After letting a week go by to let the some of the emotion dissipate from the end of the season collapse, it is time to take a look at the players, coach and management of the Toronto Maple Leafs, evaluate how they did and what their status should be with the club next season.
Defense
Dion Phaneuf If it was possible to eliminate the last month of the season, many would have considered last season as Phaneuf’s best in Toronto. While most of the club was even or slightly in the negative in plus/minus at that point, the Leafs team captain was a double digit plus, drawing the tough assignment of the opposition’s top forwards and playing both special teams.
Whether it was fatigue (averaging a club high 23:33 per game) or an injury down the stretch, Phaneuf’s play declined precipitously in March and he along with James Reimer became the poster child for the collapse that cost the Leafs a playoff spot.
Phaneuf signed a seven-year, $49 Million extension in late December, which kicks in this summer and at 29, he has a number of quality years left in him, but the problem is that he is not at the level of being a Norris Trophy nominee and he is being paid and played like he is.
His leadership abilities have been called into question, as the Leafs have gone through three seasons of epic collapses, but management might be opening up a can of worms if they decide to strip Phaneuf of the captaincy.
Grade : B-
Outlook for 2014-15 – 75% chance of being the Leafs top defenseman and team captain, 25% of being traded.
Carl Gunnarsson The defensively sound Swede led the club with a +12 last season but is woefully miscast as a top pairing defenseman, mostly because he has been the most dependable partner for Phaneuf since his arrival in Toronto.
The 27-year-old Gunnarsson will never be mistaken for Jake Gardiner in terms of mobility and offensive chops, as he scored three goals and 14 assists in 80 games, but is valuable because he is one of the few Leafs defensemen who grasps the concept of playing defense.
Grade : B-
Outlook for 2014-15 – Bottom pairing defenseman
Morgan Rielly The 19-year-old blueliner surprised some by sticking with the Leafs instead of heading back to the WHL and had some understandable growing pains early in the season, but settled down as the season progressed and flashed the skills that made Toronto select him 5th in the 2012 Draft.
Rielly showed great speed, offensive creativity and as he gained confidence and experience, showed a willingness to jump into the offensive attack. The rookie finished fourth on the club in defensive scoring, with two goals and 25 assists and will likely be relied upon to take on more defensive responsibilities next season.
Grade : A-
Outlook for 2014-15 – Top four defenseman
Part II on Wednesday
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Phil Kessel caused a minor storm on Monday night with comments made on his Twitter account that drew snarky responses from some of his followers.
According to a report from
TSN, the Leafs winger tweeted “Night fishing with friends doesn’t get much better”, which drew responses making reference to the Leafs collapse and playoff hockey.
Kessel then responded “Relax people playoffs would been better some of u need to chill out it’s crazy”.
The tweets were later deleted from Kessel’s account.
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The Toronto Marlies released their playoff schedule for their Western Conference Quarter-Final match against the Milwaukee Admirals.
The first two games of the best-of-five series are in Milwaukee on Friday, April 25th and Saturday, April 26th at 8pm, with the remaining three games in Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum.
Game Three will be a 7pm start on Thursday, May 1, Games 4 & 5(if necessary) will be 3pm starts on Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5.
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