Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.4

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Well with six fights through their first four games, it would appear that the Maple Leafs certainly have got the message that General Manager Brian Burke has been delivering for months now. The problem is though, apart from Colton Orr, Jay Rosehill, Jamal Mayers and Mike Komesarik attempting to “set the tone” in fights with pugilists and other third line opponents, that team toughness mantra has not filtered through the rest of the lineup. At this point, for the most part, the Maple Leafs are still far too easy a team to play against.

When you think about it, Colton Orr going out and challenging a Georges Laraque or an Eric Godard to a fight early in a game really has little impact at all on the outcome unless the rest of the team puts forth a conscious effort to make it difficult for their opponent’s impact players. At the end of the day, whether Eric Godard is challenged to a fight matters very little in terms of whether Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin are able to perform at a high level.

The next time the Pittsburgh Penguins make their way into Air Canada Centre, the Maple Leafs might as well just lay out a red carpet and let the Penguins’ superstars walk to the front of the net because that’s the only way it could have been made easier for them on Saturday night.

Perhaps that is where Brian Burke went wrong in that message of toughness. He wasn’t specific enough. Making it more difficult for your opponent’s fourth line tough guys isn’t going to make one shred of difference. You have to actually make it more difficult for the players that ultimately have the ability to beat you.

In fact, you could argue that the Maple Leafs haven’t even got the toughness message yet despite their six fights. Players like Orr, Rosehill and Mayers don’t need to be convinced to play that way. If they don’t, really, what else can they bring? It’s everyone else who needs to buy in before the Maple Leafs become a tough team to play against. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.