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Habs and Leafs: One Not Like the Other

By Mat Germain

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HABS AND LEAFS: ONE NOT LIKE THE OTHER

Talk about two teams on opposite sides of the spectrum. While the Montreal Canadiens have suffered losses in terms of Legendary players who have passed this season, the Leafs have been suffering a plight on the ice. These teams have close-to-opposite records, and they’re on different paths as we close out the 2014-15 season. Even the ever loyal Leafs fans are starting to get impatient and are showing their team, and its front office, that it’s no longer okay to just put a team on the ice and collect money from fans. They want to win, and they’re not going to stand for continued seasons of horrors.

There are reasons that one of these teams is not like the other, and it all begins with the Draft. Here are the players that each team have drafted 2003-2012 (10 years) that have made it to the NHL (more than 10 games):

HABS

LEAFS

When observing these drafts, we see two entirely different tales. Very few players were successfully drafted by the Leafs and made lasting impacts in the NHL. A vast majority of these players lack character and grit, and none, aside from Rask, could be considered of all-star caliber.

On the Habs side of things, we see an entirely different tale. Strong drafted goaltenders, defencemen, power forwards, skilled forwards, there’s a little bit of everything in the Habs drafts and the bulk of the heart and soul of the team has come directly from the Habs drafts. To me, if the Leafs are going to do anything at all to move forward on better footing, they should fire their entire scouting department and recruit some from successful franchises. Pay them what you have to in order to poach them. There’s no denying that it’s the first step to getting them going in the same direction as the Habs.

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For the Leafs, the turnaround all begins at the 2015 draft and the NHL Lottery could be key to their level of success. If they secure the top selection, there may very well be a parade in their downtown as jubilation would be immeasurable. Connor McDavid would alter the fate of that franchise for more than the next decade and Leafs fans would finally be able to name one franchise player that they can cheer for who they can see becoming a top 10 NHL player. Even if they get the 2nd pick, the Leafs should be able to grab a future superstar and they will hopefully make the right decision, because if they don’t, this draft may hurt more than any other listed above.

Thankfully for Leafs fans, Brendan Shanahan already knows this and has hired Mark “Hunter, 51, will be tasked with overseeing the Leafs entire scouting operation, on both the pro and amateur side, and the team’s player evaluation department.” They also hired Kyle Dubas as a stats guru and assistant GM. However, Bob McKenzie and others question whether or not the Leafs have made enough changes on this front. I certainly don’t believe they have, and after listening to Mark Hunter‘s “plan”, I doubt anything’s going to change soon.

FRONT OFFICE

The next aspect we have to look at between these teams is their willingness to change coaches. Here’s a rundown of how many coaches they’ve been through from 1997/1998 on:

Coaches

Habs:

Alain Vigneault

1997-2000, Michel Therrien 2000-2003,

Claude Julien

2003-2006,

Bob Gainey

2006,

Guy Carbonneau

2006-2009,

Bob Gainey

2009, Jacques Martin 2009-2011,

Randy Cunneyworth

(interim) 2011-12, Michel Therrien 2012-Present

Guy ! Guy ! Guy !

  • Leafs: Pat Quinn 1998-2006, Paul Maurice 2006-2008, Ron Wilson 2008-2012, Randy Carlyle 2011-2014, Peter Horachek 2014-Present

    • You can see that the Habs are much quicker to turn over a new Leaf, sort of speak, when it’s needed and the voice isn’t being heard by the players. Surprisingly, coaching in Toronto has been fairly stable and filled by people we would consider to have had success as coaches in the NHL. To me, coaching has not been the issue. They’ve been dealt horrible player situations and were stuck picking up the pieces as a result.

    So, this brings us to the GM position.

    GENERAL MANAGERS

    Habs:

    Andre Savard

    2000-2003, Bob Gainey 2003-2010, Pierre Gauthier 2010-2012,

    Marc Bergevin

    2012-Present

    Pierre Gauthier

  • Leafs: Pat Quinn 1999-2003, John Ferguson Jr 2003-2008, Cliff Fletcher 2008, Brian Burke 2008-2013, Dave Nonis 2013-Present

    • If you ask me, this is the second area the Leafs need to do better on when trying to better their franchise. Brian Burke is the best GM ever, just ask him. Yet, when you look at the drafts he oversaw, they were horrific! The same goes for the rest of them, and they all set in place teams that failed to produce viable NHL talents. On Nonis, they need to fire this guy BEFORE the NHL draft. He looks like a deer stuck in the headlights when reporters ask him where the franchise is headed and needs to be replaced before he leads yet another bad draft.

    Why didn’t they hire someone like Steve Yzerman when he was available? The Leafs need leadership, and they need it now. The GMs the Habs have had had set the tone and led teams capable of putting a deep talented team together that is mostly built from within. That’s what the Leafs need, and maybe they’ll be able to change direction for the first time in a very, very, very long time.

    Really, the proof is in the pudding as they say, and in this case, the pudding is each franchise’s record and playoff experience over the last 3 years.

    RESULTS

    2014-15

    • Habs: 49-22-10, 108 pts, TBD (1 game remaining)
    • Leafs: 30-44-7, 67 pts (1 game remaining)

    2013-14

    • Habs: 46-28-8, 100 pts, Lost to NYR in Conference Finals
    • Leafs: 36-36-8, 84 pts, Did not make playoffs

    2012-13

    • Habs: 29-14-5, 63 pts, Lost to OTT in Conference Quarter Finals
    • Leafs: 26-17-5, 57 pts, Lost to BOS in Conference Quarter Finals

    Going back even further, since 2003, the following win-loss record applies to these teams:

    • Habs: 451 wins, 312 losses, 7 ties, 97 OT losses, 1006 pts
    • Leafs: 392 wins, 364 losses, 10 ties, 48 OT losses, 895 pts

    I truly wish Leaf fans the best in the NHL Lottery and hope Mark Hunter and Brendan Shanahan are able to turn your team around. Because if the Leafs get better, the rivalry gets better, and to me there’s nothing more special than a great in-your-face and edge-of-your-seat rivalry. That’s why I also miss the Quebec Nordiques!

    There should be some serious housecleaning coming up in Toronto as the roster gets a makeover this summer. I didn’t touch on botched trades and the inability of the club to build from the net out, but those are also issues the team has to grapple with. They never do seem to get players when they’re at their best, and when they honestly try to build through free agency, it seems that the players don’t quite fit into the organization and wind up out of it within a few years. David Clarkson is the latest example of such a player who the Leafs brought in with great intentions, but just couldn’t mesh with the makeup of the team – or lack thereof.

    Yes, you’ve been the fallen leaves for a while now, but Fall has gone by, Winter has mostly gone by, the only question that remains is whether or not Spring is here or whether the groundhog sees its shadow…..

    As for Habs fans, we should all thank our lucky stars that our leadership has come through and put together some form of success, even if most playoff runs have been shorter than we would like! We are within the top of the standings and are heading into the playoffs on an extremely positive note. Enjoy the moment, and be thankful you’re not sitting in front of the T.V. hoping for your team to fire everyone and/or win a lottery to get better.

    For more Leafs related content, visit Fansided’s Editor In Leaf. They’ve added their latest peace pondering just who will be around when all of the dust settles entitled “Last Game For How Many Players?”

    Next: Montreal Canadiens Prospect Profile: Charles Hudon

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