Brophy on Leafs: Down to the final stretch
Posted January 30, 2012 6:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
And so it comes down to 33 games for Ron Wilson and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That’s 33 games for the Maple Leafs to make it to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons and 33 games for Wilson to justify the one-year contract extension GM Brian
Burke gave him in mid-December. If the Leafs don’t make the playoffs, Wilson will surely lose his job. He admitted as much himself after announcing the extension via Twitter Christmas Day.
“I could get fired next week,” Wilson said shortly after announcing his extension. “I have
a little bit of combat pay coming, in other words. That’s kind of the way I look at it.
That’s all it is.”
This is Wilson’s fourth year coaching the team and it has been a bumpy ride, to say the least. While he became just the seventh coach in NHL history to record 600 victories last season, his inability to get the Leafs into the post-season hangs over his head like a threatening black cloud. Not that he has had much to work with.
During his tenure in Toronto, the Maple Leafs have, at times, lacked legitimate top six forwards and until this season, did not have a bona fide No. 1 line. The emergence of Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel as top 10 scorers in the league is nice, but the Leafs still lack a true top-line centre. Presumably that is the No. 1 item on Burke’s shopping list with the trade deadline less than a month away.
This is also the first season Wilson has had reliable goaltending. Oh, James Reimer emerged last season, but by time he made his mark in the NHL, the Leafs were too far out of the playoffs. Jonas Gustavsson has supplanted Reimer as the starter and is finally showing what all the fuss was about three years ago when the Leafs won a bidding war to sign him. Gustavsson, 16-10-0, has given the Leafs a reasonable chance to win and has three shutouts in his last nine games.
“The best thing about our group is depth,” Wilson said. “We’ve maybe got too much and in the next week or so we’ll have some really tough decisions to make. We feel every night we step out there we can win the game without having to camouflage an area of weakness. We’re capable if we work hard every night of beating anybody.”
The Leafs have 15 home games and 18 road game remaining, beginning with a game against the Penguins in Pittsburgh Tuesday night. The two teams hook up again Wednesday at Air Canada Centre.
Wilson knows his neck is on the line, but it doesn’t faze him in the least.
“It feels the same as it always has been,” Wilson said. “I’ve been in this position as a coach a number of times before with other teams where you’ve got to mount a push and I’ve usually been pretty good at it. This is the time of year where all the seeds you have planted during the season, you hope they start to bear fruit. I think the last week or 10 days we’ve done some things really well and now we’re going to see if we can continue it for 33 games.”
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GRABO ROCKS: Leafs centre Mikhail Grabovski was named the NHL’s first star of the week following a one-goal, five-point performance in back-to-back wins over the New
York Islanders prior to the all-star break. He had one assist in Toronto’s 3-0 home win against the Islanders Jan. 23 and the following night exploded for a goal and three helpers in a 4-3 OT victory. Grabovski is third in team scoring with 16 goals and 32 points in 43 games. He earns $3.1 million this season and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
STARS REST: Toronto’s three all-star representatives, defenceman Dion Phaneuf and forwards Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel, were excused from practice Monday.
WAITING HIS TURN: One year ago Leafs goalie James Reimer burst on the scene seemingly out of nowhere to claim the No. 1 goalie job. He single-handedly got the Leafs back in the playoff hunt, although in the end his heroics were not enough to make it happen. Now Reimer is the Leafs backup goalie with Jonas Gustavsson having taken over as the team’s starter.
Reimer flashes his familiar smile when he talks about his mental approach to his situation.
“Obviously when you go through tough times you have to get back to what you believe in,” Reimer said. “Hockey is a fun game and you have to remind yourself sometimes when you come to the rink you have such a great opportunity. It’s a great game and even though you aren’t playing you go to practice and work hard. It’s fun. Obviously you want to play and you want to win, but you have to take this time to work on some extra things and enjoy the game without the pressure.”
GETTING CLOSE: The Maple Leafs are getting very close – for the first time this season – to having a full healthy squad. Their three remaining injured players – defenceman John-Michael Liles and forwards Darryl Boyce and Colby Armstrong – all practiced Monday. Both Armstrong and Liles say they are ready to play, but coach Wilson said they aren’t likely to be in the lineup Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
“I felt good out there today so we’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” Liles said. “It felt good to get back out there with the team. I didn’t feel out of place. My legs felt pretty good.”
Although Liles injury has been reported as a concussion, he is not convinced that is the case.
“Everyone wants to call it a concussion, but for me it felt more like a neck issue,” Liles said. “I never had the feeling like my brain was foggy or anything like that.”
