October 20, 2009.
In the interest of honesty, I will be blunt: The Toronto Maple Leafs are playing some of the worst hockey I’ve seen from the team in a long, long time. While Saturday’s game against New York was a step in the right direction, when you’re playing absolutely terrible, it’s easy to improve. As of right now, there are very few, if any, positive aspects to discuss about the Leafs. The forwards have been invisible, neither scoring nor playing with any kind of heart or intensity. The defence corps, a group that was supposed to be drastically improved this season, have been worse than last year and that’s saying a lot. Our penalty killing, a magnificent 30th overall last year, is in the exact same position except 14 percentage points lower. Ron Wilson, a coach who certainly has plenty of confidence in himself (you’d know that if you’ve ever watched his condescending pressers), has seen not one player under his watch improve over the last 2 seasons. Try and think of a player who’s value has gone up under Wilson’s tenure. If a list exists, it’s a very short one. Don’t even get me started on goaltending. We’ve all seen the movie before. It’s just a part of being a Leaf fan and most of us are used to it by now. However, Leaf fans have a way of clinging to one single ray of hope no matter how small or improbable it may seem. Right now, that ray of hope, that one single part of the team that’s keeping Leafs Nation from imploding right now, is Jonas Gustavsson.
Toronto, Ontario is collectively holding their breath for Gustavsson’s return. The one game excluding the opening night Habs matchup where the Leafs actually appeared to have a chance at winning was the only game Gustavsson started and if not for some questionable calls by the officials, we might have seen a shutout from the Swede that night. But alas! Daniel Alfredsson was awarded a penalty shot and Gutavsson injured his groin and Leafs Nation was forced to wait another few weeks for their potential saviour. Now I know the Leafs have not won a game as of yet, but isn’t this just perfect for Gustavsson? At least he’s not being left out to dry by a team working to develop chemistry. I’m almost happy that The Monster (a name he apparently hates) has been sitting in the press box this whole time as to avoid the hornet’s nest that has been the Leafs dressing room these first few weeks. Now he’s got the opportunity to come back from injury (hopefully when the team starts to pull their heads out of their you-know-whats) and win-over the hearts and minds of Leaf fans everywhere. The timing is perfect. The saviour of the 2009-2010 Leafs season is getting close to coming back, but for now Leafs Nation will have to wait for Jesus – I mean Jonas – Gustavsson.
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