An Honourable Honour

Bitter Leaf does a fine job of breaking down this dog’s breakfast of a post by Ken Campbell on the Globe and Mail’s hockey blog. Allow me to play third-man in against Mr. Campbell:

So, Kenny, the current Leafs regime made too big a deal when Pat Burns took in a game at the ACC Tuesday and had a mini-reunion with players from the ‘93 near-Cup champ club, huh?

[T]he Maple Leafs…decided to fete them at every opportunity during stoppages in play as though they were Stanley Cup champions.

Since when are Stanley Cups a pre-requisite for pomp and circumstance at an NHL barn? Should the Leafs pull Darryl Sittler’s #27 or Borje Salming’s #21 from the rafters becase they never won, or even played for, a Cup?

Toronto fans never seem to get tired of being reminded of the times they almost came close to winning something, but it makes the organization look bush league when it does things like this.

Is the Jack Adams Trophy, which Burns earned for his 1992-93 efforts, not “something”? And is that “something” not worth noting during stoppages on a Tuesday night in December?

Let me state for the record that I expect such gestures out of classy organizations like Toronto. I mean, if the Leafs ever capture a post-expansion-era Hart Trophy or Calder Trophy (and, while we’re at it, the franchise’s first-ever Norris Trophy), and that trophy winner comes back to Toronto post-retirement to take in a tilt, I’d want his mug plastered all over the jumbotron whenever play was stopped.

Like Bitter Leaf says at the bottom of his post, there’s a team or two in every sport that fans love to hate. Dallas in the NFL, the Yankees and Red Sox in baseball, the Lakers in the NBA, and–so it seems–the Leafs in the NHL. Success breeds contempt, I guess, and in the case of this elite club, if you’ve won a crown in the last 40 years, it seems your franchise earnes a target along with the accolades.

Growing Stronger By The Game

Boy, the seven-game hiccup is growing small in the rear-view mirror, eh? All the Leafs have done in the last two games is beat the two most recent Stanley Cup winners, Tampa and Carolina. Talk about stretches that make a statement!!

Putting things in perspective, the Leafs have been consistently strong of late. Factoring out the seven-game losing streak that ended Tuesday, the Leafs’ 4-3 win at Carolina was its third victory in four games and 11th in 15 contests dating back to Oct. 28—a pace that has “post-season home ice” written all over it.

Strength Through Adversity, Leafs-Style

It’s no secret that nothing builds character and strength in professional sports like adversity. In climbing from the depths of their recent seven-game losing streak, the Leafs showed definite signs of prospering.

Not only did they end the streak with a stirring, 5-4 come-from-behind win against the Tampa Bay Lighting (a team just two seasons removed from winning the Cup), but they did it by correcting a notable shortcoming. Heading into Tuesday’s showdown with the Bolts, the Leafs were struggling a bit late in games. In their five previous games, the Leafs were out-scored 17-1 in third periods. According to Elias, it is the first time an NHL team was out-scored by at least 16 goals in the third period over a five-game span.

But rather than hang their heads, our Buds did what many long-time fans have come to expect: they bounced back strong. Not only did they out-score Tampa Bay in the third period Tuesday, but they doubled their production from the previous five games, out-scoring the Lightning 2-1.

Don’t be surprised if, following a long playoff run this spring, Coach Paul Maurice and the players point to this impressive showing of courage as the point at which Toronto’s 2006-07 season took off.

Honouring Number 28

What better way to start off this blog than by recognizing the five-year anniversary of a truly notable achievement in Leafs history. On December 15, 2001, Tie Domi passed Tiger Williams as the all-time Leafs penalty minute leader. As if that’s not enough to celebrate, the milestone came in a 6-4 win over the dreaded Club de Hockey Canadien–otherwise known as Montreal.

Most people know Tie could play as well as fight. But few people realize how significant of a dual threat he was. Along with his 3,515 career penalty minutes in the NHL (third all-time), Domi hit the double-digit mark in goals three times (including a career-best 15 in 2002-03), and nearly had 30 points in two different seasons!

A check of the numbers reveals that few wingers in post-Original Six history have displayed such versatility. Clark Gillies never had 100 penalty minutes in a season–Domi did that an amazing 15 times! Cam Neely could score and fight, but his 13 years in the league are five short of what the durable Domi accomplished. Keith Tkachuk put up some impressive stats in his Jets/Coyotes days, but he’s tailed off in the last few years; Domi was a consistent threat to pot 10 goals and spend 100 minutes in the sin bin right up until he hung up his skates.

Congrats on a well-done career, Tie Domi. I fully expect to see your 28 take its rightful place next to Darryl Sittler and Frank Mahovlich’s 27 in the Leafs’ collection of honoured numbers.