Joseph
Torex - you're damn right that defence has always been a major factor in winning a Stanley cup: no team has won a cup with a lousy defence.
Rusty - I agree Joseph has faults - but let's not get all over him for losing the games that mattered.
The Canadian team at the Olympics was a disorganized mess in Game 1 against a much better-prepared Sweden.
In Game 7, 2001 against NJ - the Leafs self-destructed. When Jersey's top line of Arnott-Elias-Sykora finally began producing, the Leafs simply couldn't match their offence. With a porous Toronto defence, Joseph had no chance on a lot of those goals.
In Game 6, 2000, the Leafs again were no match for Jersey's potent offence. Recall that the Leafs had less than a dozen shots on net in that game? You have to score goals to give the goalie a chance to win.
Rember the firewagon hockey of the Oilers in the 80's? They said that as long as you could pop in 6 or 7 goals of your own, it didn't matter if you allowed 4 or 5.
I'm not one to criticize the Leafs, but I will say that they do create excellent scoring chances - at both ends of the ice.