Leaf Captains: Two to be Honoured, One to Sign?

So the Leafs have announced they will be honouring Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark this season.

As many of you likely know, the Toronto Maple Leafs only honour numbers - they don't retire them (the only two numbers the Leafs have retired are #5 for Bill Barilko and #6 for Ace Bailey).

It's official team policy to retire the jerseys of outstanding players who are struck by tragedy while members of the club (still to be determined: if management's abject failure to properly build a club around the talents of Mats Sundin qualifies as a tragedy).

Honouring v. retiring numbers aside, it's great to see that each player will have his own ceremony. It certainly irked me in the past when MLSE honored groups of players, instead of having the class to give each guy his due at centre ice.

Clark and Gilmour will join the ranks of other honoured Leafs:
1 Johnny Bower and Turk Broda
4 Red Kelly and Hap Day
7 King Clancy and Tim Horton
10 Syl Apps and George Armstrong
21 Borje Salming
27 Frank Mahovolich and Darryl Sittler

Once they're up in the rafters, I hope the Leafs exert some control over who gets to wear such meaningful numbers. Gilmour's 93 is such an odd number that's unlikely to be worn again, but it would be nice for the Leafs to reserve 17 for a franchise guy and to make sure it's never worn by the likes of Paul Higgins again.

The Rush for Mediocrity

Mats Sundin says he's about two weeks away from a decision as to whether he'll retire or sign back with an NHL club.

I'm a big fan of Mats and all that's he done as a Leaf and for the Leafs, but I'm way past caring what decision the Big Swede comes to.

If he decides to play elsewhere, the most painful part isn't going to be Mats' return to the ACC, the potential points he might rack up against the Leafs, or even the bizarro world image of him in a Devils or Wild jersey.

I somehow managed to live through Palmateer as a Capital, Sittler as a Flyer, Vaive as Black Hawk, Wendel as a Nordique (and an Islander, Black Hawk, Red Wing and Lightning) and Dougie playing for what seemed like a third of the league (ok, it was just the Devils, Black Hawks, Sabres and Canadiens). Somehow, I think we'll be ok with Mats lacing 'em up for some other club.

Hands-down the worst part of Mats signing somewhere else is going to be the media sh*tstorm that follows it.

Stemming the tide of the craptacular media coverage will be like trying to stay dry while standing under Niagara Falls armed only a little umbrella from a girl-drink (like say a Chocolate-choo choo, you know it tastes just like candy).

And if the media coverage isn't bad enough, a close second on the continuum of bad outcomes is the possibility that Mats decides to come back and play for the Leafs.

This team desperately needs another top five draft choice and Mats' return is likely enough to move this team away from a shot at a lottery pick to another meaningless outside of the playoffs 11 - 14th selection in the first round.

If Mats signs with another team and the Leafs ice their current line-up, I foresee a nice high pick in next year's draft (hopefully to be joined by more prospects/picks acquired by dealing away Kubina and/or McCabe).

Another year of Mats would be nice but a shot at the Tavares/Hedman lottery would be even nicer.

I don't think the Leafs can have both.

Hangin' from the rafters

Not to get all circular here, but Pension Plan Puppets has a nice read in reaction to my thoughts on the Leafs honouring rather than retiring numbers.

Further to PPP’s thought provoking post, I gave some quick thought as to the criteria I’d institute if I were running the show down at the ACC (and Lord help us if that were the case, I can’t even win my hockey pool).

First, a few caveats – when it comes to defencmen, it’s tough to rely on stats as a major indicator for jersey retirement - it's much easier to measure the impact of goalies and forwards, that's why I've put in a softer, final catch-all criterion.

And as much as I love the Red Sox criteria, given the amount of player movement in the NHL, I think it’s far too much to expect the player to have spent their entire career with the Leafs (or to even have retired as a Leaf) so I didn't include that one in my list.

Here's what I did come up with...to be eligible to have a number retired, the player has to meet both of the following two baseline criteria:

1. Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
2. Spent the majority of their NHL career as a Leaf (e.g. played for 10 years, six or more of those had to be with the Blue and White)

In addition to the above, the player would also have to meet at least 2 of the following 3 criterion:

1. Won or been nominated for one of the major NHL trophies such as the Stanley Cup, Hart, Vezina, Jennings, Calder, Rocket Richard, Conn Smythe, Norris or Lady Byng while playing as a Leaf
2. Lead (or have led) the Leafs organization in at least one major statistical category (e.g. career games played, career goals, career assists, career +/-, career points, shut outs, GAA, wins, etc.)
3. Been a pioneer or transformational player for the organization

I think the team should also have special dispensation to retire a number in the event that a player had promising career cut tragically short a la Tim Horton, Bill Barilko or Doug Gilmour (kidding about that last one, at least he got to retire a Leaf after that one magical last shift).

For those players who don’t make the cut against these criteria they can have their numbers honoured. But let’s make sure there are no more Kordics, Khavanov’s, Marchment’s and DeBlois skating around in #27. It's just not right.

Kelly, Salming and Day

The Leafs have announced that opening night Borje Salming, Red Kelly and Hap Day will have their numbers honoured with a banner for each raised to the ACC rafters.

I don’t mean to be all negative all the time (you have the Star’s Damien Cox if that’s your bag) but I have two issues with this.

First, let’s give each player their own ceremony. There are 41 home dates and other than the Hockey Hall of Fame game, I’m sure the club can find two more opportunities by cancelling Quaker Harvest Oats Toque night; Catelli Bat Day and the Chacin Cologne promo among the 39 remaining nights of hockey.

Second, enough with the shoulder patches and “honouring” numbers. The Leafs should be recognizing the depth of their history and tradition by retiring these numbers. Full stop.

I know, I hear you - it's official team policy to only retire jerseys for players who are struck by tragedy while members of the club (it’s a good thing they make this distinction or else Horton’s #7 would be retired but alas, he died a member of the Buffalo Sabres).

This club policy also ensures players like John Kordic (27), Mike Craig (9) Marius Czerkawski (21) and a long list of call-ups, one year wonders and has beens honour the blue and white and all of Leafs Nation by wearing the numbers of former Leaf greats…(when you go 40 years without a Cup, the list of inappropriate players wearing honoured numbers is pretty much endless - who didn't get goosebumps and recall the magic of Darryl Sittler while watching Alexandre Khavanov play in #27? )

Leaf “Retired” Numbers
5 Bill Barilko
6 Ace Bailey

Leaf “Honoured” Numbers
1 Johnny Bower and Turk Broda
4 Red Kelly and Hap Day
7 King Clancy and Tim Horton
10 Syl Apps and George Armstrong
21 Borje Salming
27 Frank Mahovolich and Darryl Sittler