Stanley Cup Champion and Runner-Up for each year since the lockout.
Included is head coach, #1C, #1D, and #1G
2011:
Bruins - Julien, Bergeron, Chara, Thomas
Canucks - Vigneault, H. Sedin, Erhoff, Luongo
2010:
Blackhawks - Quenneville, Toews, Keith, Niemi
Flyers - Laviolette, Richards, Pronger, Leighton/Boucher
2009:
Penguins - Bylsma, Malkin, Gonchar, Fleury
Red Wings - Babcock, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Howard
2008:
Red Wings - Babcock, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Howard
Penguins - Therrien, Crosby, Gonchar, Fleury
2007:
Ducks - Carlyle, Getzlaf, Pronger, Giguere
Senators - Murray, Spezza, Redden, Emery
2006:
Hurricanes - Laviolette, Staal, Hedican, Ward
Oilers - MacTavish, Horcoff, Pronger, Roloson
With very few exceptions, each team had 4 out of 4 positions covered. On the teams that only had 3/4, depth at the other positions
made up for missing piece.
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Leafs:
2006: Quinn, Sundin, McCabe, Belfour
2007: Maurice, Sundin, Kaberle, Raycroft
2008: Maurice, Sundin, Kaberle, Toskala
2009: Wilson, Stajan, Kaberle, Toskala
2010: Wilson, Grabovski, Kaberle, Gustavsson
2011: Wilson, Grabovski, Phaneuf, Reimer
2012: Carlyle, Bozak, Phaneuf, Gustavsson/Reimer
Ottawa 2012: MacLean, Spezza, Karlsson, Anderson << Doesn't necessarily compare to the Finalists above, but looks a lot better than the 2012 Leafs.
On the post-lockout Leafs:
2006
- Closest to having all 4. Quinn coached his last season for the Leafs, but there's no doubt he was a brilliant coach.
- Sundin was a #1C. McCabe played like a #1D that year, and Kaberle was right behind. We all know how good Belfour was. That season
- in particular wasn't spectacular though (.892 SV%, very similar to Reimer-Gus calibre). Nevertheless, if the Leafs earned an extra
- 2-3 points and made the playoffs that year, Belfour was a good goalie to have. 4/4 of the Big 4
2007
- Sundin was still gold, Kaberle (and McCabe still had strong seasons), but Raycroft's 37 wins are overshadowed by the fact
- that he started in 71 of the 82 games, and posted an .894 SV%. A #1G is key, but he needs to rest too.
- That, and after Sundin, McCabe and Kaberle, no Leaf had more than 45 points. And Paul Maurice. 2/4 or 3/4
2008, same deal, but sub in Toskala for Raycroft. Same result. And same coach. 2/4
2009, Wilson is coach, but Sundin retiring leaves a gaping hole at #1C. 1/4, or 2/4 if you count Wilson, and to be fair, the team is rebuilding.
2010, 1/4 or 2/4 still, but Kaberle is passing his prime. Still rebuilding.
2011, 1/4. Wilson is no longer an able coach for a successful team. Reimer has a solid half-season, but not a #1G. Still rebuilding.
2012, here we are now. I put Bozak as #1C because that's his job, and Grabovski is the long-term #2C. The team is finally ending a season with what
we are to believe is an able coach on a successful team. He has a Stanley Cup ring. It could be argued if Phaneuf is a #1D. His stats this year are
impressive, and with enough defensive depth, him at #1 shouldn't be an issue (see Erhoff in Vancouver, 2011). Bozak is not a #1C, and at this time,
neither Gustavsson nor Reimer are #1Gs. 2/4 but at least some improvement from last year. Still rebuilding.
It's no shock that the closest the Leafs came to playoffs/success were 2006 and 2007 where they had 4 and 3 respectively, out of the 4 key positions.
The team now has a proven coach, a #1D in Phaneuf on a deep defensive core, but not #1G and no #1C. As the post-lockout finalists show, no team is
going to be successful with only 2 out of the 4 key positions outlined in this post. And the Leafs depth at the moment isn't making up for even 1 out
of the 2 holes they have. A #1C and/or #1G should be acquired as soon as possible, before depth is even discussed. Once those positions have been filled,
and the team looks like: 201x: Carlyle, #1C, Phaneuf, #1G, then the other positions can be worried about. I can only dream that this first round pick turns
into a #1C (Galchenyuk, or whoever). With 3/4 pieces in place, and a year of Reimer maybe turning it around, optimism will be as high as
ever before. But if Reimer was a one-year wonder, a #1G must be acquired at almost any cost. It's nice that the Leafs have 6-12 role-playing prospects, but
those kind of guys can be obtained at Trade Deadline too, when the time is necessary.
On the other hand, the Senators have 3 or 4 of the corner pieces that a successful team needs, and now they can work on the depth. So they are more successful.
And FYI since it clearly went right through you, it was a joke.
