Brophy on Leafs: Leafs rolling despite health
Posted January 11, 2012 6:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
So who are the real Toronto Maple Leafs, anyway?
Do we know for sure?
Injuries, illness and suspensions have conspired to keep the Leafs lineup changing on a nightly basis and yet they sit comfortably in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference riding an impressive four-game winning streak.
Think about it, the Maple Leafs have not played one game this season during which they dressed all of their best players. Not one!
“Oh, really?” Komisarek said. “That’s interesting. The reality of the long 82-game NHL schedule is there are going to be injuries and suspensions. You have bumps and bruises during the year, but guys have stepped up and played well for us.
“Different holes have been filled. Guys have seized the opportunities – especially the young guys. It shows you the depth of our team. At the end of the day, no matter who is in there we have a belief and a confidence in ourselves and each other.”
The fact of the matter is when Komisarek went down with a broken arm Nov. 17 in a game against the Nashville Predators it opened the door for Cody Franson to earn regular duty. The hard-shooting 6-foot-5, 213-pounder has made the most of it to the point where it’s hard to imagine the Leafs taking Franson out of the lineup now.
All year the Leafs have had to make roster adjustments to respond to injuries and an early-season suspension to Clarke MacArthur.
The season opened with centre Tim Connolly out with a shoulder injury; left winger MacArthur serving his two-gamer for an indiscretion during the pre-season; Matthew Lombardi still sitting out with a concussion that robbed him of nearly an entire season last year and Mike Brown sidelined with a groin injury.
Since then, it has been a steady stream of injuries. Centre Mikhail Grabovski missed six games with a lower body injury. Connolly missed time with an upper body injury – and he took a ‘maintenance day’ Wednesday. MacArthur missed five games with a shoulder injury. Centre David Steckel broke his finer, but kept playing and then missed time with the flu and bronchitis. Lombardi returned to action, but then missed time with a shoulder injury. Brown, a rugged winger, came back and then had back surgery. Defenceman Mike Komisarek missed 22 games with a broken arm.
Centre Tyler Bozak is currently out with a shoulder injury he suffered during practice in Winnipeg and defenceman John-Michael Liles is sidelined with a concussion.
And then there’s Colby Armstrong. The hard-luck right winger has now missed more games than he has actually played since signing with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010. He is currently out with a concussion, although he has suffered a variety of injuries this season that has limited him to just nine games.
The big question is what happens if — and when — everybody is healthy?
Well, when Liles comes back one would imagine rookie Jake Gardiner would be the odd man out on the blue line and sent to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. He has been a healthy scratch the past two games and seems to be following a similar path as right winger Matt Frattin, whose ice time was reduced before he was ultimately sent down.
This would be no knock whatsoever on Gardiner’s talent or his upside. The kid is highly skilled, fast and creative with the puck. But, just as in the case with Frattin, a little time playing big-time minutes in the minors isn’t a bad thing for a youngster.
It’s hard to say what happens when Bozak returns. As things stand, the Leafs are playing well and it’s difficult to project which forward will be replaced. The fact that Bozak is fourth in team scoring means he’ll definitely play as soon as he’s healthy.
In the meantime the Leafs continue to march toward the playoffs with their patchwork lineup.
“I think that’s a testament to the guys who have come in here and what a good job they have done,” Lupul said. “Darryl Boyce has come in and made an impact. You notice him out there every night. Same with Nazem Kadri and Keith Aulie. Obviously we want to get our guys back. You can see the difference Mike Brown has made for us since we got him back a couple of games ago. He brings another aspect – energy – to our team.”
Komisarek believes one big thing about this year’s team is how close the group is and how much they believe in one another.
“I have been around here long enough and if you believe everything that is said about us as individuals and as a group, we’d probably finish last in the league every year,” Komisarek said. “We knew with the finish we had last year and the fact we had a better team starting this year, that it was up to us to go out and prove how good we are and show people what we have.”
So far the Leafs have done a pretty good job at doing that.
Lupul not impressed with the little guy
Nathan Gerbe didn’t exactly endear himself to Lupul on Tuesday night.
The Buffalo Sabres’ 5-foot-5, 178-pound left winger sucker punched Toronto’s second leading scorer in the face during the dying moments of the game as Lupul was preparing to enter the Leafs bench following a little dust up behind the Sabres net. Both players were given double minors and ushered to their respective dressing rooms.
“He said something when I was going to the bench and I turned around and he popped me,” Lupul said. “Whatever. He had 58 other minutes to play hard all game and he didn’t. It’s the thing that makes me laugh when a guy doesn’t show up for the game and then with two minutes left he tries to make something happen. Maybe I’ll find him on Friday. I popped him back a little bit, but not as bad as I will in the future.”
