Problem Solved

If the movement to younger players and a re-dedication (consider the Quinn years a period of no dedication) to defensive principles is not enough to eventually win Lord Stanley's mug then I think that Mike Strobel at the Toronto Sun (gasp!) might have come up with the best alternative.

That alternate route to success could be to end the Davey Keon Curse. Bitter Leaf Fan and I covered some of the issues surrounding the honouring versus retiring of jerseys by the Leafs. Who knew that this conversation held the key to bringing the Cup back to its home, not as a guest of the Hockey Hall of Fame, but as part of a celebration down Yonge Street.

A quick peek at Dave Keon's page at the Hockey Database shows that he has won four major NHL awards including a Conn Smythe during our last Cup run. He spent 15 years as a Toronto Maple Leaf and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986. Checking out the Leafs all-time statistical leaders shows that Keon ranks 4th in all-time games with 1062, 2nd in goals with 365, and 3rd in assists with 493. He clearly qualifies under Bitter's proposed guidelines and getting Matt Stajan to choose another number would be a small price to pay for success.

If only it were that simple. Four hours...