SAN JOSE (Jan. 13) -- And now, we await the aftermath.
Though the Toronto Maple Leafs showed up and played with purpose and energy on Saturday night, they still coughed up a 2-0 lead in the third period and lost, 3-2, to the San Jose Sharks at the sold out H-P Pavilion. It was Toronto's third regulation-time defeat in as many games on this California road swing, and the club's fifth in succession. The Leafs are seven points removed from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and just one point ahead of last-place Tampa Bay. Many observers are expecting a personnel shake-up once the team returns to Toronto.
Exactly what that shake-up entails is a matter of speculation, though hockey legend Scotty Bowman seems poised take control of the club, if asked. Bowman told Hockey Night In Canada's Ron MacLean on Saturday that he felt he had the job as Maple Leafs' president last summer, only to be over-ruled at the last moment by CEO Richard Peddie.
Though he was non-committal when questioned about the future, Bowman seemed open to leaving his post as a senior advisor with the Detroit Red Wings and assuming control of the Leafs. Providing, that is, he has full and unequivocal reign over the hockey department -- a privilege the board of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has not accorded current GM John Ferguson.
If Bowman is granted the mandate he wishes, it is believed that both Ferguson and Maple Leafs' head coach Paul Maurice will be replaced. Speculation last summer had Bowman considering former Russian player, and future Hall of Famer, Igor Larionov as a strong coaching prospect. Larionov played for Bowman and was a key figure on all three of Detroit's most recent Stanley Cup triumphs -- in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
The fate of Ferguson and Maurice is expected to be discussed by the MLSE board sometime this week. Peddie was on this three-game trip as part of an unrelated buisiness matter, but he spent enough time around the hockey club to obtain a first-hand sense of how the team is responding to Maurice, and whether it has any realistic chance of scrambling back into the Eastern playoff picture.
Peddie's eleventh-hour rejection of Bowman last summer was seen in some circles as a territorial maneuver. Before Bowman joins the Leafs, he will insist on contractual authority over all hockey decisions, and minimal involvement from the board. That would be a dramatic change from the current operation.
For two periods on Saturday night, it appeared that goalie Vesa Toskala would make a triumphant return to this city. Toskala was acquired by the Leafs from San Jose last summer, and the visitors' 2-0 lead after 40 minutes looked fairly secure.
But, an old vice caught up to the Leafs in the final frame -- untimely penalties. The Sharks scored an early goal (by Patrick Marleau) to erase Toskala's shutout bid, then turned around the match during a long 5-on-3 powerplay. Rookie Jiri Tlusty took an undisciplined holding-the-stick penalty in the offensive zone, and was joined in the box, 43 seconds later, by defenceman Hal Gill, who received a very questionable cross-checking call.
Craig Rivet's slapshot tied the game at 8:31 of the third period, and Joe Pavelski smartly re-directed Jonathan Cheechoo's slapper from the left-wing boards to give San Jose the lead just seven seconds after the 5-on-3 ended. The three Sharks' goals were scored in a 9:12 span.
Nik Antropov and Pavel Kubina had carved out Toronto's 2-0 lead; Antropov scoring in the first period, Kubina on a powerplay in the second.
The loss followed ugly defeats in Anaheim (5-0) and Los Angeles (5-2) earlier in the trip. The Leafs are a dreadful 2-9-2 in their past 13 games.
Saturday night's match appeared to end with some controversy, as Toronto captain Mats Sundin shoved linesman Lonnie Cameron just after the final buzzer sounded. But, veteran referee Rob Shick absolved Sundin of any wrong-doing.
"It was just a heat-of-the-moment [thing]," said Shick after the game. "Mats is an intense individual... we understand that as officials, and we've got to recognize that. We have to look at whether it's emotion or abuse, and in [Sundin's] case, it was raw emotion. We're okay with it."
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