The Toronto Maple Leafs have now tied the record for worst start in franchise history, as they have failed to record a point in their last six games. Their record now stands at 0-6-1, marking the first time a Leafs team has started so poorly since 1990-91, when the Leafs failed to win a game until October 20. That season, the Leafs finished dead last in the Norris Division, winning a paltry 23 games. The ’90-91 Leafs were inept at both ends of the ice, scoring only 241 goals, while allowing 318 against. This year’s team has not looked much better so far. The Leafs have scored only 14 goals, having the last-ranked offense in the entire league. Only the Los Angeles Kings have given up more goals than Toronto, while the Leafs’ penalty kill also ranks last in the league, killing only 60% of their penalties. Not good numbers for a team that has stated toughness as one of its primary goals this season.
Interestingly enough, the makeup of the ’90-91 Leafs is very similar to that of the ’09-10 team. That season, Vincent Damphousse was the team’s leading scorer, recording 26 goals and 73 points. After that, only two forwards managed over 30 points – fan favorite and budding star Wendel Clark and veteran center Mike Krushelnyski. This year’s team could have similar numbers, as Phil Kessel will be expected to put up at least 60 points after returning from injury. After that, however, the Leafs have no one that really puts any fear in opposing goalies.
As far as toughness goes, the ’90-91 Leafs had plenty of it, with 8 players recording over 100 penalty minutes. Luke Richardson led the team with 238 penalty minutes, while recording 10 points and a dismal -28 rating. It’s a different game now, and 200 penalty minutes in one season these days is somewhat of a rarity. However, at the Leafs’ current pace, they could very easily have 4 or 5 players spend well over 100 minutes in the box this year. Mike Komisarek seems to take penalties at the most inopportune times, while Colton Orr has made a point of fighting anyone who will give him a second look.
In net, the ’90-91 Leafs suffered from the same inconsistent goaltending that this year’s team has. Youngster Peter Ing played the most games he would ever play in the NHL, and despite posting very solid numbers in the OHL, he allowed 200 goals and won only 16 games in 56 starts. Vesa Toskala has been this year’s frontrunner for most hated Leaf, as he has failed to come anywhere near playing as well as he did in San Jose. One has to wonder if it’s all on his shoulders, though.
The lone bright spot for Toronto in 1991 was at the draft, when standout netminder Felix Potvin was drafted. Felix the Cat would help lead the Leafs to back-to-back Western Conference Finals in ’93 and ’94. Unfortunately, there will be no such draftee arriving in Toronto this season, as Burke traded the Leafs’ first and second round picks in 2010, as well as their first rounder in 2011 for Kessel. That trade will look awfully foolish if the Leafs continue to mirror their failures from ’90-91 and end up watching the Bruins use their draft picks to land top-10 caliber players.
Don’t get me wrong – I haven’t given up on the season, and I don’t think the Leafs have either. Seven games isn’t a huge deal over the course of a full NHL season, and there are a lot of what-ifs that could drastically alter the rest of the year. First, if Jonas Gustavsson turns out to be the superstar goalie that Brian Burke clearly thinks he is, the Leafs will take a giant step toward being competitive. Gustavsson looked solid in his first outings before spending the last two weeks on the IR. If he can put up similar numbers to what Lundqvist did in New York his rookie year, the Leafs will have their first real stellar netminder since Curtis Joseph. (Some would throw Ed Belfour out there – but he was already 13 years into his career before coming to Toronto) Second, the Leafs have players that have the potential to score goals, and if Phil Kessel’s return can spark the likes of Jason Blake and Niclas Hagman out of whatever funk they’ve been in for the past few weeks, the Leafs could present an offense that should be able to at least keep them in games.
Saturday, the Leafs start a long road trip that may end up being easier on them than playing more games under the hot spotlight in Toronto. Gustavsson is expected to return at least by Monday’s game in Anaheim, with a slim possibility he could play in Vancouver on Saturday. If the Leafs are going to salvage this season, they need to turn in a solid effort on this upcoming five game road trip to close out October. If they haven’t won a game by then, I’d hate to see what’s waiting for them when they get back to the Air Canada Center.