It’s May 1993.
I’m in the family room of my childhood home in Nobleton, Ontario with my dad and my brother. The Leafs are on TV. Typical Spring evening in the Celebre household where we join together to watch our favourite hockey team.
It’s Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals and Toronto leads the series 3-2. Although we’re relatively new to this, my brother and I can barely contain our excitement and passion for our new-found heroes. After starting the game 1-1, the Kings have pulled ahead 3-1 by the 2nd intermission. Sure enough, our childhood heroes come through in the clutch. Wendel Clark scores two goals in the 3rd, the tying goal off a nifty pass by Doug Gilmour with less than 2 minutes to go.
Holy crap. We might actually do this. We might actually make it to the Cup final. I still remember the wide-eyed look on my Dad’s face after seeing Clark snipe one through Kelly Hrudy’s legs with his patented wrist shot. It was almost like he couldn’t believe it himself.
Now, for the first time in my young life, I get to experience the scariest yet most exciting moment in hockey: Overtime in the playoffs. My blood boiling through my skin, my legs shaking and my nerves on edge: I couldn’t be more excited.Before the 3rd period had ended, Glenn Anderson had been penalized and the Leafs started the OT killing off a penalty.
Not the start we envisioned.
During that PP, The Great One himself Wayne Gretzky, fires a slap shot from the top of the right circle. The shot is promptly blocked by stone-wall defensemen Todd Gill. My hockey hero Doug Gilmour picks up the loose puck and before you can even blink, he drops to the ice. Oh no. Is he hurt? That’s okay. He’s ‘Killer’. He’s ‘Dougie G’. He’ll get up and be ready to go. He checks his chin. Blood? IS THAT BLOOD? Oh, great! Kings penalty coming up. This can swing some momentum back in our favour.
As the replay is shown, none other than The Great One is found on the other end of that high stick but then…
NO CALL!
We’ve all seen kids have tantrums before but something’s not right when his older brother and father join in it too. Sadly, Gretzky isn’t penalized and ends up scoring the OT winner, along with a Hat Trick in Game 7 to end the Leafs’ magical playoff run. More importantly, this gave me my first taste of TRUE heartbreak at the hands of my favourite sports team.
Fast forward to May 28, 2002.
The Leafs once again in the Conference finals. Only this time, versus an up-and-coming Carolina Hurricanes organization who stacked their squad with proven veterans and potential future Hall-Of-Famers such as Ron Francis and Rod Brind’Amour. Although they were favourites to move onto the Finals and down 3-2 in the series, the Leafs give up the 3rd period, go-ahead goal courtesy of local boy Jeff O’Neil. Putting any chance of a Maple Leafs Finals appearance on very thin ice.
Enter Captain Mats.
With less than a minute to go and after a fury of chances in front of a sprawling Arturs Irbe, Sundin finally pots in the game-tying goal followed by one of the loudest roars ever heard within the then-ACC (now known, sadly, as Scotiabank Arena). Maybe this is it. The turnaround this team needed. Maybe not.
The Maple Leafs would lose the game and series twelve minutes into OT, thanks to Mr. Overtime of the early-2000s Martin Gelinas.
Moving on to May 13, 2013 (see where I’m going with this?)
In a lockout-shortened season, the Maple Leafs qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2004 (the season before the first lockout of this generation). They faced a Boston Bruins team who were only two years removed from their 2011 Stanley Cup Championship and were once again, a favorite to make the final.
But the Leafs had other ideas.
Headlined by the scoring abilities of Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and James van Riemsdyk, the Leafs pushed the Bruins to 7 games and even had a 4-1 lead with less than 15 minutes to go in the 3rd period.
But oh, no. Not again.
The Bruins rallied. Scoring three times in the final 11 minutes of the period to force overtime where they eventually won the series off the stick of Patrice Bergeron to completely devastate Leafs Nation. Another heartbreaker.
Surely, a collapse like this is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Or is this a representation of things to come for a franchise starving for not only a Stanley Cup, but at the very least, a playoff series win?
While the Maple Leafs seemed to catch their break with a number of decent draft years (see Rielly, Nylander, Marner and of course, Matthews), they still haven’t found that playoff success with a number of disappointing First-Round exits to the Capitals, Bruins (again!) and the latest coming from the Blue Jackets.But think about the running theme for each of those heartbreaking losses.
The Leafs were unable to lock down their opponents when they needed to most. They weren’t able to handle the extensive pressure by goal-hungry teams, no matter how little or large the scoring margin was. In any professional league, you can never count out your opponent. They play at this level for a reason and the minute you look the other way, you’re already in trouble. In each of those heartbreaking games, the Leafs either gave up a lead or clawed their way back to erase a lead, only to lose it almost immediately after. All as a result of the immense offensive pressure from their opponent and their inability to handle it. As a professional sports team, what is the ONE thing you NEED to win championships?
