Off-Season Game Plan

The new style of the NHL seemed to catch the Toronto Maple Leafs off-guard last year and the result was no playoff hockey.
While the Toronto fans have a history of supporting the Leafs no matter what the level of success on the ice, there will be plenty of expectations for productive changes this off-season.
The first big change came behind the bench, where Pat Quinn was relieved of his duties. Though the Leafs didn't get over the hump with Quinn at the helm, his 300-196-78 regular season record was impressive.
The new guy, Paul Maurice, did earn lots of credibility with a run to the Cup finals in 2002 with Carolina, but he also missed the playoffs five times and lost in the first round twice in his other seven seasons with the 'Canes. After posting a 41-29-6-4 record with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL in 2005-2006, Maurice has had some success and is familiar with the young players in the organization.

Maurice promises that the Leafs will play a more up-tempo style, which likely means getting younger; an approach that is a year late, but still necessary.
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Quite possibily the first on-ice priority that the Leafs need to address is goaltending. Ed Belfour looked every bit like a 40 year-old with a bad back and it was up to Jean-Sebastien Aubin to give the Leafs a late lift between the pipes. Despite a tremendous finish (9-0-2, 2.22 goals against, .924 save percentage) Aubin is no more than a backup, at best, on a playoff team.
While the Leafs have a couple top goaltending prospect in Tuukka Rask and Justin Pogge, it is much too soon to heap NHL responsibility upon them. That leaves Mikael Tellqvist, who looked good early and then faded late. It would be a surprise if Tellqvist is the guy for 50-60 games in 2006-2007, which means that the Leafs are going to be in the market for a starter between the pipes.
On the free agent front, Martin Gerber or Manny Legace could be signed, but the Leafs might find more on the trade market. Crowded creases around the league could make the likes of Dan Cloutier, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Evgeni Nabokov, Andrew Raycroft, David Aebischer, Marc Denis and Martin Biron available.
Assuming the Leafs address the goaltending situation, there is still plenty of work to do in front of the tenders. On defence, the Leafs may not be willing to re-sign Bryan McCabe, who has been reported to be seeking a five-year deal worth at least $25-million and, perhaps more contentiously, a no-trade clause.
If the Leafs think they can get more bang for their buck with either a cheaper alternative (Pavel Kubina?) or by spending a little more (Wade Redden?, Ed Jovanovski?, Rob Blake?), McCabe's days in T.O. could be numbered. After putting up 68 points last year, McCabe will surely attract attention on the free agent market too, as there are plenty of teams with holes to fill on the blueline.

One of the most noticeable changes anticipated for the Leafs is that Mats Sundin might start to see more icetime. It wasn't until late in the season, when seemingly there was nothing to play for, that the Leafs started giving Sundin more ice and the captain responded with 20 points in the final ten games of the year.
Even at 35, the Leafs can count on Sundin to anchor the first line and it's about time that the Leafs brought in some wingers capable of supporting him. Patrik Elias, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Samsonov and Anson Carter are among the scoring wingers available in unrestricted free agency (and playmaking centre Marc Savard probably holds some appeal for the Leafs too), but there will be plenty of demand for all of them and that could make it tough for a non-playoff team to lure them in, so the Leafs might have to look to trade for a top winger.
Taking a quick look around the league, some of the wingers that might be potential targets could include Todd Bertuzzi, Fredrik Modin and Glen Murray. Of course, to land goalscorers like this, the Leafs would have to be prepared to sacrifice quality in return and it's debatable just how much quality the Leafs would have to deal.
The end result is that Leafs will probably make a splash signing or two, but they need to infuse the lineup with young players that can skate -- it's been proven to be a rather successful strategy in this year's playoffs -- if there is going to be any chance of even getting back to the postseason next year.

Leafs Searching for Answers

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in quite a power outage.The power play is struggling and the Leafs are coming up empty offensively … period.
The power play had been a strong point for the Maple Leafs in the early going of the season but has hit the skids and it is no surprise that the wins have also been hard to come by in the last week.Saturday against the red-hot Dallas Stars it wasn’t any different as the Leafs lost 2-1 – leaving head coach Pat Quinn experimenting with his lines looking for answers.“We were searching for something to give us some offence,” Quinn said. “Generally the only offence we were getting was from young (Kyle) Wellwood who had a couple of spurts but other than that we weren’t getting much. Typical of us as of late we’re playing very individually and still never put any pucks at the net, over pass and try risky plays all in an effort to try and get some offence.” The Leafs used the man advantage to win many games in the first two months largely by having Bryan McCabe one-time defence partner Tomas Kaberle’s perfect passes.Teams have now taken McCabe’s blast away by having a forward shadow him on the point and the Leafs haven’t been able to adjust. Against the Stars the Leafs tried to have McCabe slide down low but the Stars covered extremely well and the Leafs couldn’t get much though for goalie Marty Turco to handle.Over the last five games the Leafs are five for 38 on the power play. Looking at those numbers a little more closely, the Leafs scored three power-play goals in a 4-0 win over Atlanta and have scored two in the other four games.Captain Mats Sundin felt Quinn had no choice but to alter things with his combinations and he’s mystified at the offensive struggles, especially on the power play.“I wish I knew,” Sundin said when asked why the power play can’t score. “I would’ve corrected it. We’re not getting pucks through, they’re playing higher on Bryan and Tomas.”On the first power-play unit at the start of the game, Quinn had Sundin with Jason Allison and Alex Steen with McCabe and Kaberle manning the point. His second unit had Eric Lindros, Darcy Tucker and Nik Antropov with Alexander Khavanov and Ken Klee. These combinations didn’t produce any goals and in the third period, Quinn desperately tried to get his offence jump started by changing the lines again.Lindros was moved to the wing to play with Sundin and Tucker. Steen was moved to a line with Tie Domi and Wellwood who yet again dazzled with his quick moves as he had two great chances in the second period to but couldn’t put the Leafs on the board. The Leafs don’t have much time to get ready for the next Pacific Division opponent as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are here on Monday. After that the Leafs are off until next Saturday when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators. With all those practice days after Monday’s game Quinn will be back at the drawing board trying to figure out a way to get the Leafs back on track.

