SPORTSNET.CA

New Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson is fine with the team being written off as a non-contender this season. In fact, he plans to use it as an advantage.

Speaking to Hockeycentral at Noon on Wednesday, Wilson was candid concerning the expectations of the team as it tries to end a three-year playoff drought.

"From what I read this summer, we are written off," Wilson told hosts Daren Millard and Nick Kypreos. "That's fine; then we can sneak in and beat a lot of teams."

Wilson has plenty of playoff experience thanks to his time behind the bench in San Jose, but he emphasized he is often more concerned with getting a solid effort from his players every day, starting in practice and spreading to the ice on game day.

"Coming here, I am as competitive as anybody, we are trying to win. The message I have heard from media and fans is that everybody is willing to accept pain as long as a plan is in place," Wilson said. "Everyone will be a lot more patient with a plan. The only thing I am worried about is that the team competes hard. We need to establish that kind of work ethic."

As former Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin continues to mull his future in the game and with the franchise, Wilson is prepared to move on for the sake of the players who are under contract and want to be part of what will happen in 2008/09.

"It becomes a group thing. I have all the respect in the world for Mats Sundin. He is truly one of hockey's best ambassadors. If he decides that he is will continue playing and wants to be a Leaf then I will open the door and let him back in," Wilson said of the on-going saga. "In the meantime, it can hinder the development of other people."

The 'will-he-or-won't-he' Sundin speculation has taken on a life of its own in the local media; something that Wilson insists is just a product of the hockey-crazed market.

"He's not sure at the moment if he wants to play. I don't think it is a distraction, but it is being made into a distraction by the media. Was Joe Sakic a distraction in Colorado?" Wilson asked. "But if Mats plays, I think he is going to play for the Leafs."

As for the leadership void left behind should Sundin decide the opposite of what Wilson believes, the former Sharks' coach is ready to instill a leadership-by-committee system seen elsewhere in the NHL.

"Let's assume that Mats retires or he goes somewhere else. Personally, right now, I am ready to have a leadership by commission. Minnesota does it quite well and we did it in SJ until we settled on (Patrick) Marleau."

The Maple Leafs open their training camp on the September 19 at the Ricoh Coliseum on Toronto.