To give us some perspective on what's going on in Maple Leaf land, Grant Tomkins of Pension Plan Puppets answered some questions from NESN.com.
NESN.com: Obviously, in Boston, the No. 1 storyline for this game is Phil Kessel's return. Actually, it's probably the only storyline that most fans care about. With Phil's 10 goals in 15 games, is it safe for Bostonians to assume that Leafs fans are pretty happy with their newest scoring threat?
Grant Tomkins: Personally, "pretty happy" is an understatement. I've been a fan of Kessel's since his draft year when the NHL Network did a behind-the-scenes feature with a few of the top prospects in his class. He was awkward and not very well spoken, but the highlights from his time at the University of Minnesota are what I was more interested in. That said, there are still some fans who think the price paid for Kessel was too high. If those first-round picks turn into two generational talents, then this trade won't look so hot.
However, it will be some time before we can make an honest assessment, so most of us fans are just enjoying the show. I knew he could score goals, but since his debut with the Leafs I've seen him backcheck, forecheck, bodycheck and fight. The fact that he's proving he can do it all without Marc Savard is a bonus.
NESN.com: Watching the Leafs struggle so mightily just doesn't seem right. With the team at 8-12-7, what's the general feeling that most fans have toward the team?
Grant Tomkins: Generally it seems folks are pretty frustrated. We're a fickle bunch though. With a few wins the excitement gets contagious. It depends on what one's expectations were for this season. If you were expecting a playoff team, I can see you being pretty upset. If you are like myself, and was thinking it would be similar to last year, maybe you're less upset. Losses suck when you're a fan though, no matter what expectations you have, realistic or otherwise. However, When Phil Kessel joined the Leafs in November for his first game, they were 1-7-4. In other words, since having a true top-three forward on the team, the Leafs have gone 7-5-3. So things are looking up.
NESN.com: Can you try to sum up what the goaltending situation has been in Toronto this year?
Grant Tomkins: The Leafs' goaltending has been a roller coaster. Rookie Jonas Gustavsson has been outstanding on most nights, but has had a few mistakes creep into his game every now and then. The nice thing for me is that after you see him make a mistake, he learns. His penchant for kicking out rebounds worried me at the start of the season, but he's learned that with a smaller ice surface, he needs to try and smother things more, or at least change the angles he's kicking them out at. He appears to be the real deal. Although he's had a heart ailment and is currently out of the lineup, the team and doctors have all reported it to not be serious and that he has a terrific chance with his latest procedure to correct it once and for all.
Vesa Toskala, on the other hand, has gone off the rails fast. I was a big fan of his coming to Toronto, as I live in California and had numerous chances to see him play behind the Sharks. Unfortunately, his game continues to deteriorate. I'm still a little suspicious of his pulling himself against the Islanders and I have yet to see a replay that shows where and how he could have gotten hurt. He's in the last season of his contract, so one way or the other, he won't be around for much longer.
Backup Joey MacDonald was incredible stepping in for Gustvsson in Montreal, and was just as poised against Columbus. With the Leafs up 5-1, the team let off the gas, and the two goals Columbus added before losing 6-3 were more a result of missed assignments and lazy backchecking than MacDonald himself. As an admitted Leafs fan growing up, MacDonald has quickly endeared himself to us.
NESN.com: Tomas Kaberle was the subject of roughly 3 million trade rumors over the past 12 months or so, a lot of them involving the Bruins. Ranked second in the league with 25 assists, what kind of role is he playing with the Leafs?
Grant Tomkins: Tomas is back to his usual form. The season and a half after the ugly head-hunting hit from Cam Janssen was brutal for Kabby. It's been a year since Ron Wilson benched him in the third period against the Coyotes, and I for one see no reason for Ron to have to resort to that again. Kaberle is the anchor on the first power play and helps start the rush for the top line. He still is a pass-first, shoot-second player, but the addition of Kessel playing the off wing on the first power play unit now gives him two options to dish the puck, with Francois Beauchemin on his right being the other.
He is still the source of multiple rumors (at least one a week it seems) but with the team finally finding some cohesiveness on the blue line, unless someone overpays for Kaberle, I don't think Brian Burke will be moving him.
NESN.com: How do Leafs fans feel about the poll of Canadians who called the Habs "Canada's Team"?
Grant Tomkins: Indifferent. Canada as a country has 33-34 million citizens. The poll was only 1,015 of them, or less than one one-hundredth of the population. Now, I'm not a scientist, but calling that representative of something sounds like a farce. I'm not losing any sleep over it. When you watch the Leafs on the road and see large groups of Leafs jerseys in the stands at games as far away as Tampa and Los Angeles, it sure seems like the Leafs are pretty popular to me.
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Thanks go out to Grant, aka blurr1974, of Pension Plan Puppets.
