I followed the Leafs through Bozak's entire career and had an idea but was never 100% sure of what he was because he was an undrafted college free-agent who lucked into vacant roles without internal competition and had never played in any other organization to give us context.
We were so many times frustrated by his hands of stone that it was impossible to see him as any kind of scoring threat, let alone a top-six centre at all. Yet, two or three times a year he would dazzle us with speed on a breakaway and score, even short-handed, looking like the second coming of Howie Morenz.
He seemed to be ever-present, suggesting reliability and good work ethic, yet at the same time he hung closely with Kessel when the attitude and work-ethic of both was viewed with a jaundiced and suspicious eye, and later without Kessel, Bozak and JVR were both felt to be very weak defensively for the Leafs. He and Kessel might well have been unfairly maligned.
As his last contract drew to a close Leafs Nation sometimes wondered what the Leafs would do for centre depth without him, and at the same time fully expected that team defence would improve if Bozak and JVR were replaced with younger, hungrier players who fully commit to defence and play just as hard at both ends of the ice.
Then along came John Tavares and the World changed for the Leafs. Matthews-Kadri-Bozak became Matthews-Tavares-Kadri. There is no comparison to be made.
For all the mountains of money spent by MLSE, I doubt there was $77-million of it that was ever better spent.
John Tavares and Tyler Ennis, for a combined $11,650,000 (or Tavares and any other Leafs forward that you care to name) make the Leafs infinitely better than JVR and Bozak at the same combined $12,000,000.
Not missing Bozie yet, but best wishes to a truly good guy and his young family wherever they go.
IMHO.
We were so many times frustrated by his hands of stone that it was impossible to see him as any kind of scoring threat, let alone a top-six centre at all. Yet, two or three times a year he would dazzle us with speed on a breakaway and score, even short-handed, looking like the second coming of Howie Morenz.
He seemed to be ever-present, suggesting reliability and good work ethic, yet at the same time he hung closely with Kessel when the attitude and work-ethic of both was viewed with a jaundiced and suspicious eye, and later without Kessel, Bozak and JVR were both felt to be very weak defensively for the Leafs. He and Kessel might well have been unfairly maligned.
As his last contract drew to a close Leafs Nation sometimes wondered what the Leafs would do for centre depth without him, and at the same time fully expected that team defence would improve if Bozak and JVR were replaced with younger, hungrier players who fully commit to defence and play just as hard at both ends of the ice.
Then along came John Tavares and the World changed for the Leafs. Matthews-Kadri-Bozak became Matthews-Tavares-Kadri. There is no comparison to be made.
For all the mountains of money spent by MLSE, I doubt there was $77-million of it that was ever better spent.
John Tavares and Tyler Ennis, for a combined $11,650,000 (or Tavares and any other Leafs forward that you care to name) make the Leafs infinitely better than JVR and Bozak at the same combined $12,000,000.
Not missing Bozie yet, but best wishes to a truly good guy and his young family wherever they go.
IMHO.
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