May 24, 2008

Textbook Toronto Development

Folks, it's all over for our favourite minor league hockey team, the Toronto Marlies. They were eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs last night by the Chicago Wolves.

Sure, it was a 19 game playoff run, but it didn't do much for the development of the future Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jiri Tlusty, he of nude photography fame, scored a whopping two goals in 19 post-season games. Yikes. Hell, even Andy Wozniewski managed to score four. Tlusty's playoff disappearing act certainly doesn't bode well for the future, although it's not like he and the Leafs will be playing in playoff games anytime soon.

Speaking of two, that's how many playoff games Justin Pogge, the franchise's anointed goaltender of the future, the goaltending prospect the brains upstairs chose over Tuukka Rask, started out of 19. Yeah, that's really going to help him develop into a top-flight NHL calibre goalie. Well done coach Greg Gilbert, well done.

Alex Foster, who I believe got into a few games with the big club a few months ago, also contributed a measly two goals.

So did Jay Harrison, but he added 10 assists and was one of the few bright spots for the Marlies. Where the fuck was this guy this past season? How is it humanly possible that Andy Wozniewski made the Toronto Maple Leafs - Andy fucking Wozniewski! - out of training camp, and Staffan Kronwall got the call when Carlo Colaiacovo went down with his annual season-ending injury, while Harrison was toiling in the minors? Ridiculous. Straight ridiculous.

If you're wondering, John Mitchell led the Marlies in goal scoring with eight and David Ling led the team with 17 points. For the full scoring breakdown, check out the layout.

A serious lack of discipline devastated the Marlies against Chicago. The Wolves averaged more than eight power plays a game in the five game series and they made Toronto pay, scoring 10 power play goals on 41 opportunities. Last night they were 3-for-9 with the man advantage. In contrast, the Marlies scored two power play markers all series. It's pretty obvious the Marlies are the farm team of the Leafs. Much like the big club the Marlies can't score on the power play or kill penalties, either. Idiots.

In my honest and ever-important opinion, Greg Gilbert should be fired for choosing to play Scott Clemmensen ahead of Pogge. It was an absurd decision and one that could only be allowed to happen under this franchise. Someone - Cliff Fletcher, I'm lookin at you Grandpa - should have bitch-slapped Greg Gilbert stepped in and made sure Pogge was between the pipes. What you have here is another, might I add shining, example of Toronto Maple Leafs player development. Textbook fucking MLSE development. You know how we do.

The optimist in me wants to believe that Pogge won 50% of the games he started, and that Tlusty, who finished fifth on the team in playoff scoring with 10 points, is going to be one fine NHLer. But the realist in me knows that Tlusty went AWOL, that a great opportunity to see what Pogge could have done has been lost, and that this franchise is being run by some serious douchebags who clearly don't know what the hell they are doing.

I need a drink.

7 comments:

Jaredoflondon said...

the fact that I am not surprised probably depresses me more than anything.

Greener said...

I don't want to believe any of this Nav.

Loser Domi said...

So...Woz is a scoring thraet and Tlusty disappears? Who are these guys, Bizzaro Leafs?

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

serious bizzaro leafs...honestly, woz playing games for the maple leafs is going to go down as one of the most unbelievable happenings of our lives...

and for some reason i am still surprised at mlse's inability to run this hockey club...it still baffles me that decisions like this can go down...perhaps that makes me the idiot.

bkblades said...

Idiot? No way - maybe tragic disciple of the maple leafs. Us fans can rebel all we want, but in the end, the MLSE "authorities" with the backing of "volunteer" TDSB pensioners will always crush the insurrection. And yet, all we want is "responsible government" for the beloved blue and white. Therein lies the never-ending history lesson.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

is it time to declare JIHAD on MLSE?

Culinarian said...

Give MLSE a break...they're too busy working on screwing up soccer teams now, too