Follow Colin on Twitter! Follow @ColinDJD The day has arrived.
The weather outside is getting colder, the trees are becoming colourful and, most of all, the Maple Leafs are about to hit the ice against the Montreal Canadiens for their 2014-15 NHL regular season opener!
As with most regular season debuts, fans of the Leafs are typically somewhat divided. You have your “this is their year… crowd, strongly followed by the “they’re going to let us down yet again…, crowd.
Whether you find yourself in either of these groups, there should be a little more reason for excitement coming into this particular regular season. The Maple Leafs have made several changes over the past six months, have brought in new hockey minds who can think the game differently as it continues to evolve each passing year, and they appear to be a slightly more confident and or experienced group than their previous season or two displayed.
That said, Toronto is still somewhat young, their defensive core has not exactly proven or established itself in the NHL, including their captain Dion Phaneuf. The common thought last season was that Phaneuf was relied upon perhaps a little too heavily, and ultimately faltered in his role. The organization brought in some added depth in terms of the depth of the team, and added leadership in the room to help take some of the load off his shoulders. Will these "improvements" make a difference in the play of Dion? Well, we can only hope.
Moreover, and almost as importantly as the strong play of their captain, the Leafs success may rely on some of the younger or newer players who will need to prove their worth; namely Nazem Kadri and David Clarkson. Toronto's Achilles heal over the past couple of seasons were there depth and "role" players, and an improvement in play from their bottom six could have quite the impact on the top players. And of course, sending Orr and McLaren down to the AHL was a step in the right direction...
But let’s be honest for a moment, shall wel? Should we really be expecting a whole lot more from Kadri, a recently turned 24 year old in the league, who has already amassed 113pts in 177 NHL games played?
I think this particular player has been on the right path so far in terms of his development and can only get better as the team itself, improves. It can be rather difficult for a rookie to shine or develop to his fullest when the team which he plays for can’t seem to get things going themselves…just ask a few of the Oilers prospects.
With respect to David Clarkson, (he) is a player who we should hope to see better results from – because honestly, could he do any worse than last year’s 11pts? I don’t think so…
As I mentioned in a blog a few weeks ago, Clarkson was someone who the Leafs brought in to the organization to help shape their identify and improve their depth. The issue with David was that he simply tried to do too much. He tried to dangle at the blue line, he tried to fight heavy weights, he tried to score highlight reel goals and tried to be “the man….
He was not, at any point, brought in to do any of those things. He was brought in rather, to do the small things and do them right; crash the net, agitate the opposing team, play the body hard, stick up for teammates, and get a solid fore-check going.
As long as Clarkson is able to get back to playing the game as he did not too long ago in New Jersey by simplifying things, he could legitimately be a solid asset for this team moving forward. With both Kadri (and) Clarkson having a bigger impact this year, this team truly has the tools needed to succeed this year.
But of course, we must all consider that there is likely to be injuries, a player or two who runs cold for a little too long, and some disappointing games. That being said, this is where the additions to the bottom six group which Toronto has addressed this offseason, in addition to bringing in some veteran presence on the blue line, should hopefully come into play.
There is going to be a lot to chat about this year, likely both good and bad, but I feel that at the very least were in for an exciting year. What about you?
Thanks for reading!