FRED THORNHILL
It used to be that you could sense where Ron Wilson was coming from. Or what had set him off.
A poorly phrased question. A critical query. Or just too much prodding from always sizeable gathered press corps.
But on Monday night, minutes after a 2-1 loss to the Bruins, few knew quite what to make of Wilson's latest rant against the Toronto media.
Asked why he had concealed the fact he was giving rookie netminder James Reimer a second consecutive start earlier in the day, Wilson offered these thoughts.
"I don't want him to be bothered," Wilson said. "There's all this around here, a guy wins a game and we're ready to build a statue for him. Let the poor kid just kind of relax and focus on his game. Period. Like you would in every other damn city in this league. 'Cept here."
The next - and last question of the night - for Wilson was whether or not Reimer, the team's third goaltender once J-S Giguere returns from injury, would be going back to the minors when Toronto begins a lengthy road trip on Friday in Atlanta.
"I don't know," Wilson said, his voice rising to a shout. "Actually I don't think so. Here he's playing well and you're already trying to send him down. That's what I don't understand. Let the kid just play. He's playing fine. We're happy with him."
It was true: Reimer did play well, making 31 saves in only his second NHL start. He was beaten on two seeing eye goals from out near the point, shots that the Leafs other starters likely would have had a hard time stopping.
After two starts and one relief appearance, Reimer has a 1.37 goals-against average and .957 save percentage, but contrary to Wilson's fears, no one's anointing the 22-year-old from tiny Morweena, Man., the Leafs' saviour.
Or trying to send him anywhere.
Most in these parts are simply looking for something to talk about that hasn't been said about this sad-sack team, searching for a small, feel-good story amongst ones about the many turnovers, blown leads and losses.
But now the feel-good stories are to blame.
Wilson told Reimer before the game not to reveal anything to the press corps prior to the game, and he diligently obeyed.
"It's a tough one - he tells me not to say," Reimer said. "He's the one who writes my cheques. He's the boss."
What made little sense was the fact Wilson kept up the ruse after any access to Reimer was over for the day, refusing to answer questions about his goaltending all day. The team revealed who was starting at 6:30 Monday night via its Twitter feed, the new mode of press release some teams are using.
Perhaps Wilson felt that keeping the Bruins guessing offered some small advantage; perhaps he actually thought a statue was on the way for his green rookie goalie.
Who's to know?
Either way, Wilson's comments after the game managed to hint at an intriguing possibility - that Reimer could play regularly for the Leafs the rest of the way. Fact is, at this point, that option is starting to make a fair bit of sense.
Jonas Gustavsson has, after all, struggled of late, posting an .868 save percentage in December after cruising well over .900 before that (while getting almost no goal support). Giguere, meanwhile, is in danger of having not only his season but the rest of his career ruined by chronic groin issues, which may or may not be related to his long history of hurts in that general area.
Toronto's future at the position, in other words, isn't all that clear.
Giguere's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and won't be back. He may even have a hard time finding work elsewhere given the climate these days for goaltenders, where even someone as competent as Jose Theodore nearly went jobless.
Gustavsson is signed through next year but obviously will need support in goal, a position where the Leafs have been exceptionally weak since the lockout. If Reimer is going to be part of the answer, why not find out now and ship Giguere out if any team is interested in goaltending depth?
Both Reimer and Jussi Rynnas have given the Leafs' minor-league club far better goaltending than Toronto has received at the NHL level, and while that's definitely an apples and oranges comparison, GM Brian Burke needs to know if either can play with Gustavsson next season.
Otherwise, add a competent netminder to the list of must-have additions this off-season.
As for Wilson assessing blame to the media for this season gone wrong? Talk about a red herring.
Toronto may have the largest press contingent in the league, but this just isn't that difficult a market to play in and players aren't treated significantly different than anywhere else. There are more fans, so there is more media - and teams in plenty of other large markets play well and have success.
No, the only reason for the ranting and raving at the people asking questions is that Wilson's team has lost this many games (124 of 202 under his watch) and he simply doesn't have any other answers to give.
Besides, no one's looking to build anyone a statue - especially not from this group. We're just picking through the rubble, wondering who'll still be here long after the cranky fellow behind the bench is gone.