Rumour has it that recent acquisition Dion Phaneuf will be made the newest captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is hardly a surprise. But surprise or not, is it the right move?
Many fans' reaction is "so what?" And believe me, I see where you're coming from. An NHL captain, by definition, has one purpose - they have the "sole privilege of discussing with the Referee any questions relating to interpretation of rules which may arise during the progress of a game". Whoop de freakin' doo. The alternates get the same privilege. So why all of the hubbabaloo for a letter on your jersey that declares you as the "referee liaison" when you're on the ice?
I'm going to read out a list of Leafs greats. Sundin. Gilmour. Clark. Ramage. Vaive. Sittler. Keon.
Not only are those players some of the greatest and most recognizable players to ever suit up in the blue and white, they are also the last 7 captains in Leafs history.
Everybody knows that being the captain means much more than just talking to the officials. Your teammates will look at you for direction, for inspiration. When the chips are down, they're going to take a look at the guy with the C to say something to turn it all around.
Or better yet, they'll look at him to DO something.
And this is the tricky part. Those great Leaf captains weren't so recognizable because they wrote eloquent, inspirational speeches. They told their teams what they had to do and then they went out there and they DID it. They put their money where their mouth was. They brought home the bacon and cooked it up in the frying pan. They... alright, I think you get the picture.
Where I stand, is that I don't know that Dion is quite there yet. The guy is extremely talented, sure. But does he have a shot of being one of the greatest Leafs of all-time? Even one of the greatest Leafs of this era? I don't think you can make that call just yet. He showed flashes of brilliance in Calgary, but it was also the dulling of that brilliance that made the Flames willing to move him.
This also creates a situation where Captain Dion and alternates Beauchemin, Kaberle, and Komisarek form the player leadership group for the buds (though I still say that Kaberle will wear another jersey next season). I'm not a big fan of having every lettered jersey belong to a blue-liner. When it comes down to crunch time, and the leaders need to deliver, is stalwart defending going to be what turns the tides? Probably not.
When you look around the league, nearly every team that has given a defenseman the C has awarded As to a few skilled forwards. Together, this leadership squad can look to their captain for direction and inspiration, while the alternates put the words into action and create an example for the rest of the team.
Which brings me to a scary conclusion. Perhaps the reason why we have all of our letters on the blueline is because there is literally not a single forward deserving of a C or an A. Not only are our front lines lacking in talent, but they're lacking in grit and leadership.
Not only are they lacking in men able to move the ship forward, they lack a goal scorer that can show them where the ship must sail.
You've got your work cut out for you, Captain Dion.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
I Hate When The Blue Jays Win - Confessions Of A Jays Fan
The MLB season kicked off earlier this year amidst extremely low expectations of our beloved Toronto Blue Jays. I'm not even sure if you would want to go as far as saying there were any expectations at all. The departure of Roy Halladay still hung over the fanbase like a dark cloud - perhaps even coaxing some fans to exchange their black and blue Jays merchandise for white with red pinstripes. On paper, the team looked... well... young. Young enough that this year would not be their year.
Then all of a sudden, everything seemed to click. With nothing to lose, bats started to pound the ball over the fences. Pitchers were leaving opponents spinning. Wins were starting to pile up.
Fans were coming in droves to pack the stadium.
Okay, that last one was a lie. Truth of the matter is - nobody showed up. You could have, however, filled the stadium with angry Toronto sports media types that were all pleading, begging the fans to show up to the game. The Sun even went as far as publishing an editorial informing fans that it's "time to show up".
They couldn't figure it out. How was it that this team, that went from zero expectations to exploding out of the gate, couldn't put the butts in the seats?
I'll give you a clue. Go back and re-read that paragraph above about how well the team was doing. Bats pounding the ball. Pitchers smoking opposing batters. Wins piling up.
Have you heard that story before?
It has almost become a yearly tradition for this team to come in with little to nothing to lose, and take advantage of that opportunity to do well... for a few months. Inevitably, the numbers catch up with them and they languish for the rest of the season in mediocrity. The demise hasn't happened yet, but it's a long season.
This is why I hate it when the Jays win. It's not that winning is a bad thing. It's the way that the Jays do it that drives me insane. That they pile on these wins through the first few months of the regular season before a total collapse. That they win and win and win in a division where EVERY team wins. That when they lose, they do so with EPIC collapses in the last 2 innings.
Case in point, the Jays just finished off two 3-game series vs. the Rays and the Yankees. Personally, I picked this set of games as the precise point in which the proverbial wheels would decide to make their exit. I was wrong. They would come out of the 6 games 3-3, going down a game to the Rays but moving up a game with the Yankees. If you had mentioned the chance of a 3-3 result to most fans, the likely response would have been "sounds good, we'll take it!"
And yet, utter disappointment.
The Jays' two losses to the Rays were - wait for it - EPIC collapses in the dying innings. Even the loss to the Yanks seemed avoidable. 3-3. It should have been just fine. But because of the way they did it, it wasn't nearly good enough.
As they head into another series against the Rays, the Jays haven't yet met their demise. They're still winning.
