Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.29

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The road over the next two weeks will not be an easy one for the Maple Leafs. If they do secure a playoff position, they will deserve it. There’s no way the Maple Leafs will fall into one by accident. With seven games remaining, I hate to set out a number of games the Leafs must win to advance to the postseason as so much is still dependant on what the bubble teams do over the next fourteen days; however, it is quite safe to say anything less than five wins will not be good enough. Five but more likely six wins to skate in their first playoff contest in three springs. All tall order for sure. Can they do it? I’m inclined to say yes.

This team is unpredictable. Just when you think they are about to separate themselves from the pack, they go into a slump. Just when you think they’ve had it, they get hot. They lose games they should win and they win games that nobody expects them to. Logic says they shouldn’t make it. They might just surprise us all the way to a playoff spot. They’re unpredictable, remember?

Save for the most atrocious nine minutes of their season, the Maple Leafs played their two best games of the season against arguably the best team in the league. The way they are playing right now, the Leafs could do some damage in the playoffs. You’ve got to think the buds will want the opportunity to give this style of play a shot in the playoffs.

The revolving door is finally the shortest segment of our show. The Leafs are just about healthy. Tucker, Wellwood and Kaberle have returned and have been dynamic since getting back into the lineup.

Matt Stajan is suddenly skating with a jump in his step not seen since the end of last season. Nik Antropov has become a sniper. Yanick Perreault’s line is generating offense as well. All of a sudden, the Leafs boast a legitimate scoring threat no matter which line Paul Maurice taps on the shoulders.

I’m not sitting here guaranteeing the Leafs will make it. I’m just saying there’s no reason to say they won’t. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.28

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Toronto has always been a town that has loved their netminders, or so we thought, until this year brought the arrival of Andrew Raycroft. Prior to this season, Maple Leaf netminders had been among fan favourites for the past 15 seasons. Felix Potvin took the Leafs on an improbable playoff run as a rookie in 1994. Curtis Joseph, whose goaltending style would often be confused with that of an acrobat’s, on many nights, led the Leafs to victories on his own stealing countless games during his tenure in the net. Ed Belfour set a record for the most wins in a single season by a Leaf netminder and single handedly beat the Ottawa Senators in the 2004 playoffs. Before them, who can forget Johnny Bower and Turk Broda, both Stanley Cup winning netminders with the Leafs and Bower, still as popular as ever when he is spotted lurking through the corridors of ACC.

For a town that seems to take quickly to its netminders, Andrew Raycroft has yet to be shown the love. Very strange considering Raycroft is closing right in on Belfour’s single season wins record. Five wins short with ten games remaining, if the Leafs will make the playoffs this season, Raycroft will set this record. So then in a league that is all about wins, why is a guy who is about to become the Leafs most successful netminder in that regard still given only lukewarm receptions. Perhaps because Raycroft is coming off a terrible season and people still have a “show me” state of mind. Keep in mind Belfour was 21-27 in the season before he became a Leaf. Maybe it’s because of the stretch in November and December where Raycroft struggled mightily. It could even be Raycroft’s non spectacular style, very unlike the one used by Joseph.

Raycroft may not have taken the spectacular approach to 32 wins but the fact is he has done it. While this would certainly be good enough in some markets, in Toronto it will likely take some playoff success before Leaf fans anoint Raycroft, “one of our boys.” But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.27

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If there has ever been a typical Darcy Tucker week, this past week was it, without a doubt. In the days leading up to the trade deadline, Tucker again voiced his desire to remain a Maple Leaf above all else. Well aware he could command far more on the free agent market than the $3 million per season he signed for; the Leafs, Tucker made it clear, were his primary concern. Yes he wanted to be paid appropriately, but remaining a “Leaf for Life”, keeping his family settled and staying close to the city that had grown so close to him is what mattered most. Tucker was the second person this season to say he wanted nothing more than to stay where he was, his bonds to the city too strong to break. Tucker was the first to actually mean it!

Though not in the lineup when Kaberle was blindsided by Cam Janssen, Tucker made his way down the tunnel and prepared to take Janssen on himself. Perhaps fortunately for both parties, Tucker never made it to the Devils bench. Nevertheless, his willingness to stand up for his teammates and the passion he showed that night, played a part in inspiring the Leafs to score a comeback win against the Devils. The next night against Buffalo, Tucker had had it; he was back in the lineup, unable to sit idly by any longer. That game he was supposed to play 8 minutes, Tucker skated for 16.

In his second game back, it was Tucker who got the Leafs on the board and en route to a key victory when it appeared the Capitals were on the verge of taking over. Picked as the game’s second star, he came out on the ice for a post game interview and appeared on the verge of tears as he thanked the ACC crowd.

After every warm-up, Tucker skates off with several pucks and hands them to children. When he runs out of pucks, there are handshakes and high fives waiting for the other youngsters. Anyone speaking negatively about Tucker is simply jealous he doesn’t play for their team. GO DARCY GO. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.26

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What a year it’s been for the Edmonton Oilers. From the penthouse to the doghouse in eight months. Last spring, the Oilers went on an improbable run ultimately falling one game short of returning the Stanley Cup to Edmonton. Fast forward to the 2007 NHL trade deadline and there is Kevin Lowe dealing Ryan Smyth, the face of the franchise, to the New York Islanders, a move not designed to improve the present but rather the long term future. Smyth, though is only the most recent piece of Edmonton’s near championship puzzle to leave since last year’s final.

Just days after the Stanley Cup was awarded, Chris Pronger asked for a trade. We never found out why. Free agent Mike Peca wanted to play closer to his home so he signed in Toronto. Sergei Samsonov wanted far too much money for Kevin Lowe’s liking. Ditto for Jaroslav Spacek. Both were allowed to sign elsewhere.

The 06-07 season began with great expectations for the Oilers but even before it began, the Oilers were doomed. They had lost their top two defensemen, their top defensive forward and a productive scorer. Pisani, Horcoff, Hemsky and Torres had all arguably overachieved last season and throughout the playoffs. All four have struggled mightily this year to return to last season’s form.

Worst came to worst when Smyth was dealt after Kevin Lowe realized he could not lose him with no return. Eight months ago, the Oilers had Pronger, Spacek, Smyth, Samsonov and Peca; today it’s Joffery Lupul, Ladislav Smid, long term projects in Ryan O’Marra and Robert Nilson and a whole bunch of top draft picks in return. Years from now, Lupul and Smid might actually show the promise that made them such highly regarded prospects. O’Marra and Nilson may carve out spots for themselves in the Oiler lineup. One or two of those draft picks might turn out to be impact players.

For now though, there is a lot of waiting and a lot of hoping. And if you are looking for an explanation as to why the Oilers rose and fell so quickly, the players subtracted plus the players added should equal all you need to know. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.