They’re Believing in the Leafs

These days in Toronto they’re talking about reviving the tradition of the Maple Leafs, one of the NHL’s proudest franchises.

On the ice, the Maple Leafs are doing it more directly: They’re winning games with one of the most dramatic one-year turnarounds in league history.

“I guess everybody is surprised but us,” says Gary Leeman, the Maple Leaf right wing who is in the middle of the resurgence. “We always knew we had a lot of talent. We’ve got so much confidence right now, we feel we can win every game.”

The muscular Maple Leafs haven’t backed down from many this season--quite a change for a team that had lapsed into a 10-year losing streak. This is a team that virtually wrote off the eighties. That’s when the Maple Leafs became widely known as the “Maple Laughs” or the “Make Beliefs”, finishing with the overall 20th record in the league and giving up the most goals for the decade.

They’re still giving up a lot of goals--but they’re scoring more, too, with one of the league’s most potent offensives. At the All-Star break, they led the NHL in that department.

“We do get into the firewagon style some nights,” said coach Doug Carpenter. “But what am I going to do--restrict my players’ assets?”

Carpenter, a refugee from the New Jersey Devils, is generally regarded as a defensive coach, as are his assistants. But you’d never know it by the Maple Leafs’ high-powered offensive style.

“Obviously, offense is our strength,” Leeman said, “and we’ve never been told not to play offense. But I think we can play better defensively when we have to. I think we’ll be able to adjust to it, because we’ve been able to adjust to different styles of play so far -- a rough game or a fast game.

“We seem to have different characteristics that make this team happen.”

Last year, the Maple Leafs didn’t happen at all. They finished out of the playoffs with a 28-46-6 record, which was a distant 20th in the league.

This year, they not only have a legitimate shot at a playoff berth but also first place in the Norris Division and a chance to break the team record for most wins in a season (41). After their first 51 games, they had a 27-23-1 record and could finish a season above .500 for the first time since 1978-79.

“There seems to be stability and we have a coach who knows his game,” veteran left wing Mark Osborne said. “Carpenter coming here was a big thing. He knows hockey. A lot of us are impressed.

“He comes into each game and practice really prepared. He has everybody playing within themselves. We’re playing sound, systematic hockey and each player has a defined role. For the first time since I’ve been here, there is a positive approach to getting the most out of the team and getting the players to play to their best abilities.”

Carpenter, who coached for nearly four years in New Jersey before taking over the Maple Leafs this year, wasn’t the only fresh breeze in Toronto.

Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard, before his recent illness, hired Floyd Smith, a former Toronto player, as general manager and approved changes such as the appointment of a captain--Rob Ramage. The moves helped bring a sense of respect to the team and a sense of passion to Maple Leaf Gardens that had been absent since the glory years of the 1960s.

The Maple Leafs have 13 Stanley Cup championships to their credit, second only to the Montreal Canadiens, but none since 1967.

Ramage, along with Lou Franceschetti, are among recently-acquired players who are generally credited with adding elan to the Maple Leafs. Brad Marsh, who came over from Philadelphia last year, is another one.

“These people are all from organizations that were team-oriented,” Carpenter said. “Ramage played in Calgary, Marsh in Philadelphia, Franceschetti in Washington. These people have really added character.”

And physical presence. Franceschetti, especially, has given the Maple Leafs the kind of hitting that has long been absent from their game.

“Franceschetti,” said Carpenter, “has been superb, a real spark.”

Osborne said the newcomers have nurtured a strong team atmosphere and a Three Musketeers mentally.

“The leadership of some of the older players has put pride back into the dressing room,” Osborne said. “Rob has demanded respect--and he’s gotten it. We’ve had some sour apples pulling in the wrong direction, but they’ve brought them over to their side.”

With Ballard critically ill in a hospital, a board of directors is running the team these days. They’ve given carte blanche to Smith and Carpenter. Off the ice, they’re trying to recapture some of the old team pride which Ballard had slowly stripped away over the years.

If anything, Ballard was never accused of sentimentality. Outspoken and sometimes irreverent and profane, Ballard consistently flew in the face of tradition since taking over controlling interest in the hockey club in 1972.

Showing little regard for history, Ballard didn’t see any reason to have any of the team’s Stanley Cup flags hanging in Maple Leaf Gardens, or for some of the old photographs to hang in the Gardens’ hallowed halls.

He was vindictive enough to rip some photos off the wall when they included players he didn’t get along with -- such as Darryl Sittler, a Hall of Famer who was one of the most popular in Maple Leafs’ history.

But now with Ballard out of touch, the board of directors has decided to bring back some memories, including those championship banners.

“We’re going ahead with the banners,” said board chairman Paul McNamara. “We’ve heard from a few companies that make them.”

The board of directors has also decided that some restoration is in order. Board members have decided to start an alumni club for former players, put in a game room for them in Maple Leaf Gardens and make improvements in the dingy wives’ lounge for players.

These improvements have just happened to coincide with the improvements of the current team on the ice.

And winning has made it all the sweeter for Al Iafrate, one of the NHL’s top, young defensemen.

“It used to be frustrating going to the rink,” Iafrate said. “Even if we won, they used to say we were lucky. Now the fans are rallying behind us, and they think we can win every game.”

More importantly, so do the Maple Leafs themselves.