 reasons the Leafs are in this mess. BUT one thing I am not going to do is blame the GM or coach, no matter how bad a job you think Brian Burke or Randy Carlysle are doing, when it's all said and done it's up to the players to do their job!

1. Goaltending
As much as I like James Reimer he is not a number one goaltender; last season he came out of nowhere, no one knew him there were no expectations hence he was phenomenal. People now know him, players have studied him add to that the high expectations and Reimer has shown he just couldn't handle it. He's a young goalie who wasn't ready to be thrust into the number 1 position. Gustavsson was also not ready to be a number one goalie, he'd always been a backup since joining the Leafs. As much as he saved the Leafs season during the stretch when Reimer was out, he's lost his confidence. Looking back, the Leafs went into the 2011-2012 season without a number one goalie, they were relying on 2, young fairly inexperienced goalies to step up and take this team back to the playoffs, which was unfair and unrealistic (Burke?). Whatever way you want to spin it; neither Gustavsson or Reimer has played well this season, Gustavsson has been a slightly less bad but in a disastrous season does that really matter? The sad thing is the team has no confidence in either goalie, and that's a recipe for disaster, when players think every time the opposition has a scoring chance it's going in, the players start playing differently (worse).
I hate being harsh on goalies I really do, but the Leafs need a new netminder; they will likely lose Gustavsson in the offseason and Reimer could use another year or two as a back up learning his craft at the NHL level. These two goalies don't cut it, they need a solid goalie they can rely on. Whether they work some magic and get Schnieder (unlikely) or someone else, if the Leafs don't get a number one net minder they will go no where!
Another issue with trying to go out and acquire a new goalie, is the Leafs goalie coach Francois Alluire. Although Burke thinks he's amazing, he's actually hurting the Leafs. He tries to change each goalies style, many of whom don't play well with the new style. Look a goalie playing in the NHL obviously knows a thing or to about being a good goalie, their style got them to the NHL. Changing their style is the worst thing you can do for a goalie mentally! Reimer was just fine in his first year when Alluire didn't have a lot of time to mess with him, but a full season with that goalie coach and Reimer is one of the worst goalies in the league!

2. Leadership
Whether you agree or not Dion Phaneuf has not been a good captain this season! As you know I don't agree with him being the captain, I think they should take the C away from him at the end of the season!

I think one of the major reasons Phaneuf has been struggling is the Leafs have tried to change his style of play. Phaneuf is a heavy hitter, not a responsible D man who plays 25 minutes a night. If you look Phaneuf is hitting less and less (unless it's against a rookie), doesn't fight anymore and isn't the mean Phaneuf everyone is used too. When you think about it, the way he plays he should be averaging 15 minutes a night, but they have him out there for 25 minutes which explains why he's always so tired in the third period! Phaneuf has not led this team, if you look at the Leafs now, they're discouraged and look lost, the captain is supposed to help rally his teammates, something he has not done this season. Other than the fact he's in charge of the Ipod in the dressing room what is he doing to benefit the team?
Phaneuf is one of the softest captains in the league this season and couldn't lead the Leafs out of a plastic bag! He's not there for his teammates, in the pathetic humiliating loss against the Flyers last night, he should have stepped up, fought someone and given the young rookie goalie some confidence, pound the crap out of anyone who touches him! He also turned down a fight after he pummeled Brayden Schenn with a cross check to the head! How about that 8-0 loss to the Bruins, he did absolutely nothing, he is a liability out there, that's not something you want from your captain!

3. Overpaid players not stepping
Tim Connolly has 31 points this season through 62 games, en route to the worst statistical year in his 11 year career! Not to mention he was stuck on the third line for most of the season; considering the Leafs gave him 2 years at $9.5 million and expected him to be the centre for Kessel this move has not panned out as of yet! Heck he's been paired with 13 different line mates! Connolly played fairly well early on in the season recording 12 points in his first 13 games, but his scoring has dried up as of late with just 19 points over the last 49 games (not including last night).

