TORONTO (Dec. 30) — Here are a couple of startling facts as we head toward the midway mark of the National Hockey League schedule: In less than 1½ seasons, the Arizona Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers have come from way back in the field to catch and surpass the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s true… the Leafs, in 2021–22, finished with a franchise–record 115 points — 58 more than Arizona and 54 higher than Philadelphia. Today, while the 17–9–7 Maple Leafs prepare to host Carolina in their final game of the calendar year, the Coyotes sit one point behind in the overall standings; the Flyers, two points ahead. Indeed, the group managed by Daniel Briere and coached by John Tortorella has made up 56 points on Toronto in the past 110 regular–season games. As mentioned: startling.

And, all of it unfolding, this season, while Auston Matthews leads the NHL in goals, with 29. Which indicates the Maple Leafs can no longer outscore their defensive miscues. No team can prosper with subpar goaltending and Toronto has not been able to count on last year’s reliable starter, Ilya Samsonov. It’s gotten so bad that the club is somewhat desperately awaiting the recovery of Joseph Woll, who has a grand total of 15 NHL appearances, four in last year’s playoffs. Woll must have suffered the most–egregious high ankle sprain in human history, given his projected return date of mid–February. Martin Jones, the veteran signed by the Leafs to a one–year contract last August, is 33 years old and coming off goaltending averages, in the past five seasons, of 2.99, 3.42, 3.28, 3.00 and 2.94. Excellent numbers for 1983; much less so in 2023. If anyone ever spelled “emergency replacement”, it was Jones. Yet, here he is, right now, as Toronto’s No. 1 stopper, with the Hurricanes in town tonight and the club preparing for its annual jaunt to California. That doesn’t sound like any part of the nearly decade–old Shanaplan.

ILYA SAMSONOV HAD ANOTHER TOUGH NIGHT IN COLUMBUS ON FRIDAY. LEAFS LOST IN OVERTIME.

My old radio colleague, Bob McCown, may be recovering slowly from a stroke he suffered last June, but even with slurred speech, the Bobcat told me in a blog on Oct. 14 he’d be “surprised” if the Leafs did not finish much closer to the .500 mark than in recent years. “It’s still a team that can score goals, but has no defense or goaltending. How can a team challenge for the Stanley Cup when it is so comparatively weak, every year, behind center ice? Ultimately, the Maple Leafs will have trouble making the playoffs. Just watch.” McCown’s comments were made without the benefit of hindsight and before Samsonov began to struggle. The situation on the blue line is evidently so dire that one headline, this week, claimed the return from injury of Mark Giordano would “stabilize” the hockey club. The same Mark Giordano, now 40, who could not match the speed and tempo in the playoffs last spring.

It may still be too early to draw conclusions from the NHL standings, but expectation was much higher for the Maple Leafs. At the moment, the club sits 18th in the overall alignment; third in the Atlantic Division, three points behind Florida and only two ahead of Tampa Bay. Also, two points removed from falling beneath the wild card teams in the Eastern Conference (Carolina, New Jersey) and sitting out the Stanley Cup chase for the first time since 2016. If the forever–stagnant Maple Leaf ownership and hierarchy isn’t concerned, it should be. In spades.

Though the Leafs will never challenge for the Stanley Cup without a Norris Trophy threat on the blue line, bad goaltending can thoroughly demolish plans for any hockey club. As such, Toronto general manager Brad Treliving is actively scouring the NHL market, a necessity, even as much as Jones represents the 78th man to tend goal for the Blue and White since its last Stanley Cup, in 1967. And, if Treliving hasn’t yet put together a trade package to offer Nashville GM Barry Trotz, what is he waiting for? The Predators entered today occupying the second wild card spot in the Western Conference (19–16–1 for 39 points), but are not deep enough to be a playoff threat. Treliving should assemble components that might tempt Trotz to unload starting goalie Juuse Saros. The 28–year–old native of Finland has been a prime NHL stopper on middling Nashville teams for the past five seasons, appearing in 67 and 64 games in 2021–22 and 2022–23. His career numbers in 286 NHL starts include a 2.58 goals–against average and .919 save–percentage, both excellent numbers with a run–of–the–mill squad.

