A Tale of Two Cities
Leafs and Wings’ fortunes reversed after 40-year Cup droughts.

When the Leafs and Red Wings faced off last Thursday for the first North American game of the NHL’s 91st season, the event pitted two opposing teams whose relative performances in recent years are as different as the two cities on either side of the English Channel.

Toronto and Detroit are separated by roughly the same distance as London and Paris, and both Original Six cities have experienced both “the best of times and the worst of times”. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings can each point to an undignified period in their respective team’s history during which a Stanley Cup drought of over four decades exists. However, the similarities between each team’s fortunes come to an abrupt end at the 42-year mark of the timeline, at which point the paths of the two former Norris Division rivals diverge drastically.

Detroit’s drought, which ended in 1997 after forty-two years of futility, was punctuated with a four-game sweep of Philadelphia in the final, marking the beginning of a dynasty that would see four banners raised to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena in 11 seasons. Conversely, Toronto’s length of absence from the list of cities to host a Stanley Cup parade will reach the same duration at the conclusion of the current NHL season, with no immediate end in sight.

Glimpses of the following timeline illustrate both the similarities and differences between each team’s road to riches – or ruin – starting with both clubs’ most recent Stanley Cup prior to their prolonged periods of underachievement (Detroit – 1955, Toronto – 1967).

Years 1-8: (Det: 1956-63, Tor: 1968-75)
During the period after Detroit’s 1955 Cup win, the franchise traded away no fewer than four future Hall-of-Famers: Terry Sawchuk, Red Kelly, Ted Lindsay, and Glenn Hall, with very little collective return. The deal involving the latter two players was a direct consequence of Lindsay’s attempt to form the first NHL Players’ Association. The mood in the Leafs’ dressing room was not much better after the team’s triumph in 1967. Frank Mahovlich – eager to escape the shackles of Punch Imlach’s tyranny – was dealt away to rejuvenate his career in Detroit, and later, Montreal. In later years, owner Harold Ballard’s feuds with players such as Bernie Parent and Dave Keon created an exodus out of Toronto in favour of the WHA. Both Detroit and Toronto were equally guilty of mismanaging their personnel, in the aftermath of their glory years.

Years 12-26: (Det: 1967-81, Tor: 1979-93)
In a twist of irony the Norris family, owners of the Detroit franchise, allowed the team to rot in the cellar of the basement of the division that bore the family name. The team’s best draft choice over the period, Marcel Dionne, was peddled off to Los Angeles. With an incompetent scouting staff, the team failed to capitalize on its high first-round selections afforded them by their low regular-season finishes. Dionne, and 1979 first-rounder Mike Foligno were certainly exceptions to a list that included long-forgotten names such as Willie Huber, Rick Lapointe and one of the biggest first-overall busts ever, Dale McCourt. It’s no surprise that the Wings missed the playoffs in 13 of these 15 years. Similarly, the Maple Leafs were becoming the laughing stock of the NHL during the era that eccentric owner Harold Ballard and dictatorial GM Punch Imlach controlled the team. Fan favourites like Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald were shipped out of town while the franchise spiraled into ineptitude. A 20-win, last-place finish in 1984-85 was the team’s nadir in all its storied history. Toronto failed to qualify for the playoffs five times during this 15-year span, suffering a first-round exit on 7 other occasions in this stretch.

Years 27-29: (Det: 1982-84: Tor: 1994-96)
The most pivotal event in leading the Detroit Red Wings to the proverbial Promised Land was the sale of the team to owner Mike Illitch. The owner of the Little Caesar’s Pizza empire and future Hall-of-Famer would restore pride to the decrepit organization, enlisting Jimmy Devellano as the team’s general manager. At the 1983 draft, the ghosts of all draft busts of the past were exorcised as the team selected the player who would go on to become the face of the franchise, Steve Yzerman. Contrary to the Red Wings’ direction at the same period in their Cup drought, the Leafs had begun to dismantle a group of veteran players while not having the benefit to replenish their roster, as a result of mediocre scouting. Wendel Clark, Sylvain Lefebvre and Bob Rouse, all key components to the team’s consecutive semi-final appearances in the 90′s, were traded away. Owner Steve Stavro tightened the purse strings on the team’s budget, nixing a deal that would have seen the game’s all-time best player, Wayne Gretzky, suit up in a Leafs uniform. Worst of all, the team’s drafting during this period was nothing short of a disaster, with first selections such as Eric Fichaud, Jeff Ware and Jason Sessa becoming mere footnotes.

