It was another lost year for Toronto, as the Maple Leafs failed to reach the playoffs for a franchise record fifth straight season. A horrendous 0-7-1 start doomed Toronto and the Leafs had just one win in their first 13 games. They were never able to dig out of that early hole, though they did play better down the stretch as general manager Brian Burke gave the roster a makeover.
The Bruins benefited the most from Toronto’s struggles, as they were able to grab Tyler Seguin with the second overall pick in the draft and Jared Knight at No. 32 from the Phil Kessel trade. Boston also owns Toronto’s top pick this year from that deal, so the Bruins hope for continued misfortune for the Leafs for at least one more season.
2009-10 Record: 30-38-14, 74 points (5th Northeast Division; 15th Eastern Conference; did not qualify for playoffs)
Bruins record vs. Maple Leafs: Boston leads the all-time series 276-253-98-6, and went 4-1-1 against Toronto last year. The Bruins spoiled Kessel’s return to the Garden with a decisive 7-2 win on Dec. 5, then spanked the Leafs again on Dec. 10, 5-2. Toronto won at home on Dec. 19, 2-0, and on March 9, 4-3 in overtime, but the Bruins won 3-2 in a shootout in Boston on March 4 when Miroslav Satan scored the only goal in the shootout and ended the season series with a 2-1 overtime win in Toronto on April 3 as Satan scored both goals. Kessel managed just one assist and was a minus-5 in the six games against his old club.
When to watch: The Bruins host the Leafs on Thursday, Oct. 28, Tuesday, Feb. 15 and Thursday, March 31, while giving Toronto fans a first-hand look at what they’re missing in Seguin with games at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday, Dec. 4, Monday, Jan. 3 and Saturday, March 19.
Familiar faces: In addition to Kessel, who spent his first three seasons with Boston after being taken fifth overall in the 2006 draft, the Leafs also feature former Bruins Colton Orr and Kris Versteeg, two players that the Bruins never should have let get away. Orr was lost on waivers after seeing minimal action under Mike Sullivan in 2005-06, but has gone on to establish himself as one of the premier enforcers in the league with the Rangers and Leafs. Versteeg was a promising prospect in Providence when he traded to Chicago in 2007 for Brandon Bochenski in one of Peter Chiarelli’s few truly regrettable deals. While Bochenski failed to score a goal in 20 games with Boston in 2007-08 and has since bounced around in three different organizations before signing in the KHL this summer, Versteeg went on to score 31 goals in 2008-09 and added 20 more while winning a Cup with Chicago last year before being traded to Toronto this offseason.
Key additions: F Kris Versteeg (trade with Chicago); F Colby Armstrong (free agent); F Mike Brown (trade with Anaheim); D Brett Lebda (free agent); F Marcel Mueller (free agnet); F Joey Crabb (free agent)
Key losses: D Mike Van Ryn (retired); F Viktor Stalberg (traded to Chicago); F Ben Ondrus (signed with Edmonton); F Jamie Lundmark (signed with Nashville); F Andre Deveaux (signed with Chicago, AHL); F Rickard Wallin (signed with Farjestads, Sweden); D Jonas Frogren (signed with Farjestads, Sweden); F Wayne Primeau (free agent); D Garnet Exelby (free agent)
Burning question: Will the Leafs finally make the playoffs again?
Toronto and Florida are the only teams in the NHL that have not qualified for the postseason at least once in the five seasons since the lockout. Toronto also hasn’t won the Cup since 1966-67, the final year of the Original Six era. That Cup drought isn’t likely to end any time soon, but could the Leafs at least make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2004? That won’t be easy either, but it is a bit more realistic, especially if Toronto can avoid another slow start and play the way it did done the stretch last year for an entire season. The Bruins certainly hope the Leafs don’t find that kind of consistency though, as Boston would love to get another lottery pick out of the Kessel deal.
2010-11 outlook: The Leafs have added some decent pieces with Versteeg (20-24-44) and Colby Armstrong (15-14-29) up front, but they still lack a true No. 1 center to skate with Kessel (30-25-55 in 70 games). Tyler Bozak could develop into that after posting 8-19-27 totals in 37 games as a rookie, and the Leafs also have high long-term hopes for 2009 first-round pick Nazem Kadri (35-58-93 in 56 games with London in the OHL). For now, Mikhail Grabovski (10-25-35 in 59 games) is probably their most accomplished center, while Nikolai Kulemin (16-20-36) rounds out a less than stellar forward corps. The defense is far deeper, likely too deep with nine players on one-way contracts. Efforts to trade Tomas Kaberle (7-42-49) for forward help fell through this summer, leaving him in Toronto along with Dion Phaneuf (12-20-32) and more defensive-minded blueliners like Milan Lucic’s personal punching bag Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin. The Leafs will need goalie J-S Giguere (10-15-7, 2.85 GAA) to bounce back to his old Anaheim form or for Swedish prospect Jonas Gustavsson (16-18-9, 2.87 GAA) to emerge in net to cover for the lack of offense.
Did you know? Even without moving Kaberle, Burke has engineered a massive reconstruction of the Toronto roster since taking over as GM on Nov. 29, 2008. In less than two years, he has brought in 17 players who will be in serious contention for jobs with the Leafs this fall. That includes both goalies, five defensemen and 10 new forwards added through trades, free agency and the draft on his watch. There are just six players remaining from the lineup he inherited, and that could be reduced to four shortly if Kaberle does get dealt and Jeff Finger’s contract is buried in the minors as expected.
Next: Our tour around the league concludes as we return home for a look at the Bruins on Tuesday.