There are enough examples of the Toronto Maple Leafs making a bold trade or splashy signing to get the club back to respectability as quickly as possible, but the past has shown that the odds of quick fixes working are rare and some times have the opposite effect.
In 1978, after being swept by Montreal in the Stanley Cup Semi-Final, GM Jim Gregory looked for that final piece that would upgrade the Leafs defense by trading for two-time All Star blueliner Dave Burrows.
The trade did not have the desired effect, as the veteran struggled with injuries and did not significantly improve Toronto’s fortunes(losing to the Canadiens in the 1979 Playoffs) while costing the Leafs forward George Ferguson and future Norris Trophy winner Randy Carlyle. GM Floyd Smith repeated Gregory’s mistake in 1989, acquiring defenseman Tom Kurvers from New Jersey for a 1991 first round pick which became Hall-of-Famer Scott Niedermayer.
In 1992, GM Cliff Fletcher made the biggest trade in NHL history in acquiring Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Rick Nattress and Rick Wamsley from the Calgary Flames. That deal was made possible by Calgary being unwilling to renegotiate Gilmour’s contract, Fletcher’s intimate knowledge of the Flames organization as their former GM and it propelled Toronto into Stanley Cup contention for the next two seasons.
A fortuitous 1998 encounter between super agent Don Meehan and GM Ken Dryden at a Toronto supermarket led to the Leafs signing goaltender Curtis Joseph, who backstopped Toronto to two Conference Final appearances.
In 2009, Leafs GM Brian Burke decides not to take advantage of his near complete autonomy and the fan base’s willingness for rebuilding through the draft and instead fast tracks the process by dipping into free agency with the signings of defensemen Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin and trading two 1st round picks to Boston for Phil Kessel.
Those decisions result in Toronto finishing near the bottom of the league the next two seasons, the necessity to trade for defenseman Dion Phaneuf and the division-rival Bruins selecting Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton with Toronto’s picks.
Once again, the Maple Leafs are at the crossroads where one path is attempting to accelerate the return to respectability or choosing the road of scouting, drafting and player development.
Team President Brendan Shanahan, GM Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock have preached the need for patience while the club transitions from the Burke/Nonis era to the group that includes Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter and Assistant GM Kyle Dubas. That approach to the next few seasons would seem to rule out the Leafs the unexpected blockbuster, like being one of the five teams interested in the availability of Hawks superstar Patrick Kane .
Kane is one of the best players in the NHL and is entering the first season of an eight-year, $84 Million contract and is just 26-years-old, but acquiring him would cost Toronto a good chunk of their prospects and put the Leafs back into an even worse cap-crunching dilemma they had with Kessel.
Under Shanahan, the Leafs have indicated that young prospects like 2015 top pick Mitch Marner, 2014 top pick William Nylander, AHL rookie scoring leader Connor Brown and prospect Kasperi Kapanen will be brought along slowly and not be promoted to the NHL until they are ready to stay for good, but these top prospects are hoping to press for positions in the NHL as soon as this season.
"I really trust that (Leafs management) have a plan and they are very motivated at this point," Brown said to NHL.com’s Mike Brophy on Monday . "They did what they thought was best for me and I agreed with it. I had a pretty good year and it was actually kind of nice to stay down there the whole year and focus on the season with the Marlies. I think I'm heading in the right direction, so hopefully at camp I can take the next step."
The 18-year-old Marner is expected to return to the OHL London Knights and play for Team Canada in the 2016 World Junior in Finland this December and not have a realistic chance of making the team, no matter how impressive he performs in training camp. (Sorry, Grapes)
Nylander and Kapanen could get more consideration with an addition year of experience playing against adults in Europe and the AHL last season, but the number of veteran free agents signed to one-way contracts over the summer would indicate that the club’s top prospects will begin the season playing major minutes with the Toronto Marlies and perhaps get a taste of the NHL after the trade deadline, when some of those veterans have been traded.
"I was one of the last ones to get sent down at training camp by Pittsburgh last year.… Kapanen said. “They have a pretty good team, so not making it as an 18-year-old, you have to give yourself some forgiveness. This year I have been working hard the whole summer and I am really excited to see what I can do."
Toronto wants their young players to be motivated to achieve success and get to the next level in their careers, but it will be up to Leafs management to practice some of the patience they have been preaching.
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