Leafs miss playoffs again

They've been out of playoff contention since Sunday, so why am I posting about it now? I dunno, just frustrated I guess. They're now out for the second season in a row, I've only got Ferguson to blame. We should get Colangelo from the Raptors, I bet he'd do a better job.

Right now, the Leafs' game plan seems to be shoot the puck, get lucky and get the puck back, shoot again. Unless it's a clear break-away you won't see a Leaf make a pretty move splitting defensemen to put the puck in the net or on another stick that can.

This is because the Leafs have no good stick handlers with explosive speed. Someone who can take the puck through a crowd and set up some good plays. Wellwood can stick handle and he's smart, but he doesn't seem to have that speed, and he's also got his faults which I'll get to later. Sundin can hold the puck, but it seems he can only do it from behind the net (more due to the defense he has to go against).

The lack of stick handlers causes the game to be boring; it's the same every time. All their power plays look the same, their umbrella formation set up exactly the same way every single time. Get the puck to Kaberle, pass it between defenders and shoot every once in a while. If the opposing team learns how to break up the formation, then that's it! It's over. 0 for whatever on their power play. Even if they do score, it's because of poor defense or because of lucky bounces like they admit at the end of the game.

Look at Pittsburgh. They've got play-makers like Crosby who can drive through the defense with no set destination. Very exciting power plays. They command the power play. Luck plays a factor, but they command it.

For this, Maurice should be blamed. He can't let his players go wild like it seems every other team seems to do, but even so, he should try and draw up some more plays, even if they're all set in stone. Just make sure to think up transitions between them. Don't rely on lucky bounces to win hockey games.

McCabe is the most overrated player in the NHL. He should have been let go in the off-season. Even last year, his defense was noted as not stellar. Why sign a defenseman for his offense? The Leafs defense was what was lacking in the previous season, not a lack of offense. Why sign a defenseman for $29mil for 5 years for just his offense? Now that the season is over I can ask, why sign anyone for $29mil for 5 years for NOTHING? Hell, I've seen him turn over more pucks, take more dumb penalties, not hold the blue line more times than see him make any good defensive play or make any good offensive play. I feel bad for Kaberle, the all-star who signed a contract for less in the same off-season as McCabe.

You might think Raycroft's to blame for the high goals against. He's not as stellar as he should have been, but he's not all to blame. He did let in a lot of softies against Montreal on Saturday, and he does that more often than he should. However, he cannot be blamed for the majority of goals against him. I agree with what Don Cherry has said in the past. Raycroft will be the guy who takes the Leafs to the playoffs, if they get there at all.

Wellwood is a witty player with "magic" hands. But this guy does not know how to play in his own end. Maurice should only play him when the puck's at least in the neutral zone. Watching him defend is painful.

Sundin had 20 points in the last 20 games (compare that to 21 points by Crosby in the same period), so even if he only had 1 goal in those 20 games, I think he's played a captain's role. It would be absurd to think of trading someone like him who has said he'd like to end his career as a Leaf. Sundin deserves to be the captain here. However, I think he should be paired with people who are not just Sundin-wannabes, which is just what Ponikarovsky and Antropov seem to be. Yes, he will always be against their top checkers, but he can handle himself without two towers beside him. No one matches Sundin's persistence behind the net in the NHL and there's no one he can't handle. He can afford to have someone like Pohl or Battaglia who can weave through as his winger. This should give Sundin more room to score his goals.

I would really like to see some better matched lines next season, and I hope the Leafs will be gifted with more stick-handlers to make this happen.