By Lukas Hardonk (@LukasHardonk)
The 2011-2012 NHL season was another one filled with disappointment for the Toronto Maple Leafs and those who regularly root for them.
After a hot and consistent start that saw them in a race for one of the final few playoff spots in the Eastern Conference for more than 50 percent of the campaign, the team completely collapsed and now sits as a basement team in the East, mathematically eliminated from post-season contention.
With a fan base that now appears to be getting restless and legitimately upset with the team’s on-ice performance, this season’s failures mean that next season will undoubtedly be the most important for the Maple Leafs in recent memory. That doesn’t mean that they have to win the Stanley Cup, but that the playoffs will be a necessity.
You might say that it’s too early to look ahead to next season considering that the current one has yet to commence and that, in fact, there isn’t even guaranteed to be hockey this fall given that the current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA is set to expire this summer. However, because of the uniquely familiar situation the Leafs find themselves in, it’s completely acceptable to take a glance into the future.
(AP Photo, Chris Young)
As always, the biggest question surrounding the team concerns who will be back in the blue and white next season. Not just players, but management and coaches as well.
It’s clear that head coach Randy Carlyle’s job is safe. He was just recently hired and hasn’t had much time to swing things around and get this team back on the right track.
The same can be said for general manager Brian Burke in terms of safety, although one more playoff-less season and one would have to think that he’ll find himself on the hot seat.
Then there is the main one: players. Mike Komisarek, Colby Armstrong, Matthew Lombardi, Cody Franson, Jonas Gustavsson, Carl Gunnarsson, Tim Connolly and Nikolai Kulemin are all players who appear to be on the fence when it comes to switching teams in time for next season. While it’s believed that none have asked for a trade and no one is questioning how they feel about playing in Toronto, those eight guys seem to be the most likely potential victims of trade and free agency.
Where the real guessing begins, though, is with the Leafs’ top players, including those who appeared in the All-Star Game in January. Yes we’re talking about Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf.
Some─including members of the mainstream media─have called for the Leafs to deal Kessel although that doesn’t seem like a wonderful idea for multiple reasons. The same can be said for Lupul, while others believe the team should trade Phaneuf due to what appears to be a lack of leadership. Yes, leadership: a hot topic around the Toronto Maple Leafs these days.
(Getty Images)
Those who call out the likes of Phaneuf, Armstrong, John-Michael Liles and others for a “lack of leadership” don’t appear to realize what the Leafs’ average age (roughly 26 years, the second youngest in the NHL) actually is, as well as the limited amount of veterans on the team’s roster. That, of course, is another area that must be addressed in the off-season if this team wants to succeed, as it has become painfully obvious that the team is too young to carry expectations of the playoffs.
Perhaps a smart area to invest in leadership is at the goaltending position. An ideal situation for the Leafs would see someone who could split the duties between the pipes with James Reimer, who will be a third-year player in 2012-2013, in order to provide some better stability in net. Of course that would force the team to make a big decision on Gustavsson, although there’s believed to be a trade market for the 27-year-old despite the fact that he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
When adding that leadership, no matter the position, is there a specifically different way that Burke must go about building his team this time or should he continue on the way he has been for about a year? Taking into consideration that the Leafs are now coached to play a completely different style, there is absolutely no doubt that the answer has to be the former.
One thing the later part of this season has taught us is that this team is not constructed correctly to succeed under Carlyle unless the new coach can find some way to completely adjust the mindset of a group of players that has grown somewhat accustom to losing. What’s now needed is a roster that can battle hard along the boards, especially down low, and one that isn’t afraid to play with grit rather than just speed and finesse. But just how would Burke handle such a transition with somewhat limited cap space?
There are essentially three main options he has when it comes to adjusting the roster to Carlyle’s style. He can either blow the entire thing up, otherwise known as rebuilding, pull a Paul Holmgren-like transformation (remember, Holmgren dealt Jeff Carter and Mike Richards and signed Ilya Bryzgalov all on the same day), or complete minor transactions.
Unlike many seasons before, the 2011-2012 campaign leaves the Maple Leafs in complete disarray. There isn’t one person who knows what to expect from the Leafs this summer, which makes the 2012 off-season that much more intriguing.
In other words, the 2011-2012 campaign hasn’t left the Maple Leafs in much of a situation to succeed next season.
Lukas covers the Toronto Maple Leafs for The Hockey Guys. You can follow Lukas on Twitter @LukasHardonk for more Maple Leafs coverage and contact him at lukas.hardonk (at) gmail (dot) com.
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