| Leafs make the most of Cujo February 2, 1999 |
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TAMPA, Fla. - DOMINIK HASEK and Curtis Joseph ply their trades on opposite sides of the U.S.-Canada border, but only about a two-hour drive apart. Given their proximity, the manner in which each man is regarded by the local faithful is strikingly different. In Buffalo, Hasek's sheer brilliance is celebrated. He is The Dominator, the one reason a Sabre fan can actually entertain Stanley Cup dreams. In Toronto, Joseph's excellent work this season has been widely lauded and he has certainly proven to be popular. But rather than citing Cujo's skills as a reason to believe in the wildest of post-season dreams, it has become acceptable and somewhat popular in Toronto to pinpoint Joseph's wonderful season as evidence of team weakness. Saturday night's wobbly win over Washington was a prime example, a match after which many observers suggested a Leaf loss would have been inevitable without Joseph's heroics. But that's precisely the point, isn't it? That's why you pay the guy $6 million a year. There isn't an asterisk beside Montreal's 1993 Cup victory suggesting that the Habs wouldn't have won without superhuman work from Patrick Roy. There isn't a footnote to Pittsburgh's back-to-back championships earlier this decade detailing how the Pens would never have got past Washington one year without Tom Barrasso. No one devalues the Islanders' four Cups because Billy Smith was too good. Teams win because of their best players, and the most important player on any hockey team is the goaltender. Philadelphia sure understands that now. Teams like Tampa Bay, Chicago, Montreal and Vancouver didn't even give themselves a reasonable shot at a strong season because they chose to try to cover over netminding problems rather than address them in a meaningful way. Florida will likely find it doens't have enough between the nets to turn Pavel Bure into playoff success. Having an outstanding goalie, as Pat Burns used to say, isn't cheating. It's a strength and an advantage, not a stroke of luck. Besides, all brave talk aside, the Leafs just aren't likely to become a significantly improved defensive team this season. Not with young D-men like Bryan Berard, Tomas Kaberle, Daniil Markov and moderately experienced Jason Smith in the lineup learning every night. Against the Caps, Berard looked as though he had no clue, just as Markov had two nights earlier in Pittsburgh. That's how they learn. There also isn't exactly a load of Selke Trophy candidates up front to help out. The Leafs have only allowed four more goals this year than last year while scoring 40 more, but there are a lot of teams out there who would love to see the free-flowing Leafs slow down and become more defensive rather than have to keep up with them. Sure, they need to stop giving up the freebies. Right now, they're like a team that too often gives up one or even two extra outs in an inning. But Joseph's acrobatics under extreme duress give the Leafs a cushion, an extra margin of error. The Keswick Kid has always faced lots of shots, whether it was in St. Louis or in Edmonton, and like Hasek or Grant Fuhr he seems to thrive on the extra workload. Despite the Leafs' upstart season, even the most optimistic fan would likely be surprised if the blue and white could win more than one playoff round this spring. They're probably not ready to win yet. Maybe their tendency to lean on Joseph will be their undoing. But better that than easing off on the gas to please conservative tastes. |