You've gotta hand it to Damien Cox; you really do. The amount of distorted logic the guy uses to write a column is simply unbelievable. And so, in the face of contradicting...um, virtually everything he's ever said about the Leafs before, we get this jumbled claptrap.
So, why don't we start at the beginning, shall we?
If anyone believed the team’s play of January, February and March meant the Leafs would automatically begin next season as a team that matters, losses to the Capitals, Devils and Canadiens to complete an 85-point campaign should disabuse them of that notion.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second here? So, in effect, Damien Cox is putting more weight into the last three losses of the season than...um....every game since January 1? The Leafs had a 24-15-6 record in 2011, and an 18-8-6 record since the All Star Break; but, none of that matters according to Cox. Nope, all that matters is that, in their last three games, the Leafs lost in the 4th round of a shootout to the top team in the East, and proceeded to lose two games after their playoff fate had already been sealed.
I've already pointed something important about the 2011 Leafs here: they won games when they had to. Their demise this year was that when they kept winning, so did the teams in front of them. And when teams in front keep winning, it's impossible to catch them, no matter what you do. This isn't rocket science; it's 2nd grade arithmetic.
To somehow discredit the Leafs that won those big games and went on a 44 win, 98 point pace from Jan. 1 onward based on a 0-2-1 ending when the team was already out of the running is absurd. You might as well argue the 4-0 start was more indicative of the Leafs 2010 half than the 9-19-4 record after while you're at it. Both are on equal levels of sample size fail.
So, when Cox wonders why there's this "weird sense of satisfaction to this team," it's exactly for that reason. On New Year's Eve, 2010, the Leafs were on a 68 point pace, and looked just dismal. They turned it around in 2011, and won a string of huge games along the way. But, no, we should totally forget all that and be Debbie Downers about the fact they lost two meaningless games to end the season.
But wait; there's more!
Beyond that, the Leafs desperately require a few savvy veterans to bridge the gap between the future and today, players to supply for this very young club the stability and smarts the likes of Brent Sopel, Jaroslav Spacek, Travis Moen, Hal Gill and Brian Gionta supply for a Montreal team that is heading to the playoffs again while the Leafs watch on television.
Remember, when Jeff Finger was dumped in the minors last fall, Burke told the hockey world the idea was to use the cap space ($3.5 million) to add talent. But it never happened. In fact, more big salaries were deleted later in the season, including Francois Beauchemin, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Kaberle.
The playoffs, meanwhile, were missed by eight points. It’s hard to believe a few bucks spent here or there might not have helped to make that gap less, or even helped the club catch Buffalo or the Rangers.
It’s worth noting the Sabres didn’t mind picking up Brad Boyes and his $4 million contract.
Does Damien Cox have a terrible memory? Does he not forget that, despite how 2011 went, this is still a young, rebuilding team? The endgame for the Leafs is not, and should not be, to sneak into 8th spot this year and get walloped by the Capitals. It's to build a long-term contender that can one day win a Stanley Cup.
So, in unloading Kaberle, Beauchemin, and Versteeg (the last of which I didn't actually agree with...and still don't), the Leafs got:
- Joffrey Lupul, a 27-year old who got 18 points in 28 games as a Leaf this season.
- Bruins prospect Joe Colborne.
- Ducks prospect Jake Gardiner.
- TWO 1st round picks.
- A 3rd round pick.
- A conditional 2nd round pick in 2011.
- A conditional 3rd round pick in 2013.
Not a bad haul for a rebuilding team, eh?
There's plenty of time (say, July 1, 2011, and beyond?) to acquire solid vets that would ensure a positive contribution. But, for long-term success, it's key to accumulate prospects and draft picks to ensure organizational depth.
And, yes, let's compare to the Habs, who are likely headed for one playoff round. What exactly do guys like Sopel, Gill, Spacek, and Moen contribute to the team? On a team where the leading scorer would be the Leafs' 4th best scorer, not a whole lot. Carey Price, to his credit, has had an unbelievable season, thereby making the Habs GM look like less of an idiot for giving up Halak. But, to say those vets have made even the slightest difference between playoffs and not playoffs is hilariously misguided.
Sure, mortgaging our future for that *might* have been enough to get 8th in the East, but is it worth it? Is stockpiling role-player vets to build a perpetual first-round also-ran really the model we want? That's the model the Leafs went on from 2005-2007, and while it got them close to the playoffs, they wouldn't have done a whole hell of a lot had they made it.
So, let's say Burke did start trading picks and/or prospects to secure some vets for a playoff run. You really believe Cox would be okay with this? I'm pretty sure the general consensus coming from his columns would be along the lines of "LAFFS 1967 JFJ HERP DE DERP".
If you're a young rebuilding team, you abide by a certain blueprint. Sacrificing any youth for old guys who can get you 5 or 6 more games of hockey in one season is not the blueprint we should be following. One step forward, two steps back.
Finally, most of this article assumes this, but Cox sums it up at the end:
This is still a losing team — 37 wins, 45 losses — that’s likely to be a loser again next season without major changes.
Assuming the Leafs won't make any changes, which is beyond ridiculous. Cox must be on something to assume that Leafs fans being happy with their team's turnaround in 2011 means the status quo is acceptable. We all want a playoff team in 2012 and a team that can someday win the Cup. To do that, improvements will have to be made.
Again, I'm wondering if Cox forgot this is a rebuilding team. This team has seen no major sign of progress since the lockout until now. There's finally been a good step forward in the right direction, and it goes without saying that any sane, rational person would want to keep moving forward. How do you do that? Improving the team!
So, since Damien Cox can't understand this, I'll make it very simple for him: being happy with progress does not mean being content with the status quo. There's only one status quo Leafs fans would be happy with, and that's winning a Stanley Cup.
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