Spring cleaning for also-rans

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers teased their fans with late-season runs before predictably falling out of the playoff race. Neither team was a legitimate contender, but parity and a brief hot streak enabled both to last longer than either deserved.

It's been especially depressing in Sunrise, Fla., and Toronto as the teams have missed out on three straight postseasons for the first time since 1926-28. Florida has missed out on the playoffs for seven straight seasons, the longest current drought in the league along with Columbus.

And, as reality along with gloom and doom set in, it's interesting to listen to the fallout and wonder where things are headed for these Eastern Conference also-rans.

Toronto has a winning record under interim general manager Cliff Fletcher, but the Maple Leafs were eliminated four games earlier than in each of the last two seasons. Fletcher, 72, is viewed more as a Band-Aid between the midseason firing of John Ferguson Jr. and the hiring of the next man who faces immense scrutiny.

Ultimate blame falls on Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. It might have been on to something last summer when it pursued Scotty Bowman with a position to oversee hockey operations. It was even close to securing the person who probably would stand up as well as any candidate in terms of credibility and trust.

But in the end, Toronto management wasn't willing to give Bowman enough autonomy without constantly having someone look over his shoulder, or worse say "no."

Now look where the Leafs are: Maybe they can take another run at Bowman this summer, but the clock is ticking on the draft, the free-agent season, etc.

And will Paul Maurice remain the head coach? He couldn't make lemonade out of lemons.

Are the Leafs' failures his fault? No. Does he deserve another chance with a more talented roster? Probably. He certainly handles the hockey-mad community and all its infringements with class and patience. Then again, new GMs would rather hire their own head coach instead of inheriting one.

And there's the uncertainty surrounding captain Mats Sundin, who is due to be an unrestricted free agent but hasn't decided if he wants to continue playing or retire. He's on record saying he wants to retire as a Maple Leaf, so that's either in a week or down the road.

Toronto dumped what it could at the trade deadline – Hal Gill, Wade Belak and Chad Kilger – but has a lot more dead weight to move through trades or buyouts. Darcy Tucker, Jason Blake, Bryan McCabe, Pavel Kubina and Andrew Raycroft all fall into the category of expecting new scenery by the fall.

It's not easy to recruit into a rebuilding program. Then again, it is Toronto, and a lot of players have dreamed of wearing the Maple Leaf, so you never know.

"This season is another failure, and it sucks," McCabe said. "We battled hard, but too little, too late."

In Florida, it's more of the same. Since making the finals in their third year of existence, the Panthers haven't won a playoff round since 1996 and have failed to reach the postseason in nine of 10 springs.

"I'm not used to being out of the playoffs," said goalie Tomas Vokoun, a building block for the future. "That's the best time you have playing hockey. To not get the chance, the season feels empty."

The Panthers have to take a hard look at Jacques Martin trying to both coach and perform the duties as general manager. It's not a wise way to go about it anymore, if it ever was.

Florida can no longer blame ex-GM Mike Keenan. The Panthers have to decide if Martin is their GM, because if he's not he probably can't be their coach either for the same reasons it's going to be difficult for Maurice to remain in Toronto.

And just as the Maple Leafs have questions about their captain, concerns loom for Olli Jokinen with the Panthers. Jokinen, 29, has two years remaining on his contract, is a minus-20 and there are indications he and Martin aren't seeing eye-to-eye.

Martin was abrupt when asked last week if Jokinen was doing a good job leading by example. The coach/GM said, "I don't think that's the right question at this time. … It's probably a good question for after the season. Right now I don't think I'm prepared to answer that."

In the next game Martin demoted Jokinen to a wing on the third line after he felt a late first-period goal against was Jokinen's fault.

"He said it was my fault, the first goal," Jokinen said. "I haven't done my job the last couple of games. That's probably why we've lost."

And of his play for the season, Jokinen said, "I haven't played to the same level as the last couple of years."

Hmmm.

It should be a very interesting offseason in Toronto and Florida.