Not that the Leafs are better than run–of–the–mill, defensively. Saros could come here and have fits.

Still, he is worth exploring. Saros has no trade protection in his contract, with two more seasons at a manageable $5 million cap hit. He will be hotly pursued by a number of contending teams, especially if Nashville falls out of the playoff picture in the West. If the Maple Leafs aren’t among those teams, serious questions need to be asked.

WOULD TORONTO TRADE WILLIAM NYLANDER TO NASHVILLE FOR JUUSE SAROS? GETTY IMAGES/NHL

The Leafs, as most can assume, have three prime trade assets: William Nylander on the current team; prospects Easton Cowan, 18, and Fraser Minten, 19. But, the club’s Stanley Cup window, if it ever existed, will likely close before either young forward is ready to make an impact. Trading Nylander will weaken the Maple Leafs, but not as much as the lack of a reliable goalie. As we head toward the Mar. 8 NHL trade deadline, is Saros among Treliving’s targets? And, would you unload one of Cowan or Minten to secure him, likely in a package deal?

Both questions should be rhetorical.

WHEN THE GARDENS CALENDAR FLIPPED

Given today’s date, I thought it might be appropriate to fetch my old EXPORT Maple Leaf Gardens wall calendars and show images of the December–to–January flip. These colorful items hung in barber shops across the city in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. Today, they are very difficult to find and expensive to own. I have calendars dating from 1956–57 to 1974–75:

TEN YEARS APART: THE COVER OF MLG CALENDARS FROM 1964–65 AND 1974–75 (THE FINAL ISSUE).

 
MY OLDEST ITEM — THE 1956–57 MLG CALENDAR, FROM 67 YEARS AGO. THE MONTREAL CANADIENS HAD JUST BEGUN THEIR RECORD STRING OF FIVE CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUPS. THE LEAFS, WITH A 21–34–15 RECORD FOR 57 POINTS FINISHED FIFTH IN THE NHL AND MISSED THE PLAYOFFS. CONN SMYTHE AND HAP DAY MANAGED THE TORONTO CLUB; HOWIE MEEKER WAS COACH.

 
THE 1964–65 SEASON BEGAN WITH THE LEAFS AS THREE–TIME STANLEY CUP CHAMPION. THE CLUB REGRESSED BY ONLY FOUR POINTS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR BUT LOST IN THE OPENING PLAYOFF ROUND OF 1965, TO MONTREAL. THE HABS WOULD EDGE CHICAGO IN SEVEN GAMES TO WIN THE NHL TITLE. PUNCH IMLACH WAS IN HIS PRIME AS GM/COACH OF THE MAPLE LEAFS.

 
VERY FEW EXPECTED THE AGING AND SLOWING LEAFS TO WIN THE STANLEY CUP IN 1966–67; EVEN FEWER AFTER TORONTO FINISHED THIRD IN THE NHL, 19 POINTS BEHIND FIRST–PLACE CHICAGO. BUT, THE OLDSTERS PERFORMED ONE LAST TRICK FOR IMLACH, SHOCKING THE BLACK HAWKS IN THE SEMIFINALS BEFORE UPSETTING THE CANADIENS — BOTH SERIES GOING SIX GAMES.

 
OFFERING A PREVIEW OF DECADES TO COME, THE LEAFS PLUMMETED IN 1967–68, THE FIRST YEAR OF EXPANSION, FINISHING FIFTH IN THE NEW EAST DIVISION AND MISSING THE PLAYOFFS. TORONTO WAS THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE ESTABLISHED SIX TEAMS (WITH BOSTON, CHICAGO, DETROIT, MONTREAL AND NEW YORK) TO FINISH BENEATH .500 IN GAMES AGAINST THE NEW WEST DIVISION (CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, MINNESOTA, PHILADELPHIA, PITTSBURGH, ST. LOUIS).
IMLACH LASTED ONE MORE SEASON AND WAS FIRED IN APRIL 1969.

WHERE WERE YOU 50 YEARS AGO TONIGHT?

EMAIL: HOWARDLBERGER@GMAIL.COM