TORONTO (July 1) -- For the first time in decades, the Toronto Maple Leafs are attempting to build in the proper direction -- from goalie on out. Time will ultimately determine whether they have the correct pieces in place, but general manager John Ferguson's plan of stocking up on NHL-caliber defencemen is difficult to dispute.
Less challenging to debate is whether behemoths Pavel Kubina and Hal Gill -- signed as free agents today from Tampa Bay and Boston -- are the right players at the right time. I'd rather have Jay McKee than either of them. Certainly, size will not be an issue on the Toronto back end next season, as Ferguson has added 12 feet-11 inches, and 490 pounds worth of humanity. Kubina is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, and is dwarfed by Gill's mountainous 6-7 and 250. Added to Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle, the Leafs appear to have assembled one of the deeper blueline contingents in the NHL -- providing the aformentioned play to an optimum level.
If so, the Toronto defence corps has a bit of everything. McCabe and Kubina are excellent shooters. Kaberle is one of the best set-up men in the league. McCabe and Gill never shy away from using their physical skills. Gill, in particular, can be a gorilla in front of his own net. McCabe, Kaberle and Kubina can alternate on the powerplay. And, there appears to be sufficient quality among the club's group of defensive farmhands (Kronwall, Colaiacovo, White, Harrison, Bell, Wozniewski) to capably fill the Nos. 5 and 6 spots on the back end -- perhaps higher, if one can supplant Gill. The added depth could be a major boon for McCabe, as it might cut his minutes per game marginally enough to help him in the second half of the season.
Along with a never-quite-healed groin-tear, McCabe's play tailed off dramatically after his three-week injury absence last January, partly because (as teammate Darcy Tucker explained to me recently) he was worn out. McCabe's 30 minutes per night; his groin issue, and his unexpected trip to the Turin Olympics (he replaced the injured Ed Jovanovski on Team Canada at the 11th hour), were all factors. If fatigue disrupts even a split-second of timing in the NHL, it can have major consequences, and a player like Kubina (plus, perhaps, one of the kids) might give McCabe the subtle break he needs to sustain his performance through the dog days of the season.
None of these players brings to the Leafs what Chris Pronger could have. But, if McCabe can build on his superb offensive season a year ago, the Maple Leafs may well have a key part of the Stanley Cup recipe yours truly has been banging away at for years -- a front-line stud on defence, with depth, experience and quality behind him. Apart from stability in goal, it has long been my mantra that these ingredients on the blueline are imperative for any team with Cup designs (though Tampa Bay and Carolina, the past two champions, have bucked the overwhelming trend of the past 35 years).
There are flip-sides to all of this, of course. As there is with any team in the league. Can McCabe continue to be a dominant force? Can Kaberle finally become a factor in the playoffs? Is Gill quick enough on his skates to keep pace in the "new" NHL (my Boston e-mailers are calling him a "pylon")? Does Kubina have the defensive acumen to compensate if he isn't producing goals and points? And then there's the obvious concern that all teams have with injuries. As a group, however, this Maple Leaf brigade should rank in the top-third of the league heading into 2006-07.
Many now will be wondering about the club's forwards, and who might actually score goals next season. It's a question that Ferguson may not be able to sufficiently answer this summer. Though Carolina went from playoff oblivion to Cup champion, it isn't reasonable to expect teams to make such a dramatic leap in one year. Ferguson still has cap room to play with, and he can always make a trade to upgrade his forwards. But, if the Leafs have the cap resources to enhance only one area of the team this off-season, Fergie has picked the right spot. Quality defencemen are like pitchers in baseball -- no team can ever have too many of them.
Others may be questioning Kubina's $5-million stipend. Forget about it. As I've mentioned many times in endorsing McCabe's deal with the Leafs, the market this summer for defencemen is being driven by supply and demand -- not the subjective worth of any particular player. Much more important is whether Kubina can play. With a half-dozen quality blueliners up for grabs, and 20 to 25 teams battling for their services, salaries are going to be out of whack. As I expected, all of today's contracts are lucrative and long-term. But, I'll add this: If Zdeno Chara, now with Boston, is truly worth almost $2 million per season more than McCabe, he'd better show the Bruins a hell of a lot more than he did the Senators in the playoffs this spring. Jovanovski to Phoenix at almost $1 million more per year than McCabe? With Jovo's chronic groin issues? I'll take my chances on Bryan at $5.75 million. Kubina is not a $5 million talent, but in this summer's market, that's clearly where he fits.
Much depends on the development of the kids, but the Leafs are potentially looking as solid and deep today on defence than they have at any time since their 1967 Stanley Cup swansong.
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