TORONTO (Feb. 2) — The most intriguing element of Brian Burke’s roster demolition on the weekend was clearly the acquisition of still-young defenseman Dion Phaneuf, and the vast potential he provides a Leaf team down the road in concert with Phil Kessel, Jonas Gustavsson, and [perhaps] Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri. The massive, seven-player trade with Calgary was executed with the future in mind. The follow-up deal was not.
Burke’s obtaining of veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere from Anaheim was made with an immediate objective in mind: to diminish, as thoroughly as possible, the first-round draft choice the Leafs traded to Boston last September for Kessel. Any person that knows the Toronto GM even remotely understands he was not going to sit idly and watch his team plummet to the basement of the NHL, thereby intensifying the odds that the Bruins would select first at the Staples Center in June. Burke clearly understood how vital goaltending would become in the final months of this season, given the amount of team scoring he yielded in the Calgary trade. The notion of a shaky, indifferent Vesa Toskala and an equally-unsure Gustavsson back-stopping his offensively-challenged club simply didn’t cut it for Burke; standing pat in goal would have been tantamount to waving a white flag and offering Taylor Hall to the Bruins on a platter.
That scenario could still come to pass, because the current Leafs will not frighten anyone in the attacking zone. And, you still have to score to win. But, Burke is counting on a much-improved goaltending display to offset the anticipated lack of production.
And that’s why the spotlight — beginning tonight at the Air Canada Centre — shines more brightly on Giguere than it does on Phaneuf, even though the latter was Burke’s prize, long-term acquisition. Standing at opposite ends in the Leafs-Devils latest clash will be the goalies that battled so fiercely through seven games of the 2003 Stanley Cup final. Martin Brodeur prevailed over Anaheim’s Giguere, 3-0, in the deciding match at the Meadowlands [relief from a hockey crowd was never more evident than in the building that night, after the Ducks had throttled New Jersey, 5-2, in Game 6 at the Pond], but the losing goalie was presented the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. In an era before goaltending equipment came under scrutiny, Giguere wore a jersey that, today, would fit comfortably over both he and Gustavsson, but he still performed miraculously – enabling Anaheim to knock off Minnesota in the Western Conference final and extend the Devils to the brink for the championship.
Burke is looking for his ex-chattel to put up a similar wall in the Toronto net for the remainder of this campaign. Though the GM spoke wistfully about making the playoffs again on Sunday, that is not the prime objective here. Nor is the supposed “mentoring” Giguere will provide Gustavsson; the Leafs already have an accomplished goaltending consultant in Francois Allaire. Of paramount, immediate importance — and Burke spoke directly about it at the ACC after announcing his trades — is for the Leafs to somehow wiggle out of contention to yield either of the top two selections in the NHL draft lottery. Given where the club is located today, that will be a monumental task. It requires moving up a minimum five spots in the overall standings — past the Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning — who both have 55 points, 10 more than the Leafs.
If the lottery were held tonight, Toronto would be in the number-two hole, ahead of only Edmonton. The Leafs need to be in at least the No. 7 spot, as teams cannot improve more than four positions in the lottery. Accomplishing that would ensure the Bruins select no higher than third with Toronto’s pick.
A more realistic goal is to merely diminish the percentage-chance the Bruins have of garnering the No. 1 selection. That would require the Leafs to stay ahead of Edmonton in the overall standings [the Oilers are five points back with two games in hand after finally winning on Monday night]; move past Carolina in the East [Leafs and Hurricanes remain tied with 45 points after Carolina lost to the Oilers, but the ‘Canes still have a game in hand], and perhaps catch Columbus [53 points in the West; Toronto with a game in hand]. Even that will be difficult, but maybe not impossible if Giguere is able to perform acrobatically in the Maple Leafs’ end of the ice.
Giggy is Burke’s only hope to potentially avoid an embarrassment in Los Angeles this summer. He knows it, and that’s why he made the deal for the veteran puck-stopper.
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