The aspect of the Leaf roster that should give us the most cause for optimism going forward…

Having followed hockey—and the Maple Leafs devotedly—since the late 1950s, one thing has long been clear:  Leaf fans, while united by cheering for the same team, generally see the world, and each other, quite differently.

What do I mean?

Well, we may all support our beloved Leafs.  That much we have in common.  But how we do it, well, that can be quite different.

What particular fans see as being a good, true, loyal, passionate Leaf fan can often be viewed by fellow Leafers as, say, being a bandwagon, hot and cold, off and on, disloyal and un-informed (or just plain dumb) Leaf follower.

We are often a judgmental lot, to be sure.

Ley’s just take an example:  years ago, if you had dared say, out loud, that Wendel Clark wasn’t the best thing in Leafland since sliced bread throughout his entire (three separate times) Leaf tenure, you would have been booted off the metaphorical fan bus.  It was not acceptable to suggest that Wendel, as years went by, was worn down, tired, nowhere near being the factor he was in his early Leaf days.  He was Wendel.  He was great.  You had to love Wendel.  (And “Dougie”, too, though by the end of his relatively short Leaf tenure, he was miserable, it seemed, and wanted out badly…)

If was perfectly acceptable on the other hand to say that Larry Murphy was a bum, though he had a Hall-of-Fame career before and after his time in Toronto.  That he was a bum was the prevailing opinion, so it won the day.  Anyone with a different perspective didn’t “know their hockey”.

In the somewhat more recent era, fans were supposed to throw Raycroft and Lebda under the bus, as if they were solely responsible for unsatisfactory results.  That view was harsh and, in my mind, unfair.  (This is not to defend the Raycroft for Rask trade, but GM’s make decisions for the future and the here and now and at the time, the Leafs were looking for a jolt in goal.)  Raycroft had been stellar in Boston for the most part, Lebda played significant minutes in helping the Wings win a Cup.  But they couldn’t win here, where it’s so easy, after 45 years, to be cynical.

Group think works that way, eh, even in the world of sports fandom. To speak outside that conventional point of view, the prevailing opinion, sets you apart- and usually not in a positive way.

A more current example?  If you liked Jonas Gustavsson as someone who, with the right support systems and coaching, might be a good NHL goalie some day, again you would be dismissed as someone who didn’t know their stuff.  Didn’t you see his stats?  He can’t play.  And if you think he can, you’re a moron…

Same with Luke Schenn and I could go on.

My point?  These intra-Leafworld debates never end.  In this day and age, they thrive all over the social media landscape—Twitter, the blogosphere, Facebook, chat forums—anywhere one cares to look.  Leaf fans tear into each other with serious venom at times, and to be honest, while I suppose it is fine for some people, that’s not exactly the part of being a hockey fan that I enjoy at this point in my life.

A thoughtful discussion about the pros and cons of a particular approach to coaching and playing the game?  Absolutely.  Respectfully debating (as best we can as “non-experts”) the merits of individual players—with a truly open mind that doesn't stop assessing after a preliminary point of view has been developed—is healthy and can be entirely worthwhile and yes, a lot of fun.

But I’m not a fan of judging how “good” or “loyal” other Leaf fans are, and not particularly enamored of the notion that we have to have these bitter “internal” disputes. (It's the same in our blog world. I think there are all kinds of outstanding Leaf sites out there.  Sometimes they provide, in my mind, better insight than I get from the mainstream media.  I try to promote other writers as much as I can, because good work should be recognized...)

Hey, as I’ve posted here before, we hall have our likes and dislikes, fair or not.  That goes for how we look at professional hockey players, too.  Sometimes we just don’t like a certain player, or the way he plays.  A different fan may see something entirely different in that player, and that’s how things work—within and beyond the playpen that is the world of professional sports.

This is all a rather long-winded way of opening the door today here at VLM to getting your thoughts on a subject that I feel is timely.  That is, where, exactly, are our Maple Leafs?  Are they headed to the playoffs?  Does that even matter this season?  More importantly, are you pleased with what appears to be Dave Nonis’ long-term vision for this long moribund franchise? (Curt at Blue ChipProspects wrote an interesting piece on Nonis recently, detailing the new Leaf GM’s decision-making results in his years at the helm in Vancouver.)

What I’d really like to hear from you today, however, is this:  several years into what Nonis’ predecessor started as a on-again, off-again long-term (or was it short-term?) rebuild, are you satisfied?  Almost 10 games (4 wins, 4 losses) into a new, if compacted, season, how do you feel?  And the question I most want you to address today is simply, what gives you, as a Leaf supporter, the most cause for hope and optimism?

My threshold, if that’s the proper term, (maybe the standard against which we should be having this discussion is the better way to look at it) is this—I would like you to share your views on how far we are away from being a serious Cup contender (as we were between 1999 and 2004, when in any give year we were “this close” to having a real shot at making it to the finals)?  And not just that, but what makes you feel and really believe that we are on a path to ongoing competitiveness against the best teams in the Eastern Conference?

Does your positive belief stem from:

1. Nonis’ apparent blueprint, and his perceived ability to have helped build the Canucks to what they have become over the last five seasons?
2. Carlyle’s ability to inspire his team and also play a system that will breed a winning culture?
3. A balanced scoring approach on the offensive side of the puck—i.e. the team has now proven it can win games without goal contributions from Kessel and Lupul, generally acknowledged as their finest offensive performers.
4. The (albeit early days, the proof will be in the pudding) early emergence of young guns like Kadri and Frattin.
5. That the Leafs seem to have a bit more toughness (Orr, Brown and the newcomer, McLaren ) and grit (Komarov and McClement) this season and also coming up in the system (DeVane, etc.).
6. A defense corps that will soon be backstopped by Gardiner and Reilly.
7. What some (including myself) would argue is James Reimer’s somewhat more composed, confident play, a la his first year in Toronto?
8. A pipeline that features some interesting names beyond young Rielly:  Colborne, Finn, D’Amigo, Percy, et al.
9. The fact that the Leafs should be acquiring another decent draft pick this summer, to go along with what they already have in the system.
10. New ownership committed to winning (I’d put a smiley face here but I’m not sure how to type it in…).

I would argue there are legitimate reasons to feel hopeful if you are a Leaf fan.  You don't need to select one from the above considerations.  Choose your own reasons!  For me, if I had to pick from one of the points mentioned above, it may well be the foundation of a mobile young defense with Gardiner and Rielly, if they develop as we hope they can. 

Now, in truth, I’ve said much the same kind of thing since, well, after we got blown out of the playoffs by the Bruins in the spring of 1969—when then long-time coach and GM Punch Imlach was fired.  I remember lying in bed as a young 15 year old Leaf fan at the time and thinking what the lines would be the following season, and how, if only a few things fell our way, we could be back to being champions again.  Those who follow this site know I’ve chased that dream—and the Leafs have indeed had some pretty good teams off and on, as I've often written about—since that time.  But we haven’t accomplished the goal just yet.

I’ve learned to measure my expectations over the years.  I often feel like I’m from Missouri, if you know that expression.  And while I could make some counter-points to the above hopeful comments and question how close the Leafs really are to being competitive with the best in the NHL, for today, let’s be positive.

I look forward to you sharing your views.