Learning from the Avs, the Leafs' key to winning when it matters is patience
Sunday's Stanley Cup victory for Colorado shows that a team can achieve what the Leafs keep claiming they are about to do: win a Stanley Cup despite having a pitiful track record of playoff success.
Until you take into account the Avalanche's timeframe, Shanahan's eight-year tenure as Leafs president�complete with its 0-for-6 postseason series losing streak�seems like a lengthy road to nowhere. Joe Sakic, a fellow member of the Hall of Fame who played with Shanahan, only got to bask in Sunday's triumph after marking his ninth year as Colorado's top hockey administrator. Prior to it, the Avalanche had won just one playoff game three years in a row. This illustrates the challenging balance between Toronto's custom of rewarding mediocrity and the advantages of encouraging collective development.
"They were patient with us," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "They didn't blow things up after a second-round exit for the third year in a row. They kept believing in us."
The fact that Colorado reached the summit of the mountain in the same manner that the Leafs will probably need to: without astonishing goaltending, doesn't help Shanahan's argument for his team's potential. Not that Toronto's crease situation could be any murkier. For those who doubt that Toronto's crease-wise fate will change with a new goaltending coach, take into account the following: Colorado No. 1 Darcy Kuemper was the second-worst puck-stopper among the 30 goaltenders who participated in the playoffs, according to Moneypuck.com, when goals saved below expectations were taken into account.
Additionally, it highlighted the Avalanche's development as they demonstrated a rare understanding of a high-flying offence by averaging 4.24 goals per game and a thirty-three percent powerplay during the playoffs, the most by a champion since the Oilers of the 1980s.
The Leafs were league leaders in power-play percentage during the regular season, but they haven't been able to carry that over into the postseason. They had powerplay success rates of 14 percent during the most recent postseason, 13 percent the year before, and 15 percent the year before that. That frightening run of poor performance has only so far been compensated for by a changing cast of assistant coaches. After finally succeeding, the Avalanche understood the secret to winning: It's ultimately preferable to avoid making too many mistakes.
Even if you attribute much of the Lightning's success to Andrei Vasilevskiy, the best goaltender in the world, the team's run to three consecutive finals was somewhat supported by a defence led by Victor Hedman, who won the Norris in 2018 and was a finalist this season for the sixth time.
On the Toronto defense corps, Morgan Rielly is by far the Leafs' best blueliner. But in the Norris voting, he has never placed higher than fifth. Rightly so thus far. He is only 28 years old, though. Many GM's and executives are happy to tell you that their squad simply needs a little more time to make a significant breakthrough if certain players require more patience than they are ready to offer. Shanahan is on the clock now that Sakic has kept his word. This coming season is arguably the most important of Shanahan's career as a high ranking executive.
