Damien Cox: Who are these Maple Leafs trying to be? Not even they seem to know - Toronto Star
Having a clear direction is beneficial for any NHL team. The Maple Leafs don't have that right now, writes Damien Cox.
Leafs defenceman Darren Raddysh checks Utah Mammoth centre Barrett Hayton in the third period and takes a penalty.
Damien Cox is a former Star sports reporter who is a current freelance contributing columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @DamoSpin.
Watching the last-place Canucks play at home in Vancouver from the upper bowl the other night, the absence of angst in the building was noticeable.
That’s probably because that’s a hockey team and a fan base that knows precisely where it stands at the moment.
The Canucks have hit rock bottom. Quinn Hughes is long gone. Without much on-ice excellence to sell at the moment, the Canucks are emphasizing the spectacular diversity of their base — this game included a Diwali celebration, which was colourful and fun — and their history. It seems like forever ago when players like Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Roberto Luongo, Mattias Öhlund and Markus Näslund starred in Vancouver, but the memories remain and they are warm ones.
Still, Canucks fans understand those days are gone. This is now indisputably the NHL’s worst team. It didn’t get to draft Gavin McKenna first overall last June, but No. 3 pick Caleb Malhotra is maturing at Boston College and is on the way. Another top pick is in the offing next June. Youngsters like Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, Liam Öhgren and Jonathan Lekkerimäki are already in the lineup.
The Canucks lost 5-4 to Anaheim that night in an entertaining game, but the fans in the building, while disappointed, didn’t seem angry at the state of the team. They understand who they are right now and the direction in which the team needs to go. There’s no confusion, and knowing exactly who you are in the NHL these days is a very useful thing.
The Edmonton Oilers, at the other end of the spectrum, know who they are. Ditto for Carolina, Vegas, Montreal and Minnesota.
Despite a tough 3-2 loss to Utah on Tuesday after a decent 2-2 western road trip, we know the Leafs are improved, slightly. They’re 15th out of 32 NHL teams heading into Thursday’s slate. Unlike the Canucks, the Leafs aren’t starting a rebuild.
Unlike the Oilers or Hurricanes, they’re not considered a contender to win the Stanley Cup. They’re somewhere in the mushy middle. After 17 games, it’s unclear the direction in which this team is headed.
A four-game win streak, starting Saturday against the Canadiens, might change that perspective significantly. But so would a four-game losing streak. That’s what makes a player like Darren Raddysh such a fascinating story on this team.
As everyone thought they would, the Leafs acquired the 30-year-old defenceman in a sign-and-trade deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer after he scored 22 times last season. The cost of the contract was eight years, $68 million (U.S.). If the Leafs were going to get back into contention, a veteran right-handed defenceman with a big shot certainly was a positive addition, even if it was expensive.
But what if this team isn’t headed back into contention? What if it misses the playoffs? What if Auston Matthews announces he won’t re-sign next summer and the team has to reorient its core group?
Then the Raddysh deal and its payroll impact takes on a different look. Right now, with no goals and nine assists, Raddysh trails Morgan Rielly in Leafs scoring from the blue line. Raddysh has been solid and is definitely part of an improved Leafs team, but he has yet to deliver the promised offensive goods.
Obviously, the superdumb penalty he took against the Mammoth on Tuesday didn’t make Raddysh look too good either. Maybe it was partly born of frustration over his goalless season. He knows what he was brought here to do.
Raddysh to the box for cross checking https://t.co/2cvV89qvS9
Seventeen games is not nearly enough time to judge a free-agent acquisition but the Raddysh situation highlights the immense challenges GM John Chayka faced and is facing in making roster decisions without a clear sense of where this hockey team is headed.
That’s going to come into sharp relief again at the trade deadline. Normally, a team that spent big to acquire players like Raddysh and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would anticipate moving futures at the deadline to make a good team even better.
But as of today it’s not at all clear Chayka will be in that position. Not enough of the season has elapsed to make a strong judgment on the capabilities of this Leafs team.
Zack MacEwen, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime have earned the trust of Leafs coach Jim Hiller.