Colby Armstrong, was give a 3 year $3 million contract (too much in my opinion) he's not worth it, he was given an A to be an assistant captain yet spent a large portion of the season under head coach Ron Wilson in the press box as a healthy scratch! A waste of money, for a player who isn't worth it, he's a 3rd/4th line grinder scores a few goals and just fills the gaps!

Mike Komisarek, another player wearing an A yet spending lots of time in the press box! He's currently in the middle of a 5 year $4.5 million per year contact, too much to pay for a guy who's sitting in the press box most of the season! Then when he does get to play he plays atrocious defence, has turnovers, falls down, its just nasty! Considering he's one of the bottom 2 defenseman on the Leafs, so he should not be getting paid nearly as much as he is!

The Leafs are the highest paid team in the bottom 10 of the league, so either they need to smarten up with contracts or these players need to step up and earn their money. I wish there was an option for players who didn't perform up to their new contracts standards being required to give some of their money back or renegotiate a new contract. I know it sounds stupid and it will never happen, but it might actually help the Leafs!

The Leafs are in a terrible spot right now, 25th in the league, 2nd last in the East and looking for answers! Their passion and pride has been sucked away, they aren't giving it their all and they're sad to watch, no wait they're funny to watch. I tweeted last night that watching the Leafs is like a comedy, how many goals can they let in, how long can their home losing streak continue. This has to be one of the worst responses to a coaching change I have ever seen!
The Leafs need to improve drastically the sad thing is it could be another 2 years before we see a decent Leafs team, how much more can fans handle!?

Captain no Captain

I'm going to get right to the point here, Dion Phaneuf may wear the "C" symbolizing he is the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Phaneuf does not lead this team and is frankly not captain material. You have to wonder why the Calgary Flames let go of their prized first round draft pick, who was supposed to be the future of the team- I think Leafs fans are getting a clear picture.

The Calgary Flames drafted Phaneuf 9th overall in 2003, had his rookie season in 2005 in which he scored 20 goals and broke a Flames record for goals scored by a rookie, and became just the 3rd defenseman in NHL history to score 20 goals as a rookie. He was the semi finalist for the Calder trophy losing only to Alexander Ovechkin. He then followed that up with a whopping 50 point season, but after his sophomore year his play started to drop drastically! He had a career low 11 goals and 47 assists and a plus/minus of -11 a rating that is horrid for an NHL defenseman. Questions quickly came about Phaneuf's commitment to defense, the Flames defended him and then threw him to Leafs like a hot potato. The Flames were anxious to dump Phaneuf, but Why?
How desperate were the Flames to dump Phaneuf? Well look at the trade; They took on Matt Stajan, Ian White, Nikalas Hagman and Jamal Mayers (only Stajan is still on the Flames roster) in exchange for, potential franchise player Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjostrom. Talk about a steal for the Leafs!

Upon arrival in Toronto, Phaneuf played 26 games scored 2 goals and added 8 assists, and then was named the 18th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes that's right you read that correctly after playing just 26 games he was appointed the Leafs' Captain! In a recent poll done by Sports Illustrated magazine, Dion Phaneuf was named the most overrated player in the NHL by fellow NHLers and I'm starting to see why.

I don't know if it's just this season but Phaneuf looks absolutely atrocious out on the ice, it is extremely easy for opposing players to skate around him and get a solid scoring chance. From what I've seen when Phaneuf is out there on D, it's a liability to the Leafs and that's certainly not something you want from your captain! It's ridiculous when watching him play D, players skate right around him and he looks like he's probably the worst player I've seen above squirts skating backwards! Phaneuf was Ron Wilson's captain, he could do no wrong in the eyes of the former coach and was given full reign over the team and players, but Wilson is gone, Carlyle is in. The way Phaneuf is playing D right now is not what Carlyle wants or expects, I kind of wish he'd strip Phaneuf of his captaincy.

A captain is supposed to be a leader on the team, step up to the plate and take responsibility for not only their own play but the play of their team. If I'm the Leafs coaching staff or management I don't want any young defenseman following in Phaneuf's footsteps! He jumps up in the rush at the wrong times, coughs up the puck before getting it in the oppositions end, is far too easy to go around, doesn't back check hard enough, and misses the freaking net 80% of the time! Doesn't matter how good your shot is if it misses the net!
He is too offensively minded, he doesn't worry nearly as much as he should about his play in the defensive end, he's more offensively focused! He is far too lackadaisical out there, like he doesn't care and frankly he doesn't!

