Retrospective: Ron Wilson's dismal tenure as Maple Leafs head coach
Photo credit: Sportsnet.ca
When Ron Wilson was brought aboard as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2008, expectations of a turnaround were high.
After a playing career spent mostly in Europe, Wilson transitioned into coaching where he got his first stint as an assistant coach under former Maple Leafs head coach Pat Quinn in Vancouver; who immediately saw improvement under the new coaching regime. After the Canucks lost in the Division Finals to the Los Angeles Kings, Wilson became the head coach of the newly minted Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Fast forward through 10 years and two teams, Wilson landed himself in Toronto replacing Paul Maurice, who had struggled in his time with the Maple Leafs. Wilson did not find much success either with Toronto, only having one winning season and finishing with a 130-135-0 record through his four seasons; being replaced by Randy Carlyle in March 2012.
Lo and behold, was the failure of Wilson his fault? Toronto at the time was beyond the days of Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny, Tomas Kaberle and Curtis Joseph; the roster was stagnant. The likes of Lee Stempniak, Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan, and Vesa Toskala are not names that scream "playoff contender". While all respectable depth pieces and regular NHLers, they aren't the elite scoring and playmaking stars those winning teams need.
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Their highest goal scorer was Jason Blake, who at the time was past his prime and towards the end of his career, followed by Maple Leafs mainstay Alexei Ponikarovsky; both men scored 25 and 23 goals respectively but with names like Alex Ovechkin, Jeff Carter, Zach Parise, and
Sidney Crosby putting up absurd numbers, it's hard to compete.
Wilson was hopeful when Toronto acquired both Bruins sniper Phil Kessel and Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf though it never translated to much success for Wilson and his time in Toronto dwindled down until he was let go in 2011. But can you blame him?
Partially. While it's not a secret that Wilson was never given the best rosters, especially with expansion teams and rebuilds galore, it's the coach's responsibility to maximize their players regardless of their abilities. If they could have had a bit more unity and focus under Wilson's guise, they could have found at least some moderate success.
It seems though that his tenure with the Maple Leafs caused him to not pursue a coaching job since being relieved, at least at the NHL level. He was selected to coach the USA's Under-20 Men's Hockey Team at the 2016 World Juniors; finishing with a bronze medal.
It was a miserable tenure for Wilson in Toronto, and for fans as well as the team at the time was more or less made up of spare parts. Is he fully to blame for the disappointing team? No, but he certainly did contribute.
**THIS IS AN OPINION PIECE**
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| POLL |
18 AOUT | 64 ANSWERS Retrospective: Ron Wilson's dismal tenure as Maple Leafs head coach Was Ron Wilson a good coach for Toronto? |
| Yes | 15 | 23.4 % |
| No | 49 | 76.6 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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