Welcome to Toronto – The Bizzaro World of Player Development | 
After watching ex-Leaf Lee Stempniak score 13 goals in 14 games for the Phoenix Coyotes it made me think what his production could have been like had he been given a chance in Toronto. Oh wait, he was given a chance and it resulted in 14 goals in 62 games.
So why has his offence all of a sudden improved to the point where he was the NHL player of the month in March?
You can call it the curse of the Leafs, you can say it was a lack of chemistry, or you could just call it a strange fluke. Heck, you could call it all three. The fact of the matter is that Stempniak is not the first player to enjoy success elsewhere after floundering in Toronto. And he will not be the last.
Alex Steen has bulged the twine 24 times in 65 games this season while the best he mustered in Toronto was 18 in his rookie year. He was given every chance to play with some skilled players – including Mats Sundin – but he simply couldn’t get it done. So this begs the question of why?
The problem herein lies with the Maple Leafs ability to make mediocre players good and good players mediocre. Take for example players like Darcy Tucker, Matt Stajan and Jonas Hoglund.
On a successful team they would fit the bill as a “role player”, not a first liner. Tucker was able to amass five 20+ goals seasons while with the blue and white yet he still hasn’t scored 16 goals in two seasons combined with Colorado.
Stajan is another example of a mediocre player who has been labeled as a great player. To his credit, Stajan played hard for Toronto and managed to stay injury free, but he is not a first line centre. The Calgary Flames found this out the hard way and it was a contributing reason to them missing the playoffs. Even Hoglund went from averaging 13 goals a year to averaging almost 20 for the Leafs.
Do you think Tuuka Rask would have 17 wins and the second best GAA in the league if he still played for Toronto? Highly doubtful. He more than likely would have taken a similar route to Justin Pogge and had his confidence shattered by playing for a bottom dwelling team with a terrible all-around game. Do you think Brad Boyes would have scored 26 goals in his rookie season in Toronto? Not a chance.
Compare these prospects to veterans who were passed their prime when they came to Toronto but managed to put up respectable numbers. Jason Allison had 60 points after taking three years off of professional hockey. Despite not leading the Leafs to the Stanley Cup, Ed Belfour won 37 games in the 2002-03 season for the first time since 1997-98 with the Dallas Stars.
There are plenty of examples of this anomaly but few explanations. Perhaps it is fitting that mediocre players achieve hero status in Toronto. After all, the Maple Leafs seem to be very content with mediocrity.
At the end of the day it all comes down to motivation. The good players are not motivated to play in Toronto despite what they say. They get paid big bucks to play in front of a packed house that apparently doesn’t care whether the team wins or loses.
Meanwhile, the mediocre players need to step up their game to play their way out of Toronto. So kudos to the over achievers in Stajan, Alex Ponikarovski and Ian White; you played well enough to get out of Toronto.
Hopefully you can achieve success elsewhere but history would beg to differ.
For Open Ice Hockey, I’m Mike Zelek – Please Enjoy Responsibly
Topics: Alex Ponikarovski, Alex Steen, Brad Boyes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Darcy Tucker, Ed Belfour, Ian White, Jason Allison, Jonas Hoglund, Justin Pogge, Lee Stempniak, Matt Stajan, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tuuka Rask
Latest Headlines
- Hoefflin performs in shutdown role
- Yakupov Leading The Way
- Quinn and Recchi Lead Prospects into Kelowna
- All Eyes on Faksa
- ASG Skills Competition Participants Selected
- Hyka’s NHL Team in Limbo
- Excitement Builds for NHL Prospects Game
- Mrazek shines in first Under-20 experience
- No More Mr. Magician
- Sweden Relishes World Junior Glory
- Beaulieu a prized prospect for Montreal
- Team Canada set to face Russia in WJC Semifinal
- Sergeev is Foreurs jack-of-all-trades
- Gibson forged interesting path to Team Finland cage
- Q Round-up: American Coyle signs with Sea Dogs
In The News
Sarnia’s Kujawinski ready for U-17 Hockey Challenge
Sarnia’s Kujawinski ready for first taste of international competition at the U-17 Hockey Challenge, competing with Team Ontario at the end of the month in Windsor, Ontario
Gourde keeping pace with the scoring leaders
Victoriaville forward wrestles scoring lead with help from Tigres linemate, team depth
Abeltshauser adds leadership, control from blueline
German defenceman plays solid two-way hockey for Halifax and on the world stage
Richard Finding Success in Guelph
Another of the OHL's Tanner's - Richard that is - is the Storm's leading scorer and will suit up for Switzerland at the U-20’s