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Tuesday, November 30, 1999
Quinn looks for more spunk from Leafs
TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are first in the NHL's Eastern Conference, but Pat Quinn is not content.He wants a more belligerent lineup.
That's why he's promoted Adam Mair from the St. John's AHL farm club and traded pacifist Todd Warriner to Tampa Bay.
"He has an ingredient we haven't shown a lot of sometimes," Quinn said of Mair after practice Tuesday. "We don't initiate very much contact, and Adam does that.
"Adam was drafted for his spunk. He has a competitive edge. Other players develop great shots or great skating. What he is is a competitor. To me, that's an element he can bring to our team that will help us."
Further personnel moves are inevitable but, first, Quinn will give Mair a chance to stick. The six-foot-one Hamilton native, 20, scored his first regular-season NHL goal in Toronto's 3-1 win Monday over the visiting Washington Capitals.
"Nothing is ever handed to you in life, definitely not in this sport, so I know I have to make the best of this opportunity," said Mair, his left eye black and blue from the impact of a puck in an AHL game Sunday in Quebec. "I've always played feisty, in-your-face hockey, finishing my hits.
"At this level, you have to have some level of competitiveness in you to survive."
The spirit is there, obviously. But is the talent?
"The question with Adam is: how far have his skills come along?" says Quinn. "We wanted to have a look at where he was, and that physical sort of attitude he brings is something we need on our team."
Toronto's next game is Thursday in Raleigh, N.C., against the Hurricanes. Mike Johnson (ribs) and Bryan Berard (groin) are possible starters, while Alexander Karpovtsev (shoulder) and Nik Antropov (shoulder) will be sidelined for about another week.
Quinn's retooling of the Leafs since the season began Oct. 1 has included trading away Fredrik Modin, Derek King, Sylvain Cote, Steve Sullivan and Warriner.
"We try to evaluate our team on a daily basis to determine what we need to get better, to get to the top five, to be in position to challenge for the Stanley Cup," Quinn said. "We had a little bit of a surprise last year to find we were there.
"Then we had to ask ourselves what we had to do to take another step. Sometimes it means trying some young guys, as we've done. We really have a good, young team."
The rock-solid goaltending of Curtis Joseph gives Quinn the leeway to tinker. Joseph has a sparkling .929 save percentage in the 21 games he's started.
"He's been terrific," says Quinn. "He gave us the ability, with his ability, to start four young guys on defence last season.
"That allowed them to grow and get better, and those kids are a little bit better this year so far. So, he's given us that unusual ability to make a step that other teams have tried, that has to be made, but with much more success than other teams have experienced."
Notes
: The Leafs expect the Hurricanes to be a more formidable opponent than they were when Toronto shut them out 6-0 on Nov. 3 in Raleigh . . . Yanic Perreault, whose 21 points are a team high, has exceeded Quinn's expectations. "He has performed beyond where we had him in our mental (vision) and in our files as far as our scouting was concerned," Quinn said . . . Defenceman Dmitri Yakushin, 21, who was temporarily called up to sub for Berard, impressed Quinn in his NHL debut Monday: "He did very well. I think he's what you'd call a good prospect. I don't know if he's quite ready yet but he didn't look out of place."
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