Don't Blame Reimer, Blame Wilson for The Last 3 Games...

 With a few more performances like tonight, even he knows he won't keep his job....

I was watching the Leaf game tonight and , for the 5th straight f-ing game, they were down early and down by 2 goals within the first 10 minutes of the game. Talk about deflating. For a team that has been floundering over the last 10 games (1-8-1 on that span), their confidence in both themselves and each other, has been slowly eroding over the last 3 to 4 weeks to the point now where it appears to have been stripped away completely. How else do you explain giveaways mounting like they are and giving up early goals on such easy plays and turnovers?

You really can't blame either of them lately...who's the #1 Goalie Ron? You don't even know do you?

It would be easy to (once again) point out the horrendous officiating in this and many other games (hacking and slashing is way, WAY up and yet overall, the total number of calls being made by officials are way, way down), but that's not the main issue with this team. I mean there are many other areas that need to be looked at such as Phaneuf not playing like his true self (will you just lay some asshole out already and make a statement? Please?), or the inconsistency of the 2nd line (which hadn't had a goal between the threesome of Kulemin, MacArtur and Grabovski in at least the past 9 games before tonight), or the disappearing duo act being put on by both Lombardi and Connolly (each of whom seem to vanish on the ice when they are needed to play some defence (where were they on the Panthers 2nd goal tonight?).

 The only time he is visible lately is when he is hurt in the press box...

You can't even really blame the piss poor play of the defence (Komisarek and Schenn are just brutal, Gardiner made a brutal giveaway on the 4th goal tonight and Phaneuf needs to focus on his man and not worry about helping his goalie make a save....and WHY is Franzen the odd man out? He is WAY better then Schenn!!!).

I still don't know why he gets into games at all at this point....he is their worst defender by FAR!!!

No, despite all these things, the main problem, as Leaf fans tonight were chanting his name derisively, is the coach; Ron Wilson must go.

He seems to have lost the room. He's lost confidence in his goaltenders as can be seen by his constant flip flopping (until recently at least) between Reimer and Gustavsson.. He's juggling lines mid game even if players are playing well (What was with his moving Bozak off the top line in the middle of the first and putting Connolly out there with Kessel and Lupul? What did Connolly do to deserve that? He was invisible after costing them the 2nd goal of the game by losing the face-off and then not back-checking fast enough to cover a stupid pinch by Komisarek).

He even seems to have lost his own confidence as could be seen tonight after the game in his post-game news conference when he was about as passive as I have ever seen him. He didn't really react as he normally would when he was asked about his reaction to the fans chanting "Fire Wilson!!!" in the 3rd period (which was expected since Burke choose not to upgrade ANY aspect of the team at the trade deadline, the fans are going to vent their frustrations somewhere). Any other time of this season or years past, and he would have practically ripped Mike Brophy's head off just for asking that question. Instead he choose to play it passive and say that he understood the fans frustrations (?) which is so unlike him it left me shocked.

Has he given up on this team? Is this how he reacts to not having had any of the upgrades he needed to help this team make the playoffs this year? Is this his way of protesting the fact that Burke did nothing to help him? He seemed to almost agree with the fact the fans wanted some changes at the deadline and are upset at the team for standing pat. He almost sounded like a coach reserved to the fact that his fate is tied to a a bunch of substandard players who just can't learn his system.

That defeated look on Wilson's face, is the same look most of his players have had for over a month...

Easy fix would be to fire him right now but Brian Burke won't do that. He will let Wilson fight it out with this motley crew of players, clearly seeing that there is a chance for one of 2 things to happen; Either the team totally turns it around and makes it into 8th this year, playing the Rangers in the first round (a team they have played very well against this season), or they continue this freefall, all the way down the standings and get a top 5 pick in the draft (which they can then peddle to the Blue Jackets in the summer in a package for Rick Nash (one of the rumoured reasons they refused to accept the Leaf package of players for Nash was the uncertainty of the Leafs 1st rounder this year, which could be anywhere from 14th to 3rd overall mainly due to the parity in the league this season).

It is entirely possible that the Leafs could continue down this horrific spiral they are on, all the way down to last place in the Eastern Conference. That could push them all the way into the Draft Lottery as the only 2 teams that are pretty much assured of their spots in the draft at this point are the Blue Jackets and the Oilers (the 2 worst teams in the West). Last place in the Eastern Conference is only 7 points behind the Leafs right now (Montreal is last at 58 points and Toronto is 10th at 65 points).

It's time to point the arrow of blame at the right person for the failures of the Leafs to stay in a real Playoff hunt this season. That man is the same man who has led the Leafs to 3 straight losing seasons and the only Leaf coach to remain on the job after 3 straight non-playoff seasons. After his fourth, this year, he will assuredly be gone but he really needs to be canned now if they want to save the season. It won't happen of course but if the 19800 who were in attendance tonight at the ACC had it there way, he would have been out before the end of tonight's' game.

Could Randy Carlyle be the next coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Hmmmm