Leafs Captain Launches Street Buds Program

Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Mats Sundin will launch the 2005-06 Maple Leaf Street Buds program sponsored by Esso on Sunday at Wellesley Community Centre. In its eleventh year, the program gives boys and girls between the ages of six and 16 years the opportunity to play organized street-style hockey in a safe and fun environment.As honourary captain of the Street Buds program, Sundin will coach Street Buds participants and demonstrate various hockey skills. The Street Buds will also have an opportunity to match the Swedish forward’s skills in several interactive zones for passing, shooting, goaltending and stick handling.“Maple Leaf Street Buds is a great program on many levels — it recognizes the value of positive reinforcement in youth skill development and provides kids who would not normally have the opportunity to play hockey access to the game and equipment,” said Sundin. Besides emphasizing skill and healthy child development, the program also promotes the importance of teamwork and physical fitness. "For the last eleven years, the success of the Esso Street Buds program would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of many individuals," said Karen Fraser, manager of sponsorships at Imperial Oil. "The Esso Volunteer awards recognize Toronto Street Buds staff and volunteers who exemplify leadership and an extraordinary commitment to the youth involved in the Street Buds program.”
Launched in 1995, the Esso Maple Leaf Street Buds program provides more than 3,500 Toronto children an opportunity to develop their hockey skills, keep fit and have fun. Awarding participants monthly for sportsmanship and fair play, the program oversees 30 organized hockey games organized at Toronto Parks and Recreation community centres and public schools each season. The Esso Maple Leaf Street Buds program is an initiative supported by Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Development, which increases the access, opportunity and skill development of youth in hockey throughout Ontario and Canada. Visit the community development page for more information.

Leafs Share in Spirit of the Season

With the holiday season here, Toronto Maple Leafs players will get into the spirit of giving as they lend their time and support to a wide range of community initiatives and programs throughout December.
Leafs Captain Mats Sundin was joined by Leafs mascot Carlton the Bear to launch the eleventh season of Esso Maple Leaf Street Buds at Wellesley Community Centre on Sunday, December 4. Supported by Leafs Hockey Development, this program provides youth between the ages of six and 16 years the opportunity to play organized street-style hockey in a safe and fun environment.
On Thursday, December 8, Leafs Matt Stajan and Wade Belak will visit the students of Morse Street School as part of the TD Waterhouse Leafs @ School program. Aimed at students in Grades 4 to 6 and aligned with the current Ontario school curriculum, Leafs @ School is a popular web-based education program that makes learning fun by using hockey in relation to core school subjects.
More than 65,000 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) students currently participate in Math with Mats Sundin, Language with Eric Lindros, Nutrition with Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle and the Leafs @ School Fitness Challenge — key Leafs @ School lesson plans that engage kids and motivate them to learn.
The very-popular Toronto Maple Leafs Skate for Easter Seals Kids takes place on Sunday, December 11 at Air Canada Centre in support of kids living with physical disabilities. Proceeds from the skate benefit The Easter Seal Society and the Leafs Fund. For a minimum $100 in pledges, hockey fans will get the opportunity-of-a-lifetime to skate with current Leafs players and alumni.
Leafs players will also visit with patients and their families at The Hospital for Sick Children on Tuesday, December 13 as they drop by Marnie’s Lounge, a recreational room inside the hospital that provides a wide variety of programming and activities for patients. Players will spend one-on-one time with the kids, sign autographs and tour hospital units.
“We recognize that the Leafs are in a unique position to be a positive influence in our community, particularly with children and youth,” said John Lashway, senior vice-president of communications and community development of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. “The personal time, energy and efforts of our players, coaches, alumni and community staff have had a tremendous impact for the many charities, organizations and agencies we support. We take our outreach responsibilities very seriously and appreciate the opportunity to give back to our community.”
The Leafs organization remains at the forefront of many social issues currently debated in the public forum. The team's active support and work in the community has helped raise much needed awareness for hot button issues such as health, wellness, child development active lifestyles, education, nutrition and youth self-esteem.
Creating community awareness inside Air Canada Centre is just as important to the Leafs. Fans attending the December 6 home game versus the Los Angeles Kings will have an opportunity to bid for some unique Christmas trees decorated by Leafs players and coaching staff as part of the Festival of Trees program. Trees will be decorated with items that range from autographed sports memorabilia to concert and sports tickets. All money raised benefits the Leafs Fund, the Raptors Foundation and the United Way.
While Leafs 50/50 volunteers continue to raise money through fan support during each home game for Leafs Dreams, an arts scholarship program that enables students to realize their talent and artistic potential.
Each season Leafs players, coaches and alumni work to support more than 100 community events and initiatives organized by the Leafs Fund, Leafs Community Relations and Leafs Hockey Development.
Leafs Hockey Development and Leafs Community Relations provide tens of thousands of children and youth in Ontario with opportunities to participate in innovative hockey and educational programs. The Leafs Fund is committed to responsible community leadership through access to sports and recreation, and encouraging health and wellness in the community. The Leafs Fund raises and disperses more than $1 million dollars to charities annually.