Despite earning nine out of a possible fourteen points since the All-Star break, the fans don’t appear to be changing their views on Ron Wilson’s job status. One fan in particular took the opportunity to let his thoughts be known during a home game against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 3rd.

With the thousands in attendance focusing their attention on the jumbotron during a break in the action, all Scott Roskar had to do to win the prize (we are not quite sure what that prize was) was answer one simple question:

Which player recorded the most points in his career with the St. John’s Maple Leafs?

A) Kyle Wellwood B) Nathan Dempsey or C) Yanic Perreault

As for Scott’s answer, that would be “C. Fire Wilson.” That made him a winner in both the game and the hearts of every Leaf fan in the building.

Hat Tip – [Puck Daddy]

Two weeks after being pelted by fans with Waffles following a home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Leafs were greeted with the breakfast treat once again, this time while trailing the Atlanta Thrashers by a score of 5-1 midway through the third period of last night’s game.

The waffles weren’t the only thing raining down on the Leafs as the fans also showered the hometown team with boos and chants of “Fire Wilson.”  So how did head coach Ron Wilson feel about the night’s activities?  Not too good.  Judging by his bid to conduct the shortest ever post-game press conference, it appears as though he was looking to get out of town as quickly as possible.  And he’ll be able to do just that with the Leafs’ next game scheduled for Boxing Day in New Jersey.

Doesn’t this look like a man who could sure use a little Christmas cheer?  And perhaps a first-line center from Santa?

But never mind John Tavares, the New York islanders also have future star Justin DiBenedetto whom they drafted last year.  This year in Sarnia minus linemate Steven Stamkos, Justin is having a fantastic season, he is second in OHL in points and goals and recently won the MVP of the OHL All Star game.  So make sure you keep an eye on this kid, he’s gonna have a long career in the NHL.

Anyways after the game Leafs coach Ron Wilson had an interesting press conference and was ticked off by some questions specifically asked by Howard Berger of Fan590,

Granted, it’s because Howard Berger asks him a dumb-ass question (”ARE YOU ANNOYED WHEN YOUR TEAM TAKES PENALTIES?”), but it’s hilarious because Wilson, who has always had a contentious relationship with the media, was bothered by a question Berger had asked him the night before. [TheTwoLinePass]

Howard Berger had this to say,

If there is one thing, among many, that I’ve learned in my first season around Ron Wilson, it’s that the coach of the Maple Leafs doesn’t react well to criticism. That’s not to suggest the other Leaf coaches I’ve had experience with in the past 20 years enjoyed being challenged, but Wilson takes it as a particular affront — mainly because of his heightened sensitivity to all things media.

I mean you can’t fault Ron Wilson, put yourself in his shoes.  Ron went from coaching the first place San Jose Sharks to the lowly underachieving Leafs.  I’m surprised he hasn’t already quit!!!

During the game Jason Spezza was caught with an illegal curve and was given a 2 minute minor penalty.  As soon as it looked like the Leafs bench were going to call him for an illegal curve he scampered off the ice and tried to break the blade to hide the evidence.  It was to late the referee made it to the bench at the same time and the stick was taken in for a measurement.

But if you take a look at Spezza’s stick it looks more like a nose picking device to us, that small tipped blade and weird curve at the end resembles something that can digg for some of the deepest gold.  Or you can just call it illegal and dangerous just like Ron Wilson did,

The Leafs were still playing to win and coach Ron Wilson said he tried to reward that effort by getting his charges a power play by pointing out Spezza’s doctored blade with Ottawa clinging to a one-goal lead.

“Our players competed like heck,” said Wilson. “I wanted at the end to give our guys a chance to win, they tried so hard. The guy is using a stick that’s not only illegal but dangerous. I had an opportunity to call it, so I did.”

“Real dangerous, I guess,” said an annoyed Spezza sarcastically. “They told me (the blade) was too skinny. I shave them down to be skinnier.”

The problem, as officials found, was indeed that the height of Spezza’s blade was below regulation as it approached the toe. Wilson said he’s been aware all season that the centre was using an illegal stick. “Unfortunately, our power play stunk so what are you going to do?” said Wilson. [TheTorontoStar]

Either way Jason Spezza was punished for the crime and should continue to be if he decides to keep using the illegal stick.

