Future is looking bright

By SCOTT MORRISON -- Toronto Sun MONTREAL -- So the Maple Leafs didn't get appreciably better in the off-season -- there was no free-spending, no blockbuster trades, no major upgrades -- but they did quietly improve in the past few days.
And the Leafs, convincing 4-1 winners over the Montreal Canadiens in their season opener last night, are in a position to get even better in the days ahead.
"For the future of this team, I like what I see," Leafs coach/general Pat Quinn said last night. "We're definitely on a good path."
It could be argued that two of the improvements -- the signing of Bryan Berard the other day and the imminent signing of Dimitri Yushkevich -- don't fully register because both were with the team last year. Fair enough. But both were free agents and while their signings seemed inevitable, they weren't guaranteed.
Then there is the addition of Cory Cross, a big, reliable, defensive defenceman, who looked good in his Leafs debut.
Compare the Leafs defence last night to the defence that opened last season and they have gotten, on average, three-quarters of an inch taller and six pounds heavier. If grit was an issue with the Leafs -- and to a degree it was and still is -- then they have improved the back end in size, ability and especially numbers.
"I really like our defence," Quinn said. "They are young, they make some mistakes, but this defence can play together for a few years."
Which means Quinn the GM can turn his focus to the forwards. While the only new face belongs to Jonas Hoglund, left winger by default (although he did score last night) to Mats Sundin, the Leafs have stockpiled enough bodies to wheel and deal and acquire a front-line forward to play with their captain, who had three points to open the season and played, in his coach's estimation,
"as good a game as he has played for us in a while."
It is that depth which has stopped the Leafs from immediately putting Yushkevich's signature on a contract. With two goaltenders, eight defencemen already and 13 forwards, the Leafs are at their roster limit with Alyn McCauley idling in the wings and Kevyn Adams -- and possibly Nikolai Antropov -- capable of making the jump from the farm.
So they have some players to move with a reasonable expectation of a package bringing them a front-liner in return.
Let's say, for instance, the first move to clear room on the defence is to send Greg Andrusak to St. John's. Enter Yushkevich, but the Leafs would still have eight defencemen, so potentially one must go.
That gives them the option of possibly sending someone else down, or more likely they would decide to trade someone, with the likeliest candidate being Sylvain Cote, who would garner interest from a lot of teams, including the injury-ravaged Canadiens.
To help clear space up front, figuring they will find a way to part company with a King, Derek or Kris, to get McCauley back into action, the Leafs could trade another forward, most likely a centre. A logical choice is Yanic Perreault.
Maybe those aren't the players the Leafs move, but it remains that they have 26 or 27 players (counting Yushkevich, McCauley and potentially Adams and Antropov), which means they have quality guys to move in and players they can package who they potentially can turn into one very good forward. All of which adds up to improvement.
"Down the road that's possible," Quinn said of the depth allowing him to make a key acquisition. "I like the kids on this team. They have a chance to grow and become the core. You can go out and spend to get guys, but maybe that's not where the real growth comes from.
"We can add (a player), but we have to do it perceptively and still have the core group of kids get better. The next step is strength in the middle. I like some of the guys we have, but we have to keep looking."
And did we mention they still have Curtis Joseph to buy them precious shopping time? He was sharp last night, again allowing a young team to make mistakes, still win and, over time, get better.

POTENTIAL
The point is, the Leafs may not have improved in the off-season -- not in a flashy, free-spending way -- but they grew as a team, they made some positive steps this past week and, if last night is an indication, appear able to pick up where they left off last season.
Most important, they have the potential to get significantly better in the days ahead without hurting themselves to do it.

Bert's back on blades
Blue Jays boot game
Bombers drop Peterson
Felicien rebuilds race

Visit our Polls Archive

SLAM! Sports SLAM! Galleries Help CANOE