TAMPA – Tim Gleason has built a career in the NHL on protecting the house.
Dennis Byrd Jets Jersey . "You hate when they score," he said with some distaste at the thought. "You take pride in it. You
think its your fault every time it goes into the net, whether youre on the ice
or not. From a defensive standpoint or mindset, its something that you do have
to take pride in." At the core of another failed season with the Maple Leafs
sitting outside the postseason picture (theyre still technically alive, but just
barely) is a defensive foundation that ranks as one of the worst in hockey. And
if there is one dominant trend in the organizations failures since the end of
the 2004-05 lockout its just that: they cant keep the puck out of their own net.
Season Rank (Goals Against) 2005-06 21st 2006-07 27th 2007-08 27th 2008-09 30th
2009-10 29th 2010-11 24th 2011-12 29th 2013 17th 2013-14 26th Hired to replace
the high-octane Ron Wilson in the spring of 2012, Randy Carlyle was supposed to
help change all that. "I think that our defensive play, its been sporadic," said
Carlyle after a late season practice in Tampa, his team nearing elimination from
the postseason for the eighth time in the past nine years. And if Carlyle does
lose his job for the house of cards that eventually collapsed in Toronto this
year it will be in large part to his failing to influence change in the way the
Leafs play defence. But a related question that Dave Nonis and the management
team will have to ponder in the summer assessment that follows is how much of
the defensive struggle is related to coaching and Carlyles system and how much
is simply a failing in personnel and their subsequent commitment to
defence. Carl Gunnarsson, one half of the teams top pairing on the back-end,
downplayed the trouble as a matter of system. "I dont think theres anything
wrong with the system," he told the Leaf Report. Instead, Gunnarsson believed it
was a matter of execution within that system. He pointed to a lack of patience,
a tendency to stray from the game-plan at the first sign of adversity. And if
there was one thing, he said, that made a club like Boston the stingiest of
stingy it was their wholehearted commitment to the system Claude Julien has put
into place. "If theyre down, if theyre up, they always play the same way and
they know that it works," he said. "For some reason, we dont seem to get it in
our heads [that] when we do play according to the system and everyone is
executing its been working." All of which would explain the unpredictability and
inconsistency imbued in the Leafs performance this season. One good period has
quickly spiraled into two bad ones. One good game has rarely translated into
another. Without saying so quite bluntly, Gleason seemed to suggest that an
ingredient of will was missing with this Leafs team when it came to keeping the
puck out of the net. That was never more apparent than in a lacklustre loss to
Winnipeg over the weekend, one that saw Toronto simply outworked with their
playoff chances riding on the line. The Jets grinded pucks down low in the Leafs
zone for minutes on end, one-on-one battles lost with alarming frequency. "I
think were hoping to get things out of the zone instead of bearing down and
knowing its going to get out," Gleason said. "The hopes got to stop. "Were good
enough offensively to put numbers on the board, we just have to find a way to
bear down, take care of our zone first and then go from there." Otherwise, the
Leafs have been doomed by an uneasy assortment of fatal blunders resulting in a
steady stream of breakaways, odd-man opportunities and two-time Rocket Richard
trophy winners left open with far too much time and space. That was the case
when the Leafs last played the Lightning – theyll square off again on Tuesday
night – Steven Stamkos scoring a hat trick in a Tampa win. At practice Monday,
Jake Gardiner went back to retrieve a puck in the defensive zone with pressure
from an oncoming forward. "Get inside," Carlyle bellowed. "Dont let him come
inside." Only Gardiner did and the puck was quickly lost. "Obviously with the
defensive zone coverage we need to be a lot more inside and lot more stiffer and
not as giving of many opportunities from that critical area," Carlyle said
afterward. It was a point of emphasis for the coaching staff during the Olympic
break. "Theres looseness," he said. "We have people back in position and the
stick is not in the right position. Its a foot, six inches, two inches [in the
wrong place]. And those things are happening to us. Those are the things that
are frustrating for everybody." That was evident, he said, in the two of the
goals scored by the Bruins in a third period comeback last week (the Leafs won
in overtime). Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron tallied the second and third
Boston goals with a swarm of Leafs in and around the puck. "We had people right
there," Carlyle said. "We had all five guys around the puck. But somehow they
snuck the puck through us – they made good plays – but we were in position.
