As with many seasons in recent history, the schedule after the trade deadline puts everything on hold in the world of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the only thing to be determined in the remaining 17 games is whether the club has a slightly better or slightly worse percentage chance to win the draft lottery.
It seems a forgone conclusion that Peter Horachek’s tenure behind the Leafs bench will end with season finale against Montreal on April 11, but there is still doubt whether Team President Brendan Shanahan will relieve Dave Nonis of his duties or keep the veteran GM to help with the tear down of the squad he helped assemble.
The Leafs did not feel any pressure or urgency to deal defenseman Dion Phaneuf to Detroit or any other big pieces before last Monday’s trade deadline for what they perceived as an undervalued price, because the market for moving the 29-year-old blueliner, forwards Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul is expected to be more brisk during the summer.
There is some doubt how quickly Leafs management can move out players with long term salaries and if they can do it without crippling themselves for the future by retaining money for six or seven years, but the fan reaction to the current Leafs roster and the players reaction to the constant beat of criticism has been so toxic that it may hasten Shanahan and his management group to make more changes than anyone is expecting.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman compared the current Leafs situation in his
30 Thoughts to what happened to the Montreal Canadiens in 2009, when a Montreal newspaper reported that there were players on the club that had ties to organized crime. That report destabilized the Habs locker room and had many looking to exit La Belle Province, which is likely the same road that the Leafs will go down.
The comments that Kessel made in Florida after the deadline defending Phaneuf were understandable in support of a friend and teammate, but elaborating further about the media and blaming team management for the club’s failings is going down a road that the normally tight-lipped Kessel would not go down and perhaps reflects his desire to be sent away from the Toronto fishbowl.
The long-term outlook of Shanahan expressed this week in a letter to season ticket holders means that Leafs fans should prepare for two or three years of the club performing as they have since December, finishing low in the standings to be able to draft prospects at the top of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 drafts, which will have to be the method of improving the club since signing big name free agents like David Clarkson appears to be the way of the past.
Clarkson chose to play for Toronto and did not come close to living up to expectations, but the fact that he took less, wanted to come home and play for the team he rooted for as a kid did not spare him any abuse. It is likely that the treatment he received will have a chilling effect on free agents signing long term deals in Toronto because of the increased scrutiny.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. COLORADO 67(64) 7. NEW JERSEY 64(65) 6. COLUMBUS 58(64) 5. TORONTO 57(65) 4. CAROLINA 55(63), 3. ARIZONA 49(65), 2. EDMONTON 47(65), 1. BUFFALO 43(65)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(8.5%) Up 1.0%
Friday's results: Columbus moves 1 point ahead of the Leafs with a 3-2 win over New Jersey, Carolina loses to Minnesota and uses up one of their three games in hand on Toronto.
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Toronto begins a three-game home stand against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. The Blues have lost their last two road games and are in a tight battle for playoff positioning in the Central Division, trailing the first place Nashville Predators by four points and holding a two-point lead on the Chicago Blackhawks.
Former Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott will be between the pipes for the Blues and Jonathan Bernier will get the start for Toronto.
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