As Auston Matthews and Co. continue to establish themselves as a rising power in the NHL, predictions and criticisms roll in from every angle, looking to dissect the young club’s potential.
But few can understand the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ current trajectory as well as those who have been there before, donning the blue and white and standing among the Leafs faithful, looking to earn their praise.
Longtime NHLer Curtis Joseph is surely among that group. Signing in Toronto as an unrestricted free agent in the late 90s, CuJo had a front row seat to a revival of sorts for the club, backstopping the Leafs as they plowed through four strong seasons that included a staggering 60 playoff tilts.
CuJo joined Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Joey Vendetta on Friday, recalling his time in Toronto and laying out a story eerily familiar for followers of today’s Leafs.
“It really was a whirlwind,” Joseph said. “The team had missed the playoffs in consecutive years, I believe. Pat Quinn came in with a new philosophy also, just letting the guys play. We had a young team, but a great group of guys. We all got along – talk about team chemistry. You know, Derek King, Todd Warriner, Mike Johnson, Mats Sundin, Steve Thomas, just a great group of people.
“We just had a lot of fun, and the expectations seemed to be fairly low at the time. We just kept winning, and then we didn’t stop winning, and got into the playoffs. And lo and behold we played Philadelphia and beat them out.”
The arrival of a game-changing head coach? A young, talented squad clawing their way to a playoff matchup with a heavyweight contender? Rings a bell.
“You’ve got big Eric (Lindros) running around destroying people – everybody’s on their toes,” Joseph recalled. “We were the underdog. We got in, but we found ways to win and scored timely goals. …I think in that four years we played the second-most playoff games (in the league), next to Colorado.”
While Matthews’ Leafs weren’t able to stop their top-ranked opponent and their heavy-hitting superstar, Joseph said there’s plenty about the team’s current iteration that shows promise.
“What Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello have done – they have put together a young team,” Joseph said. “I always said you want a bunch of 23-year-olds, 22-year-olds – talented 23-year-olds – that are going to grow up together and win together. They’ve assembled a great group of people. You’ve got your stars, but you have some other great pieces also, that they’ve plucked from somewhere.
“They’ve got it going in the right direction and I believe it’s going to stay in this right direction with that kind of leadership.”
With an exceptional young core led by Matthews (20), Mitch Marner (20), William Nylander (21) and Morgan Rielly (23), the Leafs appear to be set up to follow the grow-together-win-together blueprint outlined by CuJo.
If they do, there’s more than a fair chance it will be in much the same way as CuJo’s Leafs did: with one of the franchise’s few true game-changing centremen leading the charge.
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