Top Five Stories To Watch In Leaf Land

A Preview Of The 09/10 Toronto Maple Leafs Season

Sep 24, 2009

Plenty of off-season excitement, lots of moves and a change in philosophy as swept Leafs Nation. The time for talk is done - can this team play?

Not since the early nineties has Toronto been so excited to get a regular season underway. A decade of off and on performances and mediocre play has nearly sucked the life out of the centre of the hockey universe.

Hog Town is abuzz in anticipation of next week’s home opener against the hated Montreal Canadiens. With a multitude of changes, both on and off the ice, and optimism high for the blue and white, here are the top 5 stories that are sure to make this season a memorable one.

Leafs Rookie Watch

5. Nazem Kadri. Odds are that the Leafs 7th overall pick in the 2009 draft will eventually find his way back to the London Knights of the OHL. Regardless is the big club grants Kadri the first 10 games of the season to strut his stuff or if he gets sent back before, Kadri has already won over a very critical hockey fan base. Kadri, only 18 years old, has been a consistent standout in the preseason and will one day be a great player for the Leafs. Should Kadri stay, he could very well follow in the footsteps of second year defenseman Luke Schenn who, as a rookie, took Toronto by storm – a feat not matched since Wendel Clark was selected 1st overall in 1985. If London is where Kadri calls home for the 09/10 season two things are for sure, Leafs nation will for sure have vested interest in the Knights, hoping Kadri lights up the OHL scoreboard and questions of why didn’t he stay with the big club will be asked all season long – especially should the Leafs fail to make the playoffs again.

4. Jonas Gustavsson. Should the monster play the way most hope he will, good things will happen. Highly touted off-season acquisition Jonas Gustavsson is unproven and to this point, unknown. A standout in the Swedish elite league last year, he definitely has the potential to be the NHL’s next Henrik Lundqvist. To make the team better, all Gustavsson has to do is play well enough to earn the trust of his teammates, gain the respect of other teams in the league and scare Vesa Toskala into thinking his job is on the line. Toskala enjoyed his best season in San Jose while sharing a bench with Evgeni Nabokov, and when Nabokov went down, Toskala took off. To get the best out of Toskala, and the best thing that could happen this year to the Leafs is if Gustavsson can produce nothing more than solid goaltending when called upon. Nobody is holding their breath that he will be rookie of the year or challenge for the Vezina Trophy, but Gustavsson has to turn in 30 (or so) strong games and the Leafs could very well have one of the best goaltending tandems in the league.

Maple Leafs Defense Core

3. The Blue Line. Not since 1993 have the Leafs employed such a big, strong and intimidating defense core. With the additions of Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby to go along with Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn, Ian White, Mike Van Ryn, Jeff Finger and Jonas Frogren, the defensive zone will be a scary place for any opposing forward to venture. Who will stay and who will go is a different story for a different day, but for now Leaf supporters should sleep easy knowing that their blue line is properly protected.

Phil Kessel's Maple Leaf Debut

2. Phil Kessel. The 21-year-old sniper will be interesting to watch not only this year, but for the net five years. There is no doubt that Kessel has a God-given ability to put the puck in the net, but Matt Stajan is no Marc Savard. Will Kessel put up the same numbers on a team that possesses a severe lack of offensive prowess? Maybe… but maybe not. Head coach Ron Wilson will undoubtedly move Kessel around to try to find the right fit for him, the right connection, and the right chemistry. Maybe the Leafs will get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle seeing Kessel pot 40 goals this year playing on the right wing with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.

1. Brian Burke. The architect, the maestro, the big cheese… Burke is coming into his first full season as Leafs GM and already he has Leafs nation eating out of the palms of his hands. His word is gospel in this town and not since Pat Quinn has a GM been so loved and admired. Burke did a lot of talking and a lot of juggling over the summer, now its time to see how it works. Expectations from Leafs management have been kept low and although they claim to be striving for a playoff berth this season, nobody will be run out of town should they finish the year 9th or 10th in the conference. One thing you can count on is that Burke will have the camera on his every time the Leafs lose in overtime, every time Gustavsson lets in a soft goal and each and every time Francois Beauchemin scores a power play goal from the point.

Either way, whatever happens this year – good, bad and indifferent – it’s a fun time to be a Leafs fan!

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