HT – Ron Wilson saves world from Spezza’s dangerous stick – [PuckDaddy]

Wilson said Pogge will be part of a rotation that will see him go back and forth between the Leafs and the Marlies. Pogge made his NHL debut Dec. 22 in Atlanta, giving up just two goals in a 6-2 Toronto win. However, he was immediately returned to the Marlies. Pogge was the Leafs’ third-round pick, 90th overall, in the 2004 Entry Draft. He has been with the Marlies since 2006 and in 32 games this season is 15-13-4 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Reports Sportsnet.ca

Some fans believe that this may be the first move to begin the process of leading Curtis Josephinto retirement and seeing Pogge become a full-time NHL back-up for the remainder of the NHL season, again this is only speculation. While others have mentioned that bringing Pogge up into the Leafs’ mess and keeping him for an extended amount of time may be a mistake. Some examples of goalies who have been thrown to the wolves in Leafs land include the likes of Ken Wregget andAllan Bester. Though Wregget survived and managed to play a few more seasons, Bester was never the same again.

So while some are eager to get Pogge into the cage, it may be wise to groom this goalie in the minors for a few more months. Seeing as Pogge has had issues with confidence it may be wise to see if he can handle losing at the NHL level, because losing comes with the territory. At some point you have to forget about his confidence and put him in there or else… They can only protect him for so long. We know that his numbers went through the roof last time they called him up and then sent him down again. Maybe the management’s theory is that a nibble at the carrot every once in a while can keep him motivated.

Ron Wilson and Brian Burkeseem to be stern on their reasoning with Pogge, their attitude seems to be that if he deserves another start he will get one and that NHL starts shouldn’t fall right into his lap. The best bet would be for Pogge to take it day by day and if he doesn’t perform then he gets sent back down. It may be hard to determine what he can do in such a short amount of time, but there is no point in ruining his confidence. Also, with the Marlies standing currently in 5th spot, in the hunt for holding onto a playoff spot, it makes sense to keep Pogge involved seeing as it may be possible for them to make a serious run for the Calder Cup. While people play the blame game and place it on Vesa Toskala, others claim that the problem is not Toskala and that the teams defensive breakdowns which materialize due to a lack of a better system, are what is causing the numbers to pile up in the goals against column.

Some people say that the Leafs’ owe Toskala big time. Fact is, no one should be running this guy out of town when the entire team is not doing the job. However, the problem may lay deeper then just the Leafs’ dressing room. This team has been built to lose, it has come to a time where Pogge needs this exposure to wet his appetite for the NHL. This competition between Toskala and the rookie goaltender pushing him in order for him to start his game is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The only possible way Toskala can get started (even though some say it’s too late) is if he has another goaltender that is right up there taking his job away. For example last year, when Paul Maurice was flip flopping on who the started was going to be, Raycroft and Toskala were neck and neck, Toskala was stealing games and playing like a starting goaltender. However if Pogge is going to use this opportunity to play and pass Toskala as the starting goalie. Pogge will needs chemistry and experience in the NHL, not just one game.

It seems like Wilson’s plan is to do exactly that, attempt to give Pogge some exposure to the NHL and allow him to gain some chemistry.

Head Coach Ron Wilson said that Pogge will be called up from the minors every now and then until the end of the season. Pogge should play enough to gauge “whether he’s an NHL goaltender or not,” Wilson said. While I like the idea of getting him into NHL games every now and then, I don’t like the idea of making the decision to send him back to the minors beforehand. What happens if he gets lit up in tonight’s game versus the Wild? He’ll get sent down and probably recalled for another game later this month. Then, what if that game doesn’t go well either? His confidence will be shot and he won’t believe that he belongs in the NHL.

It may be hard to grasp where Ron Wilson is going, the fact is that Pogge may get lit up, but then again he might not. The fact again is that if he lets in 5 goals, it doesn’t matter. How he performs overall throughout the game is what will be remembered. With the Leaf defence not being the greatest all the blame could be place on Pogge if he is lit up. Though it is easy to forget that Pogge’s Leafs’ debut was a 6-2 win over Atlanta. So maybe the pressure is good ? Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak were put under tremendous pressure, playing for Montreal, and look how well they perform. The reality may be that giving him spot starts may actually be taking pressure off of him. If they say “you win, you stay” he has a ton of pressure heaped on him to make it with the big club, however if he already knows his fate, he can go out there and just play. There is no pressure on him to succeed. Just look at Fluery in Pittsburgh. He came in took his lumps and is now a true #1.