DEFENSE. Team Defense.
Over the past few seasons, we’ve seen an evolving, young Maple Leafs squad capable of maintaining pressure in their opponents’ zone, reaching all-time highs in offensive zone time, goals scored and power play efficiency. But it has come with a cost. The cost of allowing an equal amount of defensive zone time, goals against and lackluster defensive play that has left their goaltenders hung out to dry in the process. It has been their undoing for the last 60+ years and can help explain why they have yet to contend for a championship since 1967.
Nevertheless, this year is a cause for cautious optimism (I say ‘cautious’ because, well, it is the Toronto Maple Leafs). In this young season, the Maple Leafs have a few stats that stand out the most in terms of their ability to not only win games but win the CLOSE games. Something they have always found themselves on the wrong end of over the last few years. Those are the games you have to win in order to separate yourselves from the good teams to be a GREAT team.
As of January 30th 2021, the Maple Leafs are 7-2-1 and sit atop the North Division with 15 points. They are 5-0-1 in one-goal games with the remaining two wins (3-1, 4-2) finalized by empty net tallies.
Why is this important? The Maple Leafs are starting to show signs of their ability to grab a lead and hold onto it for a victory. In four of those one-goal wins, the Leafs never trailed. They never needed to rally after being down a goal or two, speaking volumes to their commitment to team defense.
Head Coach Sheldon Keefe seems to have the players on his side, buying into a system that is NOT dependent on one or two players but focused on team success as a whole. He is not afraid to juggle his lines, giving more players the opportunity to succeed rather than depending on the 4-5 players we expect to succeed. This allows for more secondary scoring, relieving the pressure off the big guns like Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander. The star players can still showcase their skills when needed in addition to focusing on the primary game plan of defense first. Take Matthews for example.
His game has improved over the last few years and I’m not talking about his offensive abilities. He’s always had that and always will have it. As a centreman in the world’s best hockey league (on arguably the world’s most pressure-packed hockey market), Matthews’ evolving maturity has helped him develop his two-way game all while utilizing the offensive prowess that won him the #1 overall pick in 2016. What’s more important here is the competitive nature he brings not only to better himself but to influence his team as well. Pay close attention to Matthews the next time you watch a game. Focus on his play WITHOUT the puck and especially in his own zone. You’ll notice how much harder and aggressive his defensive play has become and that’s a dangerous thing for other teams, considering his near-flawless takeaway ability thanks to his quick hands.
No matter how stacked this team is offensively, Matthews’ commitment to the two-way game motivates his teammates to do the same. He leads by example. If players like Robertson, Vesey and Engvall see Matthews backchecking after a turnover in the offensive zone, they can’t help but understand their expectation to do the same.
And it’s not just Matthews who has led by example through his offensive AND defensive abilities. Mitch Marner (who is 3rd in league scoring with 14 points in 10 games) has continuously shown the league that size doesn’t matter when improving your defensive skills. He is a staple on the team’s penalty-killing unit, using his cat-like movements to interrupt passing and shooting lanes of his opponents using his stick or his body. Again, showing his teammates that if a guy who stands at 6 ft. 170 lbs can block shots and play with an aggressive edge (see Marner’s empty net goal and confrontation with Pionk vs. the Jets) then there is NO place for you on this team if you aren’t doing the same.
Let’s not forget the honorable mentions. The upgrades to size, force and work ethic the Maple Leafs have made on both ends of the ice. Muzzin, Spezza, Simmonds, Bogosian, Holl and Engvall are just a few of the bigger players on the team who can use their bodies to their advantage with or without the puck. You’ve even seen that toughness spill its way onto its top players like Captain John Tavares who has been playing with a bit of a sharper edge, a chip on his shoulder to show that he and the rest of the squad are mutually committed to their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
For too many years the Maple Leafs were pushed around, giving opponents a straightforward defensive strategy of shutting down their top players without facing any real repercussions.
You can feel that change trending upwards in the right direction this season…
A quick note on Zach Hyman:
He’s not the flashiest guy on the team by a longshot nor does he exhibit any specific skill set (he has trouble finishing on breakaways for example) but you’d be hard pressed to find any other player in the ENTIRE NHL who NEVER takes a shift off like Hyman…EVER. Do yourself a favor and watch Hyman next game when he’s on the ice: he LEGIT does not stop. The Leafs are VERY lucky to have a $2.2 million/year player who can be inserted anywhere in the lineup and make a difference offensively and defensively for his team.
And that’s just it. That’s the difference between this year and all other years. This team has the offensive ability to score but now they have the talent and capacity to improve their team defense and close out those close important one-goal games with a ‘W’. Maybe, just maybe, this is the answer they’ve been looking for all along.
With a division realignment that may allow for a more favourable path in the playoffs, maybe this is FINALLY their year.
Maybe…
-David Celebre
Twitter: @D_Rhythmslave