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Beauchemin Critical To Any Leafs Improvement

August 25, 2009, 12:04 AM ET [ Comments]
Howard Berger
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
CALGARY (Aug. 25) – Given the mystery surrounding the latest version of the Toronto Maple Leafs, this much is certain: If Vesa Toskala does not rebound from his trio of off-season surgeries, and if rookie Jonas Gustavsson is not able to either support Toskala or assume the No. 1 role, the moves general manager Brian Burke made this summer will amount to almost nothing. Goaltending is the backbone of any club that’s intent on challenging for the playoffs and we simply do not know, right now, whether it will be stronger for the Leafs in 2009-10.

But, let’s make the fairly safe assumption that the Toskala/Gustavsson pairing is able to provide an improvement over last season. If you ask ten hockey observers to wager a guess, seven or eight of them would likely deduce that puck-stopping won’t be as pervasive an issue as it was for the Leafs a year ago. Should that be the case, then a particular addition Burke made this summer stands a fair distance beyond the rest… he being the lone member of the Blue & White participating here in Alberta at Hockey Canada’s Olympic orientation camp. Goaltending aside, defenseman Francois Beauchemin could be the key to any Maple Leafs’ renaissance in the coming season, and it’s not difficult to figure out why.

Just two summers ago, the Leafs had defensemen of varying capacity that shared similar traits… they could both move and shoot the puck. In the interim, the club has traded Bryan McCabe, Pavel Kubina, Carlo Colaiacovo and Anton Stralman, and has – more recently – lowered Ian White and Mike Van Ryn on the depth chart. Though they perform at different levels, all of the abovementioned are offensive-minded players and most are inclined to fire the puck at the opposition net [White is more inclined to pass]. When you consider the top five contenders for big minutes on the Toronto blue-line this season, much has changed in the composition and style of performance.

Four of the five – Tomas Kaberle, Michael Komisarek, Luke Schenn and Jeff Finger – tend to shoot the puck as a last resort. It’s likely that White and Van Ryn will have to scramble for regular duty with Garnet Exelby and, perhaps, Jonas Frogren. That leaves Beauchemin as the only true scoring threat on the back end, as he possesses a cannon for a shot and will be given every opportunity to anchor the Leafs’ powerplay, which ranked 16th in the NHL a year ago. The native of Sorel, Quebec handled that role successfully in Anaheim during 2005-06, his first full season in the big league. He teamed with Scott Niedermayer on the Ducks’ No. 1 powerplay unit, compiling eight goals and 41 points in 61 games. That pace would have put him at the 60-point mark – among the NHL blue-line leaders – had he played the entire schedule.

When Burke obtained Chris Pronger from Edmonton in the summer of 2006, Beauchemin’s ice time with the man advantage diminished, as Pronger and Niedermayer became the Ducks’ top pairing. But, the Leafs will be looking for Beauchemin to match or exceed his initial production in the NHL; it will be a necessary component of any upward movement in the standings for the Blue & White. One of the prime reasons Burke did not trade Kaberle over the summer is the potential for the slick-passing defenseman to mesh with his free agent catch from southern California.

To that end, Beauchemin told me here in Calgary that he’s anxiously anticipating his front-line responsibilities.

“Absolutely, I’m looking forward to being a big player with the Leafs,” he said. “I don’t think [an advanced role] changes my game very much; I still feel I’ll be able to help Toronto in a number of areas, including my physical play and ability to shoot the puck. But, I’m happy about moving to a different hockey environment than Anaheim. I know there will be much more attention focused on everything I do with the Leafs and that’s something I wanted, to be honest.

“I was looking to come to a hockey-first city and Toronto was one of my top choices. When Burkie gave me a good deal, it was very exciting.”

I also spoke to Niedermayer, who figures Beauchemin will make an immediate impact with the Maple Leafs. “I enjoyed playing with Francois for the past four years in Anaheim, though he was injured last season and missed a lot of time,” Niedermayer said. “I didn’t know a lot about him when he first got traded to us [from Columbus], but I just felt comfortable with him from day one. He’s a guy that always competes hard; he has a good shot; he’s physical when he has to be, plus he can drop the gloves occasionally and handles himself well in that situation. He’s an honest, hard-working guy and that goes a long way in the NHL.”

Though Beauchemin was somewhat sheltered by Niedermayer and Pronger, the former doesn’t believe he’ll have much of a problem in his new role. “It may be a bit different for him initially,” Niedermayer said. “But, his attitude will carry him through. He’s willing to put in the hours of work, which is very important, and I think he’ll do a good job for Toronto.”

Not a bad endorsement from a guy that’ll be a first-ballot hall of famer.

****************

Many of the players on Team Canada arrived here in town Monday morning and were met by a swarm of reporters at Calgary Airport. Some players came off flights by themselves, while others traveled in groups of three and four… which spawned the corniest [but best] line of the day. One scribe perused the list of arrivals and quipped, “Hey, look, a music group is coming off: Crosby, Staals and Nash.”

****************

The 44 players at camp that skated [Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Ward did not participate; Getzlaf recovering from sports hernia surgery, Ward nursing a recurrence of back pain] were split into a pair of groups for the first on-ice sessions at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Though head coach Mike Babcock warned the line combinations and defense pairings “will likely change by tomorrow”, here are the ones he used in his initial practices:

WHITE TEAM

FORWARD

C Sidney Crosby/ LW Rick Nash/ RW Jarome Iginla

C Mike Richards/ LW Brenden Morrow/ RW Dany Heatley

C Jonathan Toews/ LW Simon Gagne/ RW Martin St. Louis

C Jordan Staal/ LW Andy McDonald/ RW Shane Doan

DEFENCE

Duncan Keith and Scott Niedermayer

Francois Beauchemin and Shea Weber

Jay Bouwmeester and Brent Burns

Marc Staal and Mike Green

GOAL

Martin Brodeur / Marc-Andre Fleury

RED TEAM

FORWARD

C Joe Thornton/ LW Eric Staal/ RW Corey Perry

C Vincent Lecavalier/ LW Milan Lucic/ RW Jeff Carter

C Jason Spezza/ LW Patrick Marleau/ RW Dan Cleary

C Derek Roy/ LW Ryan Smyth/ RW Patrick Sharp

DEFENCE

Chris Pronger and Drew Doughty

Dan Hamhuis and Dan Boyle

Robyn Regehr and Brent Seabrook

Dion Phaneuf and Stephane Robidas

GOAL

Roberto Luongo / Steve Mason

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