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As the games tick by, more and more of the Toronto Maple Leafs' identity as a team is revealed. It is far from pretty. It's clear the Leafs cannot handle speed. Specifically, their defencemen cannot handle the speed of opposing forwards.
Combine that speed with abundant skill and you have the latest pratfall, a 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The Leafs do know how to play on offence, as they showed in taking a 3-1 lead on the Penguins. But once their defence is overwhelmed and starts taking penalties, defeat is on its way.
Three visits by three teams of diverse natures last week revealed the singular truth about the Leafs: Their starting six defencemen, at $19,325,000 (U.S.) among the most expensive in the NHL, are simply not up to the job of stifling the best teams in the Eastern Conference. It was the team's big problem last season and remains their big problem this season, with general manager John Ferguson having elected to stay with the same group (not that he had much choice given the untradeable contracts of most of the players).
The Carolina Hurricanes were the first to take their whacks at the Leafs' defence, which is about as mobile as a pinata. They cruised to a 7-1 win, blowing through and around the defence with ease.
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- Carolina Hurricanes
- New York Islanders
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Carlo Colaiacovo
- Tomas Kaberle
- Pavel Kubina
- Bryan McCabe
- Andrew Raycroft
- Vesa Toskala
Two nights later, the New York Islanders were the visitors, and this time it was the Leafs making tracks in the offensive zone with an 8-1 win. When your agent was rather restrained in his praise for the victors, several e-mailers took umbrage. How could you dump all over them after the loss to the Hurricanes and then not praise them to the skies for waxing the Islanders?
Well, it was rather easy. The Hurricanes are an elite Eastern Conference team that was playing at the top of its game. That exposed the Leafs' flaws and showed how far they have to go to be a contender.
The Islanders are one of the Eastern dregs and they played one of their worst games. So what was learned is that if the Leafs defence' has an opponent it can handle, the forwards can score some goals if they stick to their forechecking and the opposing goaltender is awful.
What was overlooked in that big win was that Leafs goaltender Andrew Raycroft still had to make a few big saves. Toronto's defence never allows its goaltenders much time to stand around and lean on their sticks.
On Saturday, the Leafs faced a team that made the easy jump last season, from bad to good. The most difficult jump, from good to great, is proving to be a challenge. A visit to the Leafs, then, was just what the doctor ordered.
After a slow start, the Penguins' speed soon took care of the Leafs. Their forwards wheeled out of the corners all night and straight to the net because one Leafs defenceman could not contain them and the other had no idea how to help.
Defencemen who cannot catch speedy forwards take penalties. Five of the nine minor penalties taken by the Leafs were taken by defencemen. Bryan McCabe, booed by the Air Canada Centre crowd every time he touches the puck these nights, had three of them and Pavel Kubina had two.
The pair of McCabe and Tomas Kaberle was particularly bad. They gave up the tying and go-ahead goals on the same play, allowing someone to wheel out of the corner and go to the net.
If it were rookies being victimized, excuses could be made. But when it's your best veteran pair, and the veterans behind them as well, then it's a disaster.
The only improvement to the Leafs' defence this season was an upgrade in goal. Vesa Toskala was brought in to help out Raycroft, but so far that has only made the Leafs good enough to lose. If it had not been for Toskala on Saturday, the Penguins would have been into double digits on the scoreboard.
There is no help in sight, either. In the salary-cap world, those big contracts cannot be traded. Carlo Colaiacovo may return from his latest injury in a week or so, but he is an offensive defenceman, not a stalwart in his own end.
It's bound to stay ugly, starting Monday in Buffalo – another speedy team looking to remedy a slow start.