He doesn't care because he was just handed the role of captain, he didn't have to work for it, prove he could handle it or frankly earn it. They didn't give him an "A" first to test his leadership. Nope after just 26 (less than impressive) games they held a press conference and named him captain. As I pointed out earlier, Ron Wilson and Phaneuf were buddies, Wilson wanted him as the captain. Notice in all the time Wilson was the Leafs head coach I don't recall him once calling out Phaneuf or saying that he was responsible for goals, he was always Wilsons little angel and he was never criticized for his play thus making him not care to change. He's been playing like crap all season long and he's been responsible for a majority of the goals. After having a meeting with new head coach Carlyle, Phaneuf summed up what they talked about; "I'm going to keep playing the same way I have always played, and carry myself the same way" Well I sure as heck hope he doesn't because he's been playing horrible all season. The Leafs are going on their 7th year of missing the playoffs,  anyone born around 2000 doesn't really remember the Leafs being in the playoffs (heck I barely do and I'm 18). Fans aren't going to watch this Leafs team play, they're going to notice the so called captain as the worst player on the ice, they're not going to grow up being Leaf fans!

A true captain let's his teammates know that they're screwing up or not playing well, Phaneuf isn't in to that. He has said numerous times that the Leafs are not in a state where he needs to call players out! What the heck is he waiting for? Ron Wilson called players out, the media calls players out, hockey analysts call players out. A captain that is confident and has the whole team behind him should feel comfortable calling a couple players out or going to them privately and talking about their game.

Another major reason why I think Phaneuf is playing such crappy D is his weight, he's frankly too big! He's always tired by the mid second period which is why he is getting lit up in the defensive zone, and guys are blowing right past him. He needs to work on his conditioning! He's 6'3" 218 pounds, now that's not a horrible wieght for a guy of his size, but he's most defiantly out of shape it is extremely evident on the ice, he's always huffing and puffing and it seems like he's hitting a lot less this season. I don't know if he's hurt or what but he's hurting the Leafs!
If you don't want to hustle and battle every night get the heck off the ice, there is a team full of Marlies that would love to take your spot! To be honest Phaneuf is a joke as a captain, teams laugh at the fact that the Leafs have Phaneuf as a captain, the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf are one of the biggest laughingstocks of the NHL.

I'm sorry but Phaneuf is not captain material, the Leafs need someone else to be captain. His play all season has been poor to say the least, his "I could care less" attitude needs to go, and his responsibility to defense needs to improve (considering he is a defenseman). I think Carlyle should sit Phaneuf when he's not playing well, bench him for a few games get his attention, he thinks he's untouchable.
Bottom line, the Leafs will never win the Stanley Cup with players like Phaneuf leading this team!

#FireWilson

Last night while watching the Blackhawks vs Senators, news broke the Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Ron Wilson and replaced him with Randy Carlyle. Right away I turned on twitter to see if it was true and to see the reactions of Leafsnation, I don't know how Leafsnation didn't break twitter! But nevertheless Brian Burke fired long time friend Ron Wilson as he just wasn't getting the job done in Toronto.

Wilson was given a 4 year deal on June 10th 2008, by interim GM Cliff Fletcher. The 4 year deal was worth $5.6 million. To Wilson's credit he lasted most of his 4 years behind the bench in Toronto no easy task. During his 4 year tenure with the Leafs he failed to lead the team to the playoffs in 3 straight seasons, and was on pace to again miss the playoffs, which would bring the Leafs playoff drought to 7 years. Something had to give, with Leafs fans calling for Wilson's head, the Leafs one game above .500, and a couple of lackluster games by the Leafs, Brian Burke had no choice to pull the plug on his head coach and longtime friend. Wilson coach 310 games with the Leafs only winning 130 and as previously stated he failed to make the post season in 3 straight seasons. Some are saying this is the most dramatic firing of a Leafs coach since Pat Burns was fired on the plane ride home 16 years ago. Wilson was in Montreal with the team and even led practice on Friday morning.