It seems to be a trend in Toronto, sign a player and then bench him, Matt Stajan signed a new contract then benched, and now Jason Blake. Don’t even get me started on Matt Stan, this guy shouldn’t even be playing in Junior “A”.

These guys gotta go, Toronto wants to rebuild and it’s not gonna start with these 2 guys, and no we don’t want them on our mens hockey team.

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He may be a former 40-goal scorer and armed with a fat five-year $20-million US contract, but all that buys Jason Blake tonight is a spot in the TD Banknorth Garden press box.

Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson did the expected after this morning’s skate and announced Blake will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s contest against the Bruins. Blake will be replaced in the lineup by tough guy Ryan Hollweg, who is coming off a three-game suspension for decking St. Louis rookie Alex Pietreangelo from behind.

“I’m not going to compromise how I coach the team for the wrong reasons,” Wilson said this morning when explaining Blake’s benching. “He’s not scoring, he’s not back checking, he’s not doing this or not doing that (so) we’re going to keep him in the lineup until he catches a lucky break? That’s not how I coach.

“Everyone on the team has to understand that if you are not performing up to your ability, if you are not doing certain things that we as coaches expect everybody to do, you run the risk of not being in the lineup,” Wilson said.

“It’s not the end of the world. This is our seventh game. If you are going to get people on their toes, you might as well do it early in the season.”

Given his play of late, Wilson said benching Blake was “a fairly simple decision” and that it was important from an integrity standpoint to show the rest of the Leafs that no one on the team is immune to being held accountable.

“He hasn’t scored recently,” Wilson said of Blake’s reputation as one of the few goal scorers on the team even though he scored just 15 last season. “He scored one goal on a power play when the score was 4-0. We’ve got to get him going and we have to get everybody to buy into a set of principals.”

For his part, Blake is grudging in his acceptance of the demotion.

“I thought I played good, maybe not in the last game, but what do you do,” Blake said. “There’s not much you can do other than work hard and stay positive.”

Besides Blake, defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo was also getting the press box treatment, a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.

Source: Toronto Sun

Now if I was Cliff Fletcher I’d say two defensemen can go.  Ideally getting Tomas Kaberle out would be best.  Let’s face it, the leafs are going nowhere soon and if we could have snagged Jeff Carter and a first rounder at the trade deadline last year.  Which was wildly believed to be on the table from the Flyers, then the leafs need to look at what we can get for #15. But they will hold onto him because they know getting max value for Kaberle will come at the trade deadline, when teams are desperate.  The other thing to consider is Kaberle’s no trade clause which only vanishes if the leafs make the playoffs, don’t count on it.

Pavel Kubina isn’t going anywhere because he’s a favourite of Ron Wilson, and Wilson has enough pull with Cliff Fletcher to make sure his favourites stay.  The two guys who could get the Leafs some value are Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo.  Ian White is a puck moving defensemen who is good in his own end and can contribute offensively.  Colaiacovo is of the same mould but is injury prone, which makes him less valuable on the trade market.  Another positive in trading White is his minimal yearly contract.  Ian White is making under 1 million dollars for the next 3 years, before he becomes a RFA.  This is almost as valuable as his talent, when it comes to the NHL in the salary cap era. 

Look for the Pittsburgh Penguins to make a play for a defensemen now that they’ve lost Sergei Gonchar for the next 4-6 months.  The Pittsburgh Penguins are not as strong as last year with the loss of Gonchar and Ryan Whitney.  Replacing the both of them with a half decent veteran player is a must for them to get back to the top of the NHL.

If Fletcher is smart, he will use his influx of defensemen to help solidify the forwards, who are some of the weakest in the NHL.  If the Leafs can turn a valuable defensemen such as Tomas Kaberle into forward prospects or draft picks, it could help accelerate the rebuilding process.

Ozel