Waffles and Goats

As you are aware, this blog has quite a slant towards the Vancouver Canucks.  However, today will be a venture into Maple Leafs land, where the talk is about finding a new player to scapegoat.  Thanks to Puckin' Eh, that answer just might be Mike Komisarek.  You might be asking yourself why the Leafs are always being Debbie Downers, and quite honestly, not winning a Stanley Cup since 1967 will do that for you.

As for how the blog came to that conclusion of Komisarek being the 2011-12 goat, here's their breakdown of candidates and their qualifications:

Jonas Gustavsson- A potential favourite if he still can't be counted on to protect a lead or continues to give goals in pairs. Gustavsson is probably excused from being the goat since Burke can just swing by a Home Depot parking lot and find a capable backup goaltender.

Jeff Finger- The 3.5 million dollar Marlie. He'd be a decent seventh defender, but his contract has earned him his whipping boy status, however if he's on the Marlies he's immune from the exercise.

Tyler Bozak- His role on the team reassessed it's unlikely that Bozak will have as many detractors as he did last season. His cap hit being $2 million less will probably reduce that as well. Of course if Bozak doesn't fill the third line center role he could start being treated as well as a past number 42 for the Leafs.

Tim Connolly- Since Connolly is at best a second line center and is the next coming of splodeybones there is some potential he'll disappoint a few fans who expect too much from him. If he doesn't pass the 60 point some "fans" will lynch him. Of course the $4.75 million cap hit will keep the bar set high for him too.

And here is a sample of why Puckin' Eh thinks Komisarek will be this season's goat:

Komisarek has filled this role to some extent in the past. His first season was lost to injury. His second season saw him reduced to the sixth defenseman role, and frequently had him paired with noted pylon Brett Lebda.

Komisarek is the perfect candidate to fill the role because of his history of failure, but also his cap hit. With one of the most unmovable contracts in the league he's a lock to disappoint all season long. His 13 and half minutes of ice time a night saw him earn $4,444.44 per minute of ice time last season. For someone recruited to shutdown forwards he has barely proven capable of shutting down 3rd and 4th lines, and his penalty killing abilities have also seemed to disappear.

The piece itself is slightly amusing, if not an insight as to why the Leafs fans are eternally agonizing after failed expectations.  Things are never dull in Toronto, and I for one, am quite thankful for that.