There is a lot of speculation this was a spur of the moment decision by Burke, saying the decision was made Friday or Thursday evening. But Sportsnet radio 590 claimed Burke had made the choice to fire Wilson Wednesday/Thursday morning, but kept his decision quite until he found a replacement. Although I'm not sure if the story is true, it's certainly interesting!

After receiving a contract extension in December, Wilson supposedly lost control of the players, and he started "throwing them under the bus" in the media. Some players were beginning to speak out against him. It's the same situation that happened in Washington, the players shutout the coach and the coach got the short end of the stick. Now I'm not saying Wilson was doing a fantastic job coaching the Leafs by any means, but it was a decision that was inevitable, the players made sure of it! Wilson was often critiqued of not showing any emotion coaching behind the bench. But whatever happened, many including Burke believe that this group of Maple Leafs is good enough to make it to the playoffs, and under the coaching of Ron Wilson that just wasn't happening. Whether you like Ron Wilson or not, he is a good if not great coach! He's one of only 7 other coaches to win at least 600 games, tied for 4th with 18 seasons as a coach, and is 3rd all time in games coached with 1,400 games and a legendary coach, he will likely be behind a bench again sometime soon.

Ponder this for a moment, something no other blogger or analyst has openly discussed. Conserder this: What if Ron Wilson came to Burke and asked him to find a new coach?

No coach would ever publicly quit on their hockey team, they'd never get hired again. But being the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs is no walk in the park, and this season has been particularly rough on Wilson. Coming into the season not knowing if he'd have a new contract, being faced with the task of getting the Leafs in the playoffs, hearing the #FireWilson chants, having players not battling every night for you and having a GM taking the players side and not doing any significant deals at the Deadline. Not to mention how well Dallas Eakins is doing with the Marlies, Wilson was on borrowed time before he would have been replaced with Eakins anyways. You got to admit it can't be easy going to work everyday and having 20,000 people screaming to have you fired, and basically being called public enemy number 1. So knowing all that it is possible that Wilson said to Burke "hey it's been 4 years I can't seem to motivate these guys, I'm not having a good time coaching here I think it may be time for a change" You never know after all Wilson didn't look like he was having a lot of fun coaching these guys, he'll probably be on some beach somewhere hot with his wife and grandkids tomorrow just chilling out!

The New Guy
Shortly after the news broke that Wilson was out in T.O, it was announced that former Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle had been given a 3 year contract to be the new Maple Leafs head coach. Carlyle becomes the 28th head coach in Toronto Maple Leaf history, and is one of 8 coaches who actually played for the Leafs. Much like Burke and Wilson, Carlyle too has a past relationship with Burke, the two won the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Ducks. He started coaching in 1995 and has NEVER had a losing record in a full season, that's a great stat, but welcome to Toronto Randy.

In 6 seasons with the Ducks he missed the playoffs just once and won a Stanley Cup in 2007. Carlyle has been brought in to help salvage (if he can) what is left of the Leafs season. It will be no easy task as the Leafs have just 1 win in their last 10 games, and are in 12th 5 points back of 8th. But Carlyle is the type of no nonsense coach the Leafs may need right now, if anyone can get them back on track I believe it's this guy! Another added benefit to the Carlyle hire is he comes with a ton of playoff coaching experience. You can see it, if Carlyle and the players get at it, he just holds up his Stanley Cup ring and asks if any of the Leafs have one, that should shut them up in a hurry!
Carlyle will likely make the Leafs a more disciplined and organized team. He pays extra attention to the defensive zone and makes sure his team can kill of penalties.  Not to mention guys that are playing for contracts will have to get their butts in gear.

Some things to watch out for
Carlyle and Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul don't exactly have a great history. Lupul was traded twice while Carlyle was coach of the Ducks, and is known for giving up and saying Lupul isn't good enough to play in the league. In fairness to Lupul injuries played a major part in the situations, but the Ducks and Carlyle basically gave up on Lupul.