Year 34: (Det: 1989, Tor: 2001):
The model for the Red Wings’ success, namely building though the draft, is best exemplified by arguably the best draft in history by one team, in one year. By the time the last name was called at the draft table at Minneapolis’ Met Center, Detroit had selected Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Dallas Drake, all of whom were chosen even before their first two picks of Mike Sillinger and Bob Boughner. The following year, Detroit drafted Keith Primeau (later traded for Brendan Shanahan) and Vyacheslav Kozlov. The nucleus for their Stanley Cup contending team was in place. Meanwhile, at the 34-year juncture of the Leafs’ Cup drought, 2001, Toronto selected Carlo Colaiacovo, Karel Pilar, Brendan Bell, Jay Harrison and Kyle Wellwood. Only the injury-plagued Colaiacovo remains with the current roster. While it may be unfair to expect to select two future Hall-of-Famers and a solid supporting cast in a single draft as the Wings did in their ‘Year 34′ of 1989, the disparity remains startling. Arguably the Leafs’ most successful draft choice of the 2000′s was Brad Boyes – selected a year before Colaiacovo – who was packaged in a deal to acquire Owen Nolan three years later. The Maple Leafs’ attempts to bolster their lineup by signing free agents such as Alex Mogilny and (one year earlier) Shayne Corson and Gary Roberts were met with lukewarm
success.

Year 42: (Det: 1997, Tor: 2009):
In June of 1997, Yzerman raised the Stanley Cup before a euphoric Joe Louis Arena as Detroit’s Stanley Cup curse was extinguished. Yzerman would repeat the feat twice more in the next five years, while Lidstrom – his successor as captain – did the honours this past spring.

By the time June of 2009 rolls around, the Maple Leafs will not only host no such celebration at Air Canada Centre, but will likely fail to finish above the bottom five teams in the NHL. While the Cup drought tale of these two cities embodies many similarities, recent history shows that solid management, with particular attention to scouting, is indeed “a far far better thing” that the Red Wings do – than the Leafs have ever done.

Rob Del Mundo is the author of Off The Post, a regular column at TMLfans.ca

Here is Off The Post’s list of teams likely to play below expectations in 2008-09.

1) Montreal Canadiens

Habs fans certainly had many reasons to cheer during last season as the team posted a 47-win, 104-point campaign on the way to the top of the Eastern Conference after finishing out of the playoffs the previous year. Expectations will certainly be magnified in Montreal as a result of last year’s success, combined with the franchise entering its 100th season. However the bleu, blanc et rouge may have raised the bar a little bit too high for themselves. The departure of defenceman Mark Streit to the New York Islanders via free agency deprives the team of the point man who was instrumental in propelling the team to having the top-ranked power-play in the NHL in 2007-08. Blueliner Andrei Markov will now shoulder the load of power-play duty on the Habs’ point, however any of Roman Hamrlik, Mike Komisarek or newly-reacquired Patrice Brisebois will have a challenge in complementing Markov in Streit’s absence.

In bowing out of the Mats Sundin sweepstakes by signing Robert Lang, the Habs are still minus a point-per-game playmaking centre. The team’s highest offensive threat last season, Alexei Kovalev will be called upon to carry the offensive reins, having racked up 84 points in 82 games last season. The bad news for Canadiens fans is that, despite Kovalev’s immense talent, only three times in 15 NHL seasons has the 35-year-old winger averaged more than a point per game in one year, and only once in his career has he achieved the feat in consecutive seasons: 1999/2000 and 2000/01 with Pittsburgh.

