Five years ago, Matt Stajan was one of the brighter young prospects in the NHL, notching 14 goals in a 69-game rookie season that was filled with promise.
And as a 19-year-old on a Maple Leafs team filled with veterans at the time, it was clear that Matt's time would come.
It is now October 2008, and the Leafs are still waiting. They are also apparently getting impatient with the 24 year-old who has aged into an elder statesman on a team of wet-behind-the-ears kids.
And we're quickly finding out why Stajan was not given more consideration to assume the team captaincy this past summer.
Ron Wilson is clearly making up his own mind about the players on his roster, giving them a chance to sink or swim individually as he attempts to mould the Leafs into what he believes will eventually be a competitive team, night in, night out.
And so came the healthy scratch on Monday afternoon as Wilson banished Stajan to the press box for the game against the Blues. In doing so, Wilson was sending more than just a message about what he expects out of the Mississauga product. Stajan has too much talent to keep him out of the lineup, and there just isn't enough talent on Toronto's roster to give Wilson the luxury of making Stajan his whipping boy.
What Wilson, along with Maple Leaf management are doing this week is testing Stajan's heart.
And how Stajan responds this weekend in his return will go a long way to determining his future with the club.
Between April and September, the Leafs hacked 12 players from their NHL roster with a machete as long and as strong as the organization has seen in a very long time, yet Stajan was spared.
The Leafs thought highly enough of Stajan's potential to keep him around because it's safe to say that with a reasonable contract that pays him $1.75 million this year and next, there would have been takers. In fact, considering his age and upside, it would be surprising to hear that they didn't turn down offers for No. 14, but after a lackluster start including no points in two games with a -2 rating for his new coach, it's cardiogram time.
If Stajan storms out of the press box with a couple of big efforts this weekend in New York and Pittsburgh, Wilson will come out smelling like a rose.
If not, I smell a trade.