Another thing to watch, is if the Leafs actually do make the postseason this season under a new head coach. This move can go one of 2 ways; either it blows up in the Leafs faces and the players don't respond well to Carlyle. Or this will light a fire under them and force them to wake up and play some of their best hockey.

Who will ultimately get to takeover the goaltending duties Gustavsson or Reimer, one thing most fans were sure of was the fact Wilson gave up on Gustavsson and wanted Reimer to be the guy. But neither goalie was performing well so Wilson couldn't make up his mind. Carlyle is coming from a team that had star goalie Jhonas Hiller, he's going to want a goalie to step up and be number one. How will he figure that out? The Leafs have 18 games left, pick one to give 4 straight starts, if he handles it, let them ride out the last 14 games. If they can't, pick the other one. One thing is for sure goalies can't get into their grove and play well when given spot starts which is what Wilson was doing, which is also why the goaltending wasn't working. I believe if you give one of these guys a nice stretch of hockey games the Leafs goaltending woes will be gone. This could also be Gustavsson's last chance to become a Leafs goalie of the future.

Carlyle has the fortunate position of not HAVING to make the playoffs. He's got a built in excuse and one he should use to start looking toward the future.

This was the only way of lighting a fire under the player's butts, for some reason Burke made no significant roster moves at the deadline, so the only option was a coaching change. Ultimately this was a stall tactic for Burke to save his own butt, if things don't start panning out in Toronto it could and should be Brian Burke packing his bags next!

Reimer or Gustavsson

Before we dive in, quickly go and vote in my latest poll; Who won the Camalleri trade?


Well it appears it's time to add another team to the list of those dealing a bit if a  goaltending controversy, to deal with; Sabres, Canucks, and Flyers have all had their own "mini goalie controversies." The biggest one coming in Buffalo, with Miller playing poorly and Enroth playing well, fans were calling for Miller's head. Now neither goalie is playing well, and the Sabres can't find their butts from a hole in the ground! The Canucks and Flyers have both down played their goaltending strategy, saying they are happy having 2 solid guys between the pipes. But when you play in the hockey crazed market of Toronto, you're likely to hear about any controversy lots of times but that can be multiplied by 100 when it's a goaltending controversy. As we all know, the media sometimes likes to create their own, but this season, right now, the Leafs are in the middle of a legitimate goaltending controversy; Reimer or Gustavsson. But let's go back to the beginning of the season, to get the full picture of what's going on in T.O

At the beginning of the season there was little to no doubt that James Reimer was the number one netminder for the Leafs, after his remarkable second half play in 2011. Reimer started the season 4-0-1, before suffering a "head injury" on October 22nd against the Canadians. He then missed 18 games due to his "head injury" when news first broke, many Leaf fans panicked, thinking Gustavsson wouldn't be able to get the job done in Reimer's absence. And they appeared right Gustavsson started a little rough, but not horribly, going 9-5-0 and winning 5 of the last 6. Then Reimer returned, thus everything was good in the continuing saga of Leafs goaltending, except for the fact that Reimer wasn't nearly as sharp as before his injury. Since returning from injury on December 3rd Reimer went 3-4-3, not the type of play expected from a number one netminder. Finally head coach Ron Wilson had seen enough and decided it was time to give Jonas Gustavsson a chance to see what he could do. A 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on New Year's Eve, was the last time Wilson had started Reimer in a game. Starting Gustavsson is likely the smartest thing Wilson has done all season; 
Gustavsson won 4 straight games to ring in 2012, and went on to win 9 of 13 games, helping push the Leafs back into playoff contention. But after losing the last 2 starts (a 3-2 loss to Buffalo and a 3-0 loss to the Rangers) Wilson decided it was time to give Reimer another short between the pipes. Now despite Gustavsson playing better than Reimer and helping steal games for the Leafs throughout the season, his stats Still aren't what you like to see in a number 1 goalie should be sporting; Gustavsson is sporting a decent 13-9-0 record, while Reimer is 7-4-4. But here's where the stats get whacky; Gustavsson's GAA is 2.92 (33rd) and Save Percentage of .906 (31st) are nothing to cheer about. The team flat out plays better in front of Gustavsson than they do Reimer. Let's look back to January 5th, in front of Reimer the Leafs had scored 56 goals, while in front of Gustavsson they put up 69 goals. Regardless of the numbers, and  whether coaches or goalies or anyone else wants to admit it or not, right now the starting job has to be Gustavsson's. Now I know Wilson is started Reimer last night, but who knows how many starts he'll give Reims, before throwing Gustavsson back in. 


