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As expected, there has been an abundant amount of discussion and debate with respect to the Toronto Maple Leafs and their coaching situation.
I suppose it stands to reason that after another “collapse”, that fans, season ticket holders, and most importantly the owners demand better results. With that established, it is often the head coach and GM who are scrutinized after a poor season, and while this remains the case in Toronto, it appears that many remain divided on the issue.
Some see this year, somehow, as an improvement from previous years. The team is growing, they are learning and developing. Remain patient, they say, the team is finally on the right track. Conversely, there is a large population who hold that the team wasn’t strong last year, did nothing to improve this year, and unless the summer yields some big changes that next season will continue display mediocre results, at best.
That said, newly hired Brendan Shanahan has made it clear at this point in time that head coach Randy Carlyle, despite an abysmal season, is not being fired. And while Shanahan appears to be a much bolder man than would be Nonis, I do believe that Carlyle will be given time to prove to the management group that he’s very capable of leading the Maple Leafs to success in the near future.
With that, I believe that this summer will be spent assessing the personnel available to the head coach and weighing out their options in terms of contracts needed to be signed, potential deals to be made, and drafting. There is simply too much to address at this point in time for Shanahan and company to entertain firing their head coach.
Successful franchises have one thing in common; consistency and game plans. As of now, the Leafs are without either and they will need to devote all their time to establishing a certain “culture” and game plan in Toronto. With the help of Randy Carlyle who has much experience with the group, they will have the time needed to work on setting their immediate and long term goals. By firing the coach they may only create more instability within the organization, delaying any potential improvement.
What I expect, then, is that Carlyle will be given a number of games to prove that he’s able to carry through with their established game plan or direction. If say, after 25 games into the 2014-15 NHL season the Leafs continue to struggle in many defensive aspects of the game, it could then be clear that there is an immediate need for change in the coaching staff.
Until then, it is of my opinion that Shanahan would be unwise to fire Carlyle prematurely, despite the notion that he’s already proven himself to be an incompetent coach.
**For those who don’t follow my Calgary Flames blogs, I posted my Eastern Playoff predictions earlier this morning as shown below. For those who missed my announcement this past Saturday, I will be writing weekend blogs for Toronto, in addition to my weekly Wednesday blog.
Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings
This will be an interesting series I feel, given the recent success which the Wings have displayed. Going 6-3-1 in their last ten games played, Detroit did just about everything they could to ensure that they extended and maintained their playoff streak.
That said, the Bruins are simply a much stronger and well balanced team and shouldn’t have too much difficulty walking away with a series win. Detroit’s youth were great during the regular season, but without the needed playoff experience which the Bruins possess, Boston has the clear advantage here.
Final: Boston 4, Detroit 2
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens
I have struggled trying to predict this matchup. Both Tampa Bay and Montreal have been great teams this year, a slight advantage going to Montreal’s strong team play. That said, going into tonight’s game, Tampa finished the year 7-3-0 on a four game winning streak and were 3-1 against the Habs this year.
Of the two teams, Tampa plays a more complete game and is a stronger puck possession team whereas Montreal appears to play a better team game and has the stronger netminder and better specialty teams. With Stamkos back to full strength and entering his first playoffs as captain, in addition to Ben Bishop out with an injury, the Bolts success will be by and large due to how either of their goaltenders fair, in direct comparison to Carey Price.
This series for me will come down to goaltending as both teams have the right amount of offensive players who can skate. It should be a quick game and I expect it to go back and forth and be very close overall.
Final: Tampa Bay 4, Montreal 3
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Unfortunately for Flyers fans, I don’t see much chance for Philadelphia in this match up. Looking at the numbers alone between the two teams this year, the Rangers have won eight straight home games against the Flyers and have outscored them by quite an impressive margin.
As with most series, it all comes down to strong goaltending and leadership, both of which the Rangers win hands down, in my opinion. While New York lost Ryan Callahan, they have acquired Martin St Louis who has added leadership and a level of work ethic to the room.
Unless Lundqvist falls a part of the Rangers are unable to produce any offense, New York should have no issue walking away with an early win as Steve Mason is simply not going to cut it during these series.
Final: Rangers 4, Flyers 1
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Similar to the above, I see a clear cut winner here with the Penguins being the much stronger and more experienced team of the two. That said, the Blue Jackets have been playing quite well to close out the season and could surprise the Pens who may not come out of the gates flying.
If the Penguins take the Jackets too lightly to get things going, we could see Columbus walking away with an early win, causing Pittsburgh to chase their lead. Even with this established, the dominance of forward which the Pens hold on their roster should have no issue getting the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. Columbus’ best chance is that their defensive play is enough to frustrate Pittsburgh’s top scorers and that Sergei comes up big for them.
Moreover, the Pens will need to allow MA Fleury to gain confidence early on as they netminder has been known to struggle when the pressure is on. With some crucial injuries to some of the Columbus’ star players, I do not see the Blue Jackets putting up too much of a fight, unless of course the Pens break down defensively and find themselves pulling the puck from the back of their net more often than they should.
Final: Pittsburgh 4, Columbus 2
I will put together my predictions for the Western Conference teams tomorrow in the Flames blog.
Thanks for reading!
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