Stick position was an area that obviously we didnt have it in good enough
position." On the day of his first training camp in Toronto, the Leafs head
coach declared that "its going to just as important to prevent a goal as it is
to score a goal and recognition of that is not going to be taken lightly." Part
of his job then would be to enforce that mandate, infuse his will on the group.
He has not managed to do that in either of his two full seasons behind the
bench, his preferred style of play often clashing with the personnel. The Leafs
have been one of the leagues worst possession teams under his purview, spending
far too much time in the defensive zone. They subsequently yield more shots
against than any other team and fail all too often in that defence – they rank
fifth worst in goals against despite boasting terrific goaltending from
Jonathan Bernier for most of the year. A bad penalty kill, one that ranks third
from last this season, has only added to the trouble. And if theres credit owed
to the coaching staff for the units improvement a year ago, then responsibility
must go the other way when that performance falters. But the question for Nonis
is how much of the defensive trouble goes beyond coaching and into personnel? A
defence that features Gunnarsson and Dion Phaneuf at the very top isnt likely to
have much success at goal prevention and needs obvious upgrade. Beyond that is a
forward group long on skill, but short on the requisite commitment,
competitiveness and attention to detail. Torontos best players are often amongst
its worst offenders. Nonis will wrestle with those questions of coaching and
personnel in another offseason that comes earlier than was hoped. Whats clear is
where improvement for the club has to begin. "Defence," Gleason said, "I think
at the end of the day wins championships."
Keyshawn Johnson Jets Jersey . Beliveau played his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens and up to this point,
Phillips has played all 1,124 games of his career with the Ottawa Senators.
Joe Klecko Jets Jersey . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team
will take it day by day.CALGARY -- Brad Trelivings first major move as new
Calgary Flames general manager was to beef up the front office. He named former
Flame forward Craig Conroy and former Hockey Canada executive Brad Pascall as
his new assistant general managers Friday. Conroy and Pascall join Mike
Holditch, who has held that title since 2010. "Having depth, having manpower,
allows us to see more and do more," Treliving said at Scotiabank Saddledome.
"Everything we do here when we look at adding staff and we look at adding
people, this is all about building and this is about winning. "To me, you need
to build your foundation off the ice before you can ever think of having success
on the ice." Treliving, 44, was revealed as the Flames new GM on April 28. The
Flames were grooming Conroy for the managerial ranks before Trelivings arrival.
Conroy went to work immediately as a special assistant to former GM Jay Feaster
after retiring in 2011. Conroys apprenticeship accelerated in December when
president of hockey operations Brian Burke fired Feaster. Conroy had more
responsibilities in the four months Burke searched for a replacement before
deciding on Treliving. "All of a sudden, everyone had more to do," Conroy said.
"Now you can really focus in on an area and really nail down what were going to
do moving forward." The 42-year-old from Potsdam, N.Y., played 1,009 NHL
regular-season games, just over half of them with the Flames. He also played for
the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues. Pascall worked
for Hockey Canada for almost two decades in different roles. He was most
recently vice-president of hockey operationns for the last four years.
DBrickashaw Ferguson Jets Jersey. He was part of the management groups that assembled the victorious Canadian mens hockey
teams for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. "I think the evolution of my
experience of being involved with various championship teams and building an
organization there from a high-performance structure, I think it was always an
aspiration of mine to one day move onto the National Hockey League," Pascall
said. The 43-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in
1990 and played four years of minor pro hockey. His wife is Cassie
Campbell-Pascall, who led the Canadian womens hockey team to Olympic gold in
2002 and 2006 as team captain. Holditchs area of expertise is salary cap and
contracts. Pascall will oversee Calgarys American Hockey League team which is
moving to Glens Falls, N.Y., next season from Abbotsford, B.C. Conroy will spend
the most time of the road of the three, Treliving said, watching NHL and minor
pro games in order to help with player decisions. "I think you ought to be
careful that youre not tripping over people, but the way I look at it is you get
the right people on the bus, you get winners on the bus, well figure out all the
rest," Treliving said. "The game is becoming bigger each day, becoming more
competitive each day, so the question we ask every morning when we roll out of
bed is how do we win? How do we win and how do we get better? We got better
today. Well keep all three of these guys busy." Calgary missed the playoffs for
a fifth straight season with a record of 35-40-7. The Flames own the fourth
overall pick in the NHL entry draft June 27-28.
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