So where did this goaltending controversy come from; 2 places, head coach Ron Wilson and GM Brian Burke. "It's hard to say what the order is going to be," Wilson said. "I have in my mind who's going to play (Tuesday) night (against Carolina) and beyond that I haven't decided." Wilson then went to claim that he was going to play which ever goalie was winning games; a win and your in sort of thing. Since Gustavsson was the one winning games, Wilson decided to ride him for a little while. Then GM Brian Burke, came out and stated that Gustavsson had single handedly saved the Leafs season, and that the rest of the Leafs knew it was Gustavsson saving their butts on a night to night bases. Interesting comments to go public from a GM who likes to keep things tight lipped.

But when push comes to shove the Leafs are going to have to make a decision about their goaltending, I don't think Gustavsson has much a future in Toronto, they signed him back in 2008 and has been all but bust due to health issues and poor play. Right now he's healthy and playing well. Right now would be the perfect time to trade the young netminder, who may benefit from a change in scenery. Gustavsson is a free agent at the end of the year and will most likely walk away for nothing at the end of the season. The Leafs need Reimer to be the future, after signing him to a 3 year deal. This situation reminds me of the one the Habs had with Halak and Price a couple of years ago. So I have to think that Gustavsson will play the Halak role, meaning his time in Toronto is all but done.

To sign or not to sign

Hey Leaf fans, I haven't written a blog for you guys in a while, so I thought it was about time to appease you guys. Time to write a blog about Ron Wilson's contract situation; Should Brian Burke resign him now or later.

Ron Wilson has not exactly been overall popular in Toronto during his tenure as head coach of the Leafs, and it is no easy task. Being the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in this hockey driven market, can drive almost any one to their breaking point, answer for all the loses, the poor play, missing the playoffs year after year, players not playing well, and how long until you lose your job. But this year it has been a little easier for Wilson and the media he loathes so much, this year the questions are more positive; can you explain Phil Kessel's amazing play, why is this team playing so well, When will Burke resign you.

That is the big question this year in TO, besides the obvious goal of ending a post season playoff drought of 6 years, will Wilson receive a contract extension from Brian Burke or will he ultimately be let go, and look for his 5th team to coach. On  Wednesday when Randy Carlyle was let go by the Ducks, rumors started to fly that Carlyle would be ideal to replace Wilson, and that is why there have been no new contract offers to Wilson. Not to mention the fact the Burke and Carlyle teamed up to win a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. But Brian Burke took to Twitter to defend his head coach, and imply that there is no coaching changes in the near future. Burke twitted; “Sad to hear about Randy Carlyle,” “But our coach isn’t going anywhere!” Seems to me that Burke wants to remain loyal to Wilson, and at the very least let him rid out his 4 year contract. But even before the season started the talk was about why Wilson had not received a new contract yet, and if that was bothering him. But so far this season there has been no opportunity to fire Wilson even if Burke wanted too, Wilson has this team playing well, in fact very well, right near the top of the Eastern Conference, something no one saw coming. So a coaching change at this point in the season would not be sensible.

