The nine-year-long playoff drought endured by Toronto Maple Leafs fans pales in comparison to the 13-year dry spell experienced by Wendel Clark. But retirement has ensured that Clark’s postseason joy must now be experienced vicariously.
“That’s what you miss as a player – playoffs,” says the 46-year-old Toronto hockey legend. “Anytime you’re winning playoff games, it’s the fondest time. I never got to win a Cup, but anytime you win a playoff game, that’s the fun part of your career.”
Despite the smiles and enthusiasm, most of these drought-quenching Leafs have never experienced the fun part yet. Several of Toronto’s 2012-13 regulars will skate in their first NHL playoff game Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston, where they’ll take on the Bruins.
Clark, who scored 37 goals and added 32 assists in 95 career playoff games (all but 16 of them with the Leafs), has nothing but praise for a collection of players hoping to make a run as deep as Clark’s crew did 20 springs ago.
“They all played well, they all came together, and they got timely scoring from a lot of different guys. Their defence played well. It really takes a team,” Clark says, unlacing his skates after playing an alumni shinny game in support of the Scotiabank Pro Am for Alzheimer’s. “The toughness gives the team energy. They have all the parts and they understood their roles, and that’s why they made the playoffs.”
Pressed for standout solo performances from the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed, Clark points to goaltender James Reimer and injury-beating forward Joffrey Lupul, who scored 18 points in 13 games after recovering from a broken forearm.
“When the team plays well, individuals look better. So the team plays well, and all of a sudden Reims is getting more credit because you’re winning hockey games. We’re getting goals. Lupul is, I think, a goal a game the last 11 games (before being shut out in Toronto’s final two matches); he’s made everybody he plays with look better.”
Clark knows well the deceptive weight that one extra letter carries when stitched to the front of your Leafs sweater. Captaining the club from 1991 to 1994, Clark led Toronto during its last great playoff runs in ’93 and ’94, twice coming just a series shy of a Stanley Cup finals appearance.
“It’s great to see Dion (Phaneuf) playing well. He was taking a lot of heat earlier, so he should be getting some credit. It’s a two-way street. If you want to run a guy into the ground early, he should be getting some kudos now. They’re in the playoffs now, and he’s playing a lot of minutes on defence.”
Logging a team-high 25:10 per game, Phaneuf ranked 11th overall in NHL regular-season ice time. The captain also upped his offensive production (28 points in 48 games) and bettered his plus/minus from minus-11 last season to minus-4 in 2012-13.
Simply put, Phaneuf is playing his best hockey since being acquired from the Calgary Flames in 2010. But Clark doesn’t believe the defenceman, who hasn’t sniffed the playoffs since 2009, when the Flames served as first-round victims for the Chicago Blackhawks, needs to change his approach for the postseason.
No one does.
The idea of the game altering after the regular season wraps, Clark says, is all hype and hoopla.
“There’s no differences. You play the best game you know how to play. The game’s covered so much, (the media) make it sound harder than it is,” Clark says. “You show up, you play, you do all the things you do well, and hopefully you do more good things than bad things. Other than that, they really just blow the game up bigger than it is.”
On second thought, however, Clark does see one change May will bring to the rink.
“The fans are the biggest difference,” he says. “Hey, if you’re a fan and you’re coming to the rink and winning most games, it’s fun to be a fan. There’s more energy in the building because the fans know they’re going to have a fun night.”
