Before the replacement coach gets replaced, before the lockers are mercifully cleaned out, and before the general manager rumours begin, let us take note of the good from the 2014-15 Toronto Maple Leafs dissolution.
While it would take the pen of Hercules to convince anyone but the Ottawa Senators that the Maple Leafs have had a successful second half, there are some positive tales in the Blue and White dressing room. And not just in that cynical hey-we’ve-got-a-decent-shot-at-landing-McDavid sense.
So what if this bleakest of Maple Leafs seasons has been described as “an all-time low,” played out by an unlikable bunch and fronted by a puzzling top line?
You can find players who have found meaning in these so-called meaningless games.
Here are seven Leafs who have actually increased their stock, rating high on the Give-A-Crap Meter as Toronto plays out the string.
David Booth
“David Booth is the strongest human being I’ve ever met,” former teammate Alex Burrows told me after the “weird dude” signed to Toronto in the off-season.
Burrows explained that Booth could lift more and more often than any other Canuck during his time in Vancouver. (Note: That Popeye’s ad in the photo above is no accident.)
Booth’s strength was on full display Sunday as he kept the puck away from Senators defenceman Mark Borowiecki, who dogged him relentlessly on this shift in a meaningless game for Toronto — but not for Booth.
While the rest of the Leafs’ free-agent depth was being scooped up at the deadline, Booth (and his one-year, $1.1 cap hit) remained. Some critics wondered if the injuries (Booth missed the first six weeks of this season with a broken foot) and a lost ability to finish (his 31-goal campaign is now six years old) would ride Booth out of the league.
Now his confidence and scoring are up. Six of Booth’s seven goals this season came in March; he has the same number of goals as Phil Kessel over the Leafs’ last 42 games.
Plus, Booth does fun things, like re-tweeting this mantra out just days before tussling with Kessel at practice:
Morgan Reilly
Thriving under his interim coach — a guy he likes playing for, and a guy who has upped his ice time and his special-teams looks– Reilly’s continued improvement during a free fall proves why so many believe the 21-year-old defenceman to be the club’s one true untouchable (though you’d be safe to toss prospect William Nylander in that category).
The kid ranks second (behind partner Jake Gardiner) among Toronto defenceman in possession metrics and has supplanted Dion Phaneuf as the biggest scoring threat from the back end, putting up a career-high eight goals and 29 points.
It’s not too farfetched to believe he could captain this team at some point down the road. But not right away, please.
Peter Holland
When fans grumble about overpaid Leafs, Peter Holland ($775,000 average annual salary) should be furthest from their mind.
The 24-year-old centre has never seen so much ice time at the NHL level, and he’s delivered with career highs in goals (11), assists (13) and contributions on special teams after he approached the coaching staff and asked for a bigger role.
Interestingly, Holland said he made a concerted effort to stop listening to sports radio and making hockey a topic of conversation in his social circles, trying to block out the negativity.
Holland returned Sunday versus Ottawa after missing nearly a month due to a lower-body injury. He helped set up a goal, won most of his face-offs, fired five shots on net and was a plus-2.
“That’s pretty hard to do after an injury,” coach Peter Horachek said. “You have to give him a lot of credit.”
Only two Leafs forwards with at least 60 games played this season are plus players. Holland is one of them. The other is…
Leo Komarov
While nearly $3 million a year isn’t chump change to pay a forward outside your top six, the wrecking ball that is Leo Komarov has cruised to a career high in points (26).
Tough to do when you easily lead all your team’s forwards in penalty killing time (an average of 2:36 per game).
Despite missing a chunk of games with a concussion, Komarov still leads all Leafs handily (and ranks top-10 league-wide) in hits with 247, or at least four per game. And in five-on-five play, Komarov leads all Leafs in points per 60 minutes with 1.75.
Zach Sill
“I got 21 games left to make an impression, so that’s what I’m going to do every night.”
This is what Zach Sill — he of the incredible Dion Phaneuf chirp — said when he was traded mid-season from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Leafs, a transfer that could’ve been demoralizing.
The 26-year-old grinder dreamed of wearing the Maple Leaf as a kid. He says his role is to bring “life on the bench” and “a little spark in the room” as he approaches free agency.
“It’s different for me. I’ve got a lot of buddies here from home that moved out from Nova Scotia. I’ve never played around so many family members and friends, so it’s nice,” Sill says.
Even though Sill’s ice time remains minimal (8:23), he’s fighting for an NHL career, and it shows in every shift.
“The systems are a little bit different, but both teams have fast forwards,” he says of the switch from Pittsburgh to Toronto. “For the most part, it’s straight up the ice: go, go, go.”
Nazem Kadri
The second half of the season featured two suspensions for the young centre — one imposed by safety chief Stephane Quintal, the other by Quintal’s predecessor — yet for all the lessons Kadri must learn, the RFA-in-waiting boils over with something you can’t teach: passion.
Here’s Coach Horachek describing Kadri’s desire to take part in Sunday’s seven-round shootout versus the Senators: “Kadri was sitting there shaking on the bench, he wants to go so bad. He wants to be putting it on the line. That’s what you want to see in players.”
A second-line centre with first-line dreams, Kadri is second to only Komarov in five-on-five points per 60 minutes (1.69), is a great possession player, and draws the third most penalties in the league. While the Leafs’ offence has gone dry, Kadri has maintained his goal-scoring pace and improved his plus/minus.
One has to believe the team called him out publicly because management sees him as a valuable piece.
Eric Brewer
The veteran Brewer, who weirdly celebrated his 1,000th game as a Leaf, has four points in his last five games and has skated more than 20 minutes in 11 of his last 14 contests. More use, more production. Sure, it’s a function of Toronto’s thin blue line, but Brewer has responded like a pro.
“You would think after back-to-back games and playing a lot of minutes, he’d be tired. But he seems to have a lot of jump,” Horachek says. “He’s been defending, doing all the little things. He’s been huge for us.”