Alright so let's dive right in on this one, I do believe Burke should resign Wilson, but not till after Christmas at the earliest or the end of February at the latest. See how this team responds to their strong start from before the break to after the break. But let's be honest here, Wilson hasn't exactly had the worst 4 years here in TO, yes he's only had 1 winning season and has missed the post season in the past 3, but they haven't been absolutely horrible seasons. He has reached 30 wins in all 3 seasons, and the Leafs have been right on the edge of the playoffs. He was even named the Head coach for the USA Olympic Mens hockey team in 2010. S he sure as heck isn't a horrible coach, plus in the first 3 seasons with the Leafs, they were still in the rebuilding stage; restocking the minors and getting rid of players who didn't really want to play hard. But now, the Marlies are filled with players who want to reach the NHL level and make a difference, and the players currently playing for the Leafs are battling hard to earn their spot in the line-up each and every game. For the first time in a very long time the players know if they don't give it their all, they will face the reality of being a "healthy scratch" or be sent down to the Marlies. It would also appear that Wilson has learned to handle the media a lot better, he now uses a sense of humor, and doesn't take it to seriously like a good Leaf coach, don't worry about the media. Right now the young players on this team are especially buying into Wilson is saying; look how well Bozak has played, and if my biased opinion means anything, I'd say he is doing just fine on the first line with Kessel and Lupul, no need to demote him to third! Most remarkably look at how well rookie Jake Gardiner has played; coming into camp, steeling a spot and being able to stay in the line-up consistently thus far, plus he is becoming a reliable D man, and is showing great maturity. Even Phil Kessel seems to have drunken the Ron Wilson Kool-aid, look at how well he is playing, not just offensively but more of a complete game. But what is even more amazing is how much these players have grown to like Ron Wilson, yes that is correct they LIKE their head coach! 6 or 7 of the players including Phaneuf, Schenn, Bozak and Grabovski all went to Brian Burke and asked him to keep Wilson around for this season because they wanted to play well and save their coaches job, that is saying something! for NHL players to approach their GM and petition him to keep the head coach, Wilson must be doing something right.

With the Leafs off to arguably their best season since the lockout starting at 14-8, and currently have the leading NHL scorer in Phil Kessel. All the lines are meshing (minus the grabo-kulemin line), but other than them, the lines are producing and showing great chemistry. So it begs the question why not print the papers and sign Wilson for another few seasons? Here's why; why sign a coach that is still yet to prove themselves, despite everything Wilson is doing, he still has not made the playoffs in his 3 seasons as Leafs head coach. Yes the Leafs are currently sitting snug in the top in the Eastern conference, they are a 5 game losing streak away from missing the playoffs for the 7th straight season. On Thursday morning the Leafs had 30 points, the New Jersey Devils who are currently in 9th have 25 points, not a huge margin of error for this young Leafs squad, who may get a rude awakening, once teams start to figure out how to properly play the Leafs. So yes Wilson has led this squad near the top of the conference, but he is just as close to being out of a playoff spot and have the negative attention of the Toronto media, thrust back on him and his team. Now Burke isn't fond of having head coaches play out the last year of their contracts without a back-up deal, but the fact that Wilson and Burke have a great relationship that dates all the way back to their college days, has to stand for something between these two, and maybe a silent nod of agreement for now. But to sign a guy less than half way through the season, who has yet to lead his team to the post-season is very rare and likely not going to happen. Why would you? Despite the Leafs being 32-17-8 since last seasons all star break under Wilson, those numbers mean nothing IF the Leafs Miss the post season again! All the good things we just talked about go out the window and Wilson will be back on the firing block again. Lets take a stroll down memory lane shall we; remember Pat Quinn, he was fired after only failing to make the post season 1 time in the last 7 years, he consistently brought the Leafs to the post season 7 times but got fired for one mistake.

It is in all likely hood that Wilson will finish off the season without a contract, if the Leafs make the post season Wilson will stay, if they fail to do that, Wilson and Burke will "part" ways. Wilson and Burke are long time friends, I highly doubt he will officially fire Wilson; plus Burke has already virtually told Wilson that if he makes the post season he has a job for another season at least. Wilson finally has the "tools" to make this team successful, now it is up to him to get the "tool" to do the job! It would be nice to see Dallas Eakins of the Toronto Marlies called up to be the next head coach if things don't work out with Wilson, after all he is doing an amazing job with the young ones down in the Marlies, and is extremely good at developing players. But Burke will have to do some very careful thinking on his next move, resigning Wilson to a long term contract, could cost the Leafs, Dallas Eakins. Eakins wont want to stay a AHL coach forever, and many teams are in need of new coaches, so if Wilson stays Eakins could go!
Just a little interesting tidbit of information, the Leafs currently have 16 Canadian born hockey players on their roster, I'm glad a Canadian team, is dressing so many Canadians. Hockey lives in Canada!