But it is all about context.
The series against the Yanks brought attendance per game around 33 to 34 thousand. Better than the 16 thousand season average they had prior? Yes. But 33 thousand per game on the season would still leave the Jays outside of the top 10 - and 33 thousand per game certainly cannot last. They'll head back down to 13 thousand against the Rays. It's all downhill from here.
As for performance, the Jays are 33-25. That's a record that many teams would love to have - 33-25 would put the Jays in first or within whispering distance of first in just about any division in the MLB.
Except the AL East.
The Jays sit in 4th place out of 5 teams.
Want to know why the fans haven't shown up yet?
They've heard this story before. And until someone manages to re-write the ending to it, we don't want to read it anymore.
Then all of a sudden, everything seemed to click. With nothing to lose, bats started to pound the ball over the fences. Pitchers were leaving opponents spinning. Wins were starting to pile up.
Fans were coming in droves to pack the stadium.
Okay, that last one was a lie. Truth of the matter is - nobody showed up. You could have, however, filled the stadium with angry Toronto sports media types that were all pleading, begging the fans to show up to the game. The Sun even went as far as publishing an editorial informing fans that it's "time to show up".
They couldn't figure it out. How was it that this team, that went from zero expectations to exploding out of the gate, couldn't put the butts in the seats?
I'll give you a clue. Go back and re-read that paragraph above about how well the team was doing. Bats pounding the ball. Pitchers smoking opposing batters. Wins piling up.
Have you heard that story before?
It has almost become a yearly tradition for this team to come in with little to nothing to lose, and take advantage of that opportunity to do well... for a few months. Inevitably, the numbers catch up with them and they languish for the rest of the season in mediocrity. The demise hasn't happened yet, but it's a long season.
This is why I hate it when the Jays win. It's not that winning is a bad thing. It's the way that the Jays do it that drives me insane. That they pile on these wins through the first few months of the regular season before a total collapse. That they win and win and win in a division where EVERY team wins. That when they lose, they do so with EPIC collapses in the last 2 innings.
Case in point, the Jays just finished off two 3-game series vs. the Rays and the Yankees. Personally, I picked this set of games as the precise point in which the proverbial wheels would decide to make their exit. I was wrong. They would come out of the 6 games 3-3, going down a game to the Rays but moving up a game with the Yankees. If you had mentioned the chance of a 3-3 result to most fans, the likely response would have been "sounds good, we'll take it!"
And yet, utter disappointment.
The Jays' two losses to the Rays were - wait for it - EPIC collapses in the dying innings. Even the loss to the Yanks seemed avoidable. 3-3. It should have been just fine. But because of the way they did it, it wasn't nearly good enough.
As they head into another series against the Rays, the Jays haven't yet met their demise. They're still winning.
But it is all about context.
The series against the Yanks brought attendance per game around 33 to 34 thousand. Better than the 16 thousand season average they had prior? Yes. But 33 thousand per game on the season would still leave the Jays outside of the top 10 - and 33 thousand per game certainly cannot last. They'll head back down to 13 thousand against the Rays. It's all downhill from here.
As for performance, the Jays are 33-25. That's a record that many teams would love to have - 33-25 would put the Jays in first or within whispering distance of first in just about any division in the MLB.
Except the AL East.
The Jays sit in 4th place out of 5 teams.
Want to know why the fans haven't shown up yet?
They've heard this story before. And until someone manages to re-write the ending to it, we don't want to read it anymore.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Kaberle, We (Will) Hardly Knew Ye
The FAN 590's afternoon show, The Game Plan, offers an opportunity for listeners to submit a question to co-hosts Jack Armstrong and Eric Smith via Twitter for the "tweet of the day". As a frequent tweeter and follower of the show, I'll often oblige with a quick inquiry.
Jack took a shot at my question the other day:
He echoed a sentiment that I think many Toronto sports fans would agree with. Kaberle will likely not have much of a legacy as a Leaf. He'll be seen as a player that played well for the team, but not spectacular. A player that helped the team, but never brought them to a higher level. A player that mattered while he was here, but will be easily forgotten once he's left.
Despite this, the statistics tell a much different story about Tomas Kaberle. When Kabs does end his tenure in Toronto, he will leave with the 2nd highest point total by a Toronto defenseman. Only Salming will have him beat in points, and only Salming and Horton will have worn the blue and white on the blueline for more games than Kaberle. Even Wendel trails behind Kaberle in games played.
Some players will go down as legends in Leafs history - players so well-known that their first name alone tells the story. Wendel. Dougie. Mats. And while it is undeniable that they poured their heart and soul into the team and were terrific producers on the ice, they never brought home the cup. Neither did Kaberle. But when history looks back at the Leafs of the 90s and 00s, Kaberle will be far and away the most productive defenseman the Leafs put on the ice.
The great Leafs of the modern era will be remembered despite their inability to bring this town a championship. Kaberle will not be so lucky. 482 points from the blue line in 820 games? Who cares?
1967. That's the number that really matters.
Jack took a shot at my question the other day:
"Let's say Kaberle gets moved. What will his legacy as a Leaf be, or will he have a 'legacy' at all?"His response wasn't what I would call surprising, but it was... concerning.
