by Barry Stagg
June 1997
ST. JOHN'S MAPLE LEAFS
The Toronto Maple Leaf hockey organization has only the St. John's Maple Leafs to thank for any playoff respectability that the moribund organization has been able to salvage in this sorry 1996- 1997 hockey season. The farm team, playing with the spirit that many a St. John's Capital team showed during the days of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League, ran away to first place in the Atlantic Division and at this point is tied at one game a piece with Hamilton in the division final.
The Toronto house cleaning that went on during the winter cleaned out more than one overpaid prima donna not the least of whom was team captain Doug Gilmour. The departure of Gilmour, the over- rated Kirk Muller and the much maligned defenceman Larry Murphy and his blue line mate Dave Ellett opened the way for many of the young tigers down on the farm to put up or shut up this season and next.
The simple fact is that Gilmour and Muller as the supposedly dynamic Kingston born forward combination were a bust as far as motivating the Leafs to anything other than a dismal position in the league basement. These fellows with their multi-million dollar salaries were unseemingly enthusiastic about leaving town. It seems that these alleged superstars have adopted a public relations style typical of professional athletes. They profess undying loyalty to the team that owns them at the moment while privately lobbying either personally or through player agents to get out of sad sack situations and into playoff contention.
Gilmour has predictably done well with the New Jersey Devils but his inability and apparent unwillingness to commit to the rebuilding of the Toronto team speaks volumes for his dedication to any team who owns his contract. Muller who has the reputation of being a gritty team player has bounced around the league and landed on the Leaf roster after essentially going on strike with the New York Islanders in order to be traded. He is now with his fifth National Hockey League team starting with New Jersey then to Montreal and the Islanders then on to the Leafs and now to the Florida Panthers. The Panthers were so underwhelmed by the Muller presence that they went out in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers.
It is patently clear that the Toronto organization will be going with youth, enthusiasm and a significant amount of brawn and on-ice brutality with next year's team. It would not be out of the question to see St. John's head coach Mark Hunter become the head coach in Toronto, perhaps even by mid-season next year. It was Hunter, the brother of Washington Capital firebrand Dale Hunter, who turned the St. John's season around when the team descended into a last place funk shortly before Christmas. Mark Hunter like his brother Dale and his older brother Dave Hunter was a player for whom enthusiasm and grit were essential on-ice tools. His players have had to adopt this approach or spend time in the press box. That is an attitude that is sorely missing on the present Toronto roster. Head coach Mike Murphy has a reputation of being a "nice guy". He was a nice guy forward for years in the National Hockey League, primarily with the Los Angeles Kings. Perhaps Leaf General Manager Cliff Fletcher will find that Hunter's fiery approach will do a lot more to ignite some of the young players who may still recall the prima donna dances that Gilmour and company inflicted upon the Leafs during the last hockey season.
The fate of professional hockey in St. John's remains as uncertain as the state of Toronto's front office. One thing though is for certain. The St. John's version of the Maple Leafs has some good old-fashioned Newfoundland vim and vigour while the Toronto Turnips specialize in the art of maximum pay for minimum results. Opportunity knocks both literally and figuratively for the young tough guys from the farm.
Until next month: Be proud, be prosperous.