The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently playing like complete garbage. Describing their recent play as anything less would be distorting the fabric of reality.
However, there happens to be one particular Leaf whose play has been undoubtedly worse than that of his teammates. That player is everybody’s favourite “net-clearer” Roman Polak.
To say that Polak has only been playing sort of bad is equivalent to saying that eating off an Arby’s bathroom floor would only be sort of disgusting. He’s been flat out terrible, and it’s actively hurting the team.
Oh look. Roman Polak failed to cover his man & it led to a goal. Who could have predicted that?
— Mike Stephens (@mikeystephens81) October 26, 2017
However, I’m not heartless. Instead of using this article to just slog on poor Polak, I’m actually going to point out that, by simply setting foot on the ice this season, he was doomed to fail.
Players of Polak’s ilk simply do not succeed in the NHL anymore.
Why Not?
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Here’s the thing about “toughness” in today’s NHL: it does not matter.
Who would you say the best players in the NHL currently are? I’d wager any combination with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and even our very own Auston Matthews, would be widely agreed upon. Saying that, how many of those players would be considered “tough guys”? Precisely zero.
I’m aware that, in response to this, many would argue that teams need a variety of different players to compose a well-rounded team, and not every player can be a Crosby or McDavid.
And to that, I ask: why not?
Why can’t each player strive to reach the pinnacle of their profession? What’s stopping teams from icing a roster consisting entirely of skilled players who drive possession, move the puck, and create scoring chances?
In the NHL, you have two options. Either change with the times or fade into irrelevancy. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer if the Leafs avoided the latter.
Roster Construction
That the majority of NHL teams fill their precious roster spots with players who will only marginally impact a single facet of the game is mind-boggling to me.
Why deploy a player to bolster one specific area when he can neither skate, score or move the puck? That’s just poor roster construction and incredibly detrimental to your team’s success.
Logically, the more you have the puck, the less time spent in your own zone. Following that logic, wouldn’t icing a speedy, possession-driving roster be the best defensive strategy of all? How can your opponent challenge to score when they never have the puck?
Spending 55-60% of the game in your opponents end renders your “net clearing” D man practically worthless. Instead, you’re left with a player who only brings value for less than half the game. And that’s the best-case scenario.
That is, uh, not good.
Can’t Just Clean Mirrors
Let’s say I’m a janitor at an elementary school, and the only duty that I can successfully perform in this job is cleaning mirrors.
It goes without saying that this school would undoubtedly have some clean mirrors. Those mirrors would be clear as hell. Yet, the school would also feature filthy floors, gum crusted seats, and deeply clogged toilets. This far from a successful learning environment.
Now, let’s say my boss is a 78-year-old man who’s infatuated with my glass cleaning grit and keeps me on as a janitor. For the school to function, he’d be forced to hire another janitor, one capable of completing the jobs I can’t. Only now the school is paying two people to do one person’s job. Not ideal.
Fast forward, and the school is now over budget, caked in dirt, and being cleaned twice as slowly as it otherwise would be. Soon, it’s shut down, unable to properly function as a temple of academic learning. Truly a tragic tale.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Polak is the janitor and the Leafs are the school. Only, in this case, Polak can’t even clean mirrors that well.
Changes are Needed
The Leafs simply cannot continue paying Polak to clean mirrors poorly.
According to The Athletic’s James Mirtle, Polak currently sports the 7th worst possession rating among all NHL defencemen. Furthermore, the Leafs have been outshot by a margin of 39-22 and outscored by a ratio of 3-1 when he happens to set foot on the ice. For someone who can only contribute defensively, that’s absolutely horrid.
The Leafs are now 1-3 with Roman Polak in the lineup. More to it than that, but the third pairing has been awful.
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) October 31, 2017
These days, janitors are required to do more than just clean mirrors. They need to be able to mop floors, scrape gum, and unclog toilets. Luckily, the Leafs actually have guys who can do all those things. Play them.
Polak played well towards the end of last year. That is without question. However, we’ve seen an offensive explosion occur this season, and his limited style of play no longer has a place in this league.
The sooner the Leafs realize this the sooner they’ll contend.