NEWS OF MAPLE LEAFS
Last Update:
Tuesday January 26, 1999 2:22PM EST
Tuesday January 26, 1999 Messier coming to Toronto?
The fallout from an unusually productive all-star weekend continues to rain down -- and perhaps some of it may land in Toronto.
With Mike Keenan out and Marc Crawford in as coach of the Vancouver Canucks, there's a good chance the services of Mark Messier will be made available to other teams.
If that's the case, then Toronto Maple Leafs associate general manager Mike Smith certainly should be pursuing the matter.
The first question he should ask himself is whether it makes sense to consider acquiring Messier's services from the Canucks. Clearly, Messier could be the missing link for a team that has a genuine crack at a Stanley Cup, but are the Leafs that team?
On paper, they probably shouldn't be. How can you miss the playoffs one year and win the Stanley Cup the next?
Messier's New York Rangers did it in 1994.
Even so, the Leafs would have to get a lot of breaks. But for the first half of the season, that has been the case. The schedule has helped them; strange bounces have gone in their favour; they seem to win about 90% of decisions made by the video judges.
Can this continue? Certainly it can. Even though there is no logic to it, there are occasionally Cinderella seasons in sport. The last one in hockey occurred in 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens, only an average team, ended up winning the Stanley Cup.
It was as if some higher deity were paving their path that year, especially in the playoffs. The Canadiens got to face the Buffalo Sabres without Pat LaFontaine. The Pittsburgh Penguins probably would have handled Montreal easily but the New York Islanders knocked them off in an astonishing upset, then, dog tired, had to open in Montreal a few hours later. The Canadiens won 10 consecutive overtime games and were on the verge of losing the first two games at home in the final when Marty McSorley got caught with an illegal stick. On the subsequent power play, the Canadiens scored the tying goal, even though Brian Bellows had both feet in the crease, and they went on to win in overtime.
Cinderella seasons definitely do happen and, by all the signs, the Leafs are in the middle of one.
So if the Canucks are willing to part with Messier -- and the whisper in hockey circles is that they are -- wouldn't he be an ideal fit for the Leafs?
If the price were extremely high, it would make no sense. Toronto has some blossoming youngsters and there are signs that before long, the Leafs will be able to hold their own whether they have breaks on their side or not. You don't want to discard your future just for a short-term shot.
But reports are that the Canucks are entering a rebuilding phase and trying to cut costs. Messier certainly won't be playing when the Canucks become contenders, and with a salary of $6 million US plus bonuses, he does not fit into their austerity program.
The Leafs are a rich team and GM Ken Dryden has said repeatedly that their goal is to win the Stanley Cup as soon as possible.
Messier is not the dominant force he once was, but he is better than he appeared to be at the end of last season when he was nursing hidden injuries. And he remains one of the best off-ice leaders in hockey.
Furthermore, he is a centre and the Leafs have been saying since training camp that they need a veteran second-line centre. They don't come much better than Mark Messier.
With the finesse of Mats Sundin on one line and the power of Messier on another, the Leafs would have the kind of balance that any serious contender needs.
It shouldn't be that hard a decision for Smith -- nowhere near as difficult as the one facing Neil Smith in New York. Wayne Gretzky had a great all-star game on a line with Mark Recchi and Theoren Fleury on his wings. Both those players become unconditional free agents this summer and are on the block. With a bit of hustle, the Rangers could put that line on the ice this week.
Mike Smith's decision is of a different nature. He is thinking of making a good team better, not of applying Band-Aids in the hope of making the playoffs.
But if Messier is available for little more than a commitment to sign his paycheque for the next 18 months, it shouldn't be hard to make the right decision.