Toronto Maple Leafs Season Preview

When Brian Burke took the reigns, you knew there was going to be change. He preaches a system that includes structure, accountability and truculence. He's a man who speaks his mind and follows through with commitments, regardless of cost. In a short span, he added and subtracted from the shambled Leaf squad of last season to undoubtedly improve the roster. In pre-season action, the team looked good. Many say the pre-season is over-rated, but I beg to differ. With a lot of new faces, the pre-season was a chance for coaches to tinker with the line-up and analyze exactly what they have. Players need the time to come together and bond as a team. Contrasting from the past, this squad is deeper, more skilled, younger and tougher to play against. The building blocks are in place to remodel the franchise and the guys upstairs are going to continue improving the team as the process continues. Burke will not settle for mediocrity and that is something Leaf fans need to appreciate. 


Here are some notes and predictions on the up-coming season...


Who's In: 


Mike Komisarek, Phil Kessel, Francois Beauchemin,Tyler Bozak, Garnet Exelby, Jonas Gustavsson, Christian Hanson, Colton Orr, Wayne Primeau, Rickard Wallin, Viktor Stalberg, Jay Rosehill.


In the off-season, Burke addressed the three primary needs: defense, team toughness, and youth. Komisarek, Exelby and Beauchemin will all contribute to improve the back end and all of these guys pack a punch. The Leafs were last in the league in penalty kill, so guys like Komisarek, Exelby, Wallin and Primeau are all going to play big roles to improve the team in that aspect. Guys like Orr and Rosehill will bring the toughness and will make sure the skill forwards (don't laugh) stay healthy and can operate freely without being bullied by the goons of opposing teams. Goaltending has been iffy the last few seasons, and Vesa Toskala's injury history and inconsistencies really costed the club last season. Swedish sensation, Jonas Gustavsson will take care of that. The rookie goal-tender will start the season in a back-up role but don't be surprised if he pushes Toskala out of the number one spot mid-season. His nickname is "The Monster" for his size and ability to stop anything in front of him. He will definitely be a story to follow. Finally, the big deal came with the signing of Phil Kessel. Burke made it clear that the Leafs didn't have enough top forwards to compete. In Kessel, they have a bona fide 35-goal scorer and one of the elite players in the league. The hope is that guys like Kadri, Stallberg, Bozak and Hanson can develop into that type of player as well.


Who's Out: 


Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Martin Gerber, Pavel Kubina, Brad May, Jamie Sifers, Anton Stralman, Boyd Devereaux


The only player who made any major contributions from this list is Pavel Kubina. Trust me, with his bloated contract and lack of defensive effort, he won't be missed much. Guys like Komisarek, Beauchemin and Exelby will fill that void; no problem. All the other guys don't really deserve to be discussed.


Potential Line Combinations (to start the season):

Forwards:

Stalberg-Stajan-Blake

Ponikarovsky-Grabovski-Hagman

Mitchell-Wallin-Stepniak

Rosehill-Primeau-Orr

Kulemin

Defense:

Kaberle-Komisarek

Beauchemin-Schenn

Exelby-White

Goalies:

Toskala

Gustavsson

Predictions: 

The Leafs have obviously become stronger in areas that needed improvement but expectations can not be unrealistic. They will have one of the strongest defense cores in the league this year but will have to show they can score some goals before the city can plan a parade. There is only two top-forwards on the team: Grabovski and Kessel (won't play until late November). To win games, you need to score, no matter how good your defense and goaltending is. Which brings me to my next point; goal-tending. It's hard to imagine that Toskala will improve much this season. Hopefully fans will get to see Gustavsson sooner than later. The kid is one of the keys of the future. The building blocks are in place to make this team successful but until the young studs have time to develop, this is still a work in progress. With the current roster, the Leafs will be good enough for a playoff spot, sneaking in with the 7th or 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Fans need not be worried. The team is in good hands and will compete for several years to come. Just remember, this is a re-building process and these things take time. The 2009-2010 season will be a chance for the team to start working towards future goals and although winning is the mindset, let's not get too ahead of ourselves.