He echoed a sentiment that I think many Toronto sports fans would agree with. Kaberle will likely not have much of a legacy as a Leaf. He'll be seen as a player that played well for the team, but not spectacular. A player that helped the team, but never brought them to a higher level. A player that mattered while he was here, but will be easily forgotten once he's left.
Despite this, the statistics tell a much different story about Tomas Kaberle. When Kabs does end his tenure in Toronto, he will leave with the 2nd highest point total by a Toronto defenseman. Only Salming will have him beat in points, and only Salming and Horton will have worn the blue and white on the blueline for more games than Kaberle. Even Wendel trails behind Kaberle in games played.
Some players will go down as legends in Leafs history - players so well-known that their first name alone tells the story. Wendel. Dougie. Mats. And while it is undeniable that they poured their heart and soul into the team and were terrific producers on the ice, they never brought home the cup. Neither did Kaberle. But when history looks back at the Leafs of the 90s and 00s, Kaberle will be far and away the most productive defenseman the Leafs put on the ice.
The great Leafs of the modern era will be remembered despite their inability to bring this town a championship. Kaberle will not be so lucky. 482 points from the blue line in 820 games? Who cares?
1967. That's the number that really matters.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Why Angry?
Us Canadians, we're a quiet people.
The Toronto Raptors played their first games in 1995. As an expansion team, growing pains were to be expected. After a few years of poor performance, players with incredible potential began to make their homes in Toronto. Players like Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter gave a city hope for the Raptors. After a few spirited runs in the playoffs that would yield no fruit, the team developed a sense of indifference, and player after player effectively turned their back on Toronto. Draft picks were consistently controversial. 15 years later, with the damage done by Vince Carter's ugly departure still an open wound, the team finds themselves with parallel problems in players like Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu.
While the Toronto Blue Jays have seen glory years in 1992 and 1993, there has been little to get excited about since. AL East brethren New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have made it their mandate to spend whatever it takes to win championships. The current MLB playoff breakdown has forced the Blue Jays into a position that requires the squad to virtually win the American League pennant in order to see the postseason. This city has been promised - year after year - a long-term plan to see the team return to relevance, and each promise has been exposed as holding no water. Phenomenal players like Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay would wow crowds with their talent, while the Jays would spend another season mired in mediocrity. In 2010 they look to end a repetitive pattern where the team overachieves through the early part of the season, only to revert to old habits and an all too familiar result.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are well-known by fans of the NHL as one of the biggest paradoxes in sports. How a team that has disappointed its fan base to the extent that the Leafs have while still remaining the most valuable franchise in hockey - a guaranteed sell-out any night of the week - boggles the mind. In the new millennium, management that held strong to the strategy of "buying" the players needed to be competitive has decimated the prospects of the franchise in the post-salary cap era. While die-hard Leaf fans have been optimistic since the arrival of GM Brian Burke, they have been helpless to watch as their team sunk to the basement and draft picks traded to Boston rose to the top. The cup drought that extends back to 1967 has been a long one, and there is no end in sight.
Us Canadians, we're a quiet people.
But when it comes to sports in Toronto, it's time to get loud.
It's time to get angry.
The Toronto Raptors played their first games in 1995. As an expansion team, growing pains were to be expected. After a few years of poor performance, players with incredible potential began to make their homes in Toronto. Players like Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter gave a city hope for the Raptors. After a few spirited runs in the playoffs that would yield no fruit, the team developed a sense of indifference, and player after player effectively turned their back on Toronto. Draft picks were consistently controversial. 15 years later, with the damage done by Vince Carter's ugly departure still an open wound, the team finds themselves with parallel problems in players like Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu.
While the Toronto Blue Jays have seen glory years in 1992 and 1993, there has been little to get excited about since. AL East brethren New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have made it their mandate to spend whatever it takes to win championships. The current MLB playoff breakdown has forced the Blue Jays into a position that requires the squad to virtually win the American League pennant in order to see the postseason. This city has been promised - year after year - a long-term plan to see the team return to relevance, and each promise has been exposed as holding no water. Phenomenal players like Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay would wow crowds with their talent, while the Jays would spend another season mired in mediocrity. In 2010 they look to end a repetitive pattern where the team overachieves through the early part of the season, only to revert to old habits and an all too familiar result.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are well-known by fans of the NHL as one of the biggest paradoxes in sports. How a team that has disappointed its fan base to the extent that the Leafs have while still remaining the most valuable franchise in hockey - a guaranteed sell-out any night of the week - boggles the mind. In the new millennium, management that held strong to the strategy of "buying" the players needed to be competitive has decimated the prospects of the franchise in the post-salary cap era. While die-hard Leaf fans have been optimistic since the arrival of GM Brian Burke, they have been helpless to watch as their team sunk to the basement and draft picks traded to Boston rose to the top. The cup drought that extends back to 1967 has been a long one, and there is no end in sight.
Us Canadians, we're a quiet people.
But when it comes to sports in Toronto, it's time to get loud.
It's time to get angry.
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