With the emergence of goalie Carey Price and youngsters Tomas Plekanec and Christopher Higgins, the team is certainly among the elite in the Eastern Conference. However they may not have the fortitude to repeat as conference champions.

2) Pittsburgh Penguins

The strength of the Penguins is undoubtedly in the centre position, with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal forming a trio of pivots as good as any in the league. However the departure of Marian Hossa leaves the team devoid of a superstar winger, decreasing the potency of the team’s 1-2
offensive threat on the top forward line. The departure of hometown favourite Ryan Malone to Tampa Bay leaves the Penguins minus their two highest-scoring wingers in their Eastern Conference championship playoff run from last season.

Wingers Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis, and Ruslan Fedotenko, all acquired in the off-season, are very serviceable NHLers but can hardly replace Hossa. Pittsburgh will also be hard-pressed to replace the grit and sandpaper that was lost when feisty players such as Gary Roberts, Georges Laraque and Jarko
Ruuttu left town.

Head coach Michel Therrien’s squad also faces the intangible Stanley Cup finalist curse which has seen just 1 of the past 11 Cup finalists advance past the first round of the playoffs in the following year (Dallas, 2001), with four of those bridesmaids from the previous year missing the post-season entirely.

3) Anaheim Ducks

The expediency in which the Dallas Stars dispatched the then-defending Stanley Cup champions in last year’s playoffs surprised many observers. If the abrupt end to Anaheim’s season is any indication, the Ducks fortunes are more likely to turn for the worse before they get better. The team’s blueprint for success revolves around their leader; captain Chris Pronger. One year removed from a Stanley Cup and Norris Trophy nomination, Pronger was instrumental in Anaheim’s two wins in the matchup versus Dallas, but practically invisible in the Ducks’ four losses in the series.

Undoubtedly Anaheim’s key weakness is their lack of discipline, no more exemplified by their compilation of 1,465 penalty minutes in the regular season, adding up to the most time spent in the sin-bin out of all the 30 NHL teams. Todd Bertuzzi’s departure to Calgary somewhat alleviates some of the situation, yet the team still employs three of the top 40 leaders in PIMs from last year in Pronger, George Parros and Corey Perry.

All hands on deck will have to play smarter, and by the rules, if the Ducks have any chance of avenging last year’s early exit.

4) Calgary Flames

Todd Bertuzzi was signed in an attempt to spark the Flames’ offence, which was a mediocre 14th in the regular season last year. However, despite the potential of forming a lethal duo alongside fellow power forward and 2006 Olympic teammate Jarome Iginla, there is no guarantee of this combination’s
success. Bertuzzi appears a shadow of the dominant force that he was as a Canuck, with herniated disc problems taking their toll on the 33-year-old Sudbury native. Meanwhile Calgary has jettisoned soft players like Kristian Huselius and Alex Tanguay, but are also without the services of underrated utility forward Stephane Yelle.

The biggest wild card in the Flames’ season is the play of Mikka Kiprusoff, who had a very ordinary save percentage of .906 last year and seemed to have followed the pattern of many NHLers whose level of play declines in the year of signing an enormous contract. Kiprusoff’s save percentage has increased from the previous year in each of the last two seasons. If the trend isn’t reversed, the Flames may be challenged for a post-season berth.

Thus Calgary is listed as likely to play below expectations. While the presence of stars like Iginla and Dion Phaneuf should justify the assumption that the team will make the playoffs, the possibility of a failure of Bertuzzi to ignite scoring – or a fizzle in the pipes for Kiprusoff – could spell disaster in Cowtown.

Rob Del Mundo is the author of Off The Post, a regular column at TMLfans.ca

Rule Changes We’d Like to See

1) Make Every Game a Three-Point Game

The absurdity of rewarding a team for losing dates back to the 1999-2000 season with the introduction of 4-on-4 overtime, coupled with the team losing in the extra session being awarded one point in the standings. Six years later the advent of the shootout brought forth an identical application of the point structure. The end result has been an overly complex standings matrix with inconsistency in the outcome of games; “two point” games decided in regulation, mixed with “three point” games decided otherwise. The so-called ‘magic numbers’ during playoff races are a nightmare to calculate, and the extra point has producing inflated won-loss records for teams.

In principle, there’s an inherent fallacy in rewarding a team for defeat. Additionally a team that is victorious as a result of a skills competition, also known as the shootout, should not earn the same benefit as a team that outscored its opponent in team vs. team play. The logical compromise is to revise the standings so that a winning team gets three points for a victory in either regulation time or overtime, while the losing team gets zero in either instance. If a shootout decides the game, the winner should get two points with the loser getting one point.

Such a revision to the point system will provide a consistent and fair structure, and eliminate the possibility of inferior teams backing into the playoffs; the first of such numerous instances occurring 8 years ago in the first season of the “OTL” when Buffalo edged Carolina for the last playoff spot in the East by virtue of more “OTL” points.

2) Play the Puck off the Mesh

The protective netting around the goal ends of the rink has undoubtedly prevented several injuries or tragedies such as the mishap in Columbus that led to its inception to the NHL. The mesh is now as much a part of the rink as the glass. So there is no reason to automatically whistle a play dead if the puck touches the mesh before coming back into play.

Last season in a game between Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the Penguins protested – to no avail – a goal by Ilya Kovalchuk after referees Eric Furlatt and Ian Walsh both missed seeing the puck pop into the mesh above the Penguins net; Kovalchuk’s goal came after players on both sides stopped skating. With the removal of an automatic whistle when the puck hits the mesh, players would no longer have a reason to stop.

Instead, more scoring chances would be generated, and there would be fewer interruptions to the flow of the game. The game of hockey has never been about predictable bounces. The play isn’t blown dead when the puck takes a funny bounce off a rut in the ice, or off one of the stanchins that separates two panes of glass. The mesh is now as much a component of the rink as the boards, the glass and everything else, and should be treated as such.

3) Keep Fans in the Loop During Video Review

The NFL and its officials were the pioneers of instant replay in pro sports, with the NHL doing well to follow the model. Hockey kept in stride by wiring its referees with microphones to announce penalties, just as they do football. Now, hockey officials need to once again take a page from their football counterparts, and in the case of video replay, announce to all game patrons and viewers the specific nature of the review. For the amount of effort it takes a referee to say “Number 87, two minutes for slashing”, it’s not too much to ask of the same official to offer words to the effect of “The booth is reviewing whether the puck crossed the goal line”, or “The booth is reviewing whether the net was dislodged prior to the puck entering the net.”

Video review has become indispensable ever since Sergei Fedorov decided an overtime playoff game against the Minnesota North Stars in 1992. Its role in the sport is not to do a referee’s job, but to provide incontrovertible evidence to overturn an on-ice decision, or to otherwise sustain the referee’s original decision if no such evidence can be found.

The courtesy of communicating that initial decision in real time to the paying customers and fans offers a better understanding of the on-ice events to viewers.

4) Don’t Have TV Timeouts Immediately After Icing

In the post-lockout era, the NHL introduced the rule to prohibit a defensive team from changing its players after an icing call, resulting in disadvantages not only in line-matching but also in the expended energy of its players. However if an icing produces a whistle right before a TV timeout, players on both sides get to rest for two minutes, and the fatigue factor goes for naught.

Currently, a TV timeout occurs after the first stoppage in play, with the exception of a goal, following the 6:01, 10:01 and 14:01 marks of each period, provided both teams are at even strength (with the commercial coordinator having the discretion to reschedule the breaks, in the event of power-plays or long stretches of play without stoppages interfering with the original schedule).

With advertisers pumping huge money into the networks coffers, it’s evident that TV timeouts will be part of the game for a while. Thus, a simple and efficient change to the current rule is to add ‘icing stoppage’ to the list of events which cannot precede a TV timeout.

Otherwise, the “no defensive line-change on icing” rule is moot, in these situations.

Rob Del Mundo is the author of Off The Post, a regular